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POSTPONED Bean Pickers Book Talk with Karen Foresti Hempson
May 3, 2020 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Free
Due to the overwhelming concern of the spread of the COVID-19 virus, OHA is postponing any upcoming events until further notice. We will keep everyone updated as to when you can expect these events to be rescheduled.
Learn the value of collecting family stories, not just for yourself, but for others to experience and appreciate through the story of 8 Italian-American immigrants. They started out as bean pickers but moved their way out of poverty through bootlegging alcohol, joining the military, and playing baseball. Their compelling stories of the 20th-century immigration wave, the Great Depression, and World War II demonstrates their determination to seek better lives.
Join Karen Foresti Hempson on May 3rd at 2 pm as she presents portions of her family’s history laid out in her book, “Bean Pickers: American Immigrant Portraits.”
This presentation is free admission and books will be available for purchase the day of, or on OHA’s gift gallery website.
About the Author:
Karen Foresti Hempson earned finalist status for her book in the 2017 international William Faulkner-William Wisdom Writing Competition and Honorable Mention in the Vinnie Reams Writing Competition. A retired professor of social studies education, Hempson integrated her teaching of history with primary sources such as photos, documents, artwork, oral history, and memoirs. A passion for celebrating diversity and immigration, Karen compiled her immigrant family’s authentic artifacts and personal narratives to compose her first creative nonfiction book. A native of Utica’s suburb, New Hartford, Karen taught for forty years in Cortland, N.Y. and is now retired in Skaneateles, N.Y. She lives with her husband and her nearby family of two married daughters and grandchildren.