BRADFORD, Pa. – The Friends of Hanley Library will present its annual “Season’s Readings” program live at 11 a.m. Dec. 12 in the Harriett B. Wick Chapel at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

                This is the first time that the traditional radio program will take place in person. Dr. Don Ulin, professor of English, will read from “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants” by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

                The chapter he will read is titled “Witch Hazel,” and it is about a Christmas season during which Kimmerer and her family helped an elderly neighbor fulfill her dream of returning once more to her family home.

                The presentation is part of a year-long exploration of “Braiding Sweetgrass,” culminating with a visit from Kimmerer on March 18, 2025.

The annual “Season’s Readings” program began when Dr. Robert C. Laing, professor emeritus of English at Pitt-Bradford, read selections from “A Christmas Carol” during the Christmas season on Bradford’s WESB radio station.

Laing was a board member of the Friends of Hanley Library, which has sponsored the event ever since Laing founded it. Since 2001, Ulin has coordinated this popular program.

Following this year’s in-person event, refreshments featuring some indigenous ingredients will be served. The program, which is free and open to the public, is co-sponsored by the Friends of Hanley Library and the Braiding Sweetgrass Committee.

The Friends of Hanley Library was founded in 1990 to strengthen relations between the community and Pitt-Bradford’s Hanley Library. The Friends also acquaint area residents with what the library has to offer by sponsoring cultural and educational programs, usually related to books and their authors.