MIDDLEBORO_ Eleanor Roosevelt will be visiting Middleboro to share her story and a piece of history that residents can experience to this day at an upcoming Middleboro Public Library program.

During World War II, Roosevelt planted a “Victory Garden” on the White House Lawn and encouraged other Americans to do the same. The Middleboro program depicts Roosevelt in the summer of 1949, when she is hosting a garden picnic at her home in Hyde Park to recognize contributions to the Victory Garden effort.

This interactive program on Wednesday, Aug. 2 at 6 p.m. will begin outside in the library’s lawn and memorial wall area, weather-permitting, with a first-person, "up close visit" by Roosevelt, portrayed by Carol Cohen. 

The program then moves inside for refreshments (based on recipes from Roosevelt’s cookbook) and a more in-depth look at past Victory Gardens as well as their relevance in today's world.

Adult summer reading participants can get the secret code at the program, and enter it in Beanstack to receive credit and earn an additional chance to win a prize.

All attendees will receive seeds to start their own veggie garden and one winner will receive an unframed victory garden poster to take home.

Cohen teaches at Lesley University and is a published historian, playwright and owner of an educational consulting company. She recently published Begin with a Box: A Hands On Resource for Teaching and Learning and currently is working on a book called “Lessons with Eleanor Roosevelt.’’

Registration is required as space is limited. Call 508/946-2470 or email Reference/Adult Services Librarian Libby Fox at lfox@sailsinc.org.

Friends of the Middleborough Public Library provided funding for this program.