Library introduces new lunchtime lecture series

Afternoons full of microwaving boring frozen lunches and eating in front of the computer no more as Naperville Public Library introduces its first-ever Brown Bag Lectures every third Thursday of the month at 95th Street Library.

Aimed to engage and entertain the afternoon lunch crowd, the new lecture series will showcase presenters and historians discussing everything from first ladies of history to Henry Ford to Mayor Richard J. Daley. The library encourages attendees to bring a sack lunch and mingle at 12:30 p.m. and stay for the lecture beginning at 1 p.m. The library will provide coffee and dessert.

For September, lecturer Barry Bradford will present First Ladies First: The Power and Influence of America's First Ladies from 1 to 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17 at 95th Street Library. Bradford will discuss important first ladies and how these women often played a significant role in influencing both the president and public policy.

"Every first lady has a great story to tell," Bradford said. "Some were unhappily married; others served as the best friend and closest advisor to their husband. As the roles and opportunities available to women have changed through the centuries, so have the style and focus of the first ladies. The stories are endlessly interesting."

Bradford, who has more than 300 presentations about America's history, said the first ladies presentation is constantly evolving.

"It is never the same twice as I offer new ideas, change my mind about what to emphasize and consider questions from the audiences," Bradford said.

For October's Brown Bag Lectures, Naperville native, artist and lecturer Jim Weren will discuss American folk hero Henry Ford and his ubiquitous Model T from 1 to 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15 at 95th Street Library. Ford, a social visionary though at times controversial, triggered the American consumer revolution with his Five-Dollar Day moving assembly line and universal car made for the masses.

In November, Jim Gibbons will present Chicago's Mayor Richard J. Daley: The Man, His Times and the City He Loved. Through Daley's legacy today, Chicago has an extensive expressway system, one of the world's busiest airports, a major convention center and legendary buildings including the Hancock Center, Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) and Marina City. The November presentation will be from 1 to 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19 at 95th Street Library.

All three programs require advanced registration. To register, visit the library's website at

naperville-lib.org or email marketing associate Lisa West at lwest@naperville-lib.org.