2010 Banned Book Week Display

Banned Book Week (September 25th through October 2) reminds us all not to take our freedom to read books of our own choosing, for granted.

Celebrate your freedom to read by visiting the East Tawas Library.

New this year, to the East Tawas Library's annual display, are 5 books that list and explain the reasons behind various book challenges and bannings. Also on display are a sampling of the many books people have complained about over the years. These complaints came from a variety of states (including Michigan) and countries around the world. They range in date from 1931 to 2010.

The American Library Association's web site features a calendar of banned book week Library and Bookstore Events 2010. The East Tawas Library is one of seven Michigan entries on the list.

http://bannedbooksweek.org/events.php

Come visit the East Tawas Library's banned book week display and see how many of the 25 displayed books you have read and enjoyed over the years.

Check Out A Michigan State Park

Michigan has wonderful state parks. In fact, we have 98 state parks and recreation areas.

The Michigan state park system celebrated its 90th anniversary this past year.

Interlochen State Park is our oldest state park. It was officially created in 1919 after the establishment of the Michigan State Park Commission by the Michigan Legislature. However, the park is actually two years older than that. The Public Domain Commission bought 200 acres for the park, at that time named The Pines, in 1917 for $60,000. This translates to $1,021,917 in today's money.

Our newest state park is William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor in Detroit. Phase Two of the park was just completed this past October. This is the state's first urban park. The park's 31 acres are located along the banks of the Detroit River. A 63 foot scaled-down replica of our Tawas Point Lighthouse is located at the entrance to the park's harbor. In September 2008, I was privileged to be able to view the park and lighthouse while on a Detroit River cruise. It was a beautiful day and the riverfront, park, harbor, and lighthouse were spectacular to see. I will admit, when a person is used to seeing our full-sized lighthouse overlooking Tawas Bay, it is a little disconcerting and disorienting to see a smaller version located on the Detroit River. It definitely catches your attention and makes you look at the lighthouse twice.

Our closest state park is Tawas Point State Park. Originally the park was even closer to the library than it is now. The East Tawas State Park was located at the foot of Newman Street along the lakeshore from 1920 to 1965. It was one of Michigan's 17 original state parks. After 5 years of planning and development, Tawas Point State Park officially opened for camping in 1966.

This summer you can "check out" one of Michigan's State Parks for free instead of having to pay the $6, day use motor vehicle fee. The East Tawas Library is part of the Park & Read program. This program allows a free, one-time, day visit to the Michigan state park or recreation area of your choosing.

To take advantage of the Park & Read program, just visit the East Tawas Library, obtain a library card if you don't already have one, and ask for your Park & Read pass. You must use your pass within 7 days of receiving it. The library was only issued 8 passes, so be aware a pass may not always be available. The program runs through the end of September. Due to the limited number of passes received, there will be no reserving, no renewals, and only one pass issued per family unit this summer. This will allow the maximum number of East Tawas Library patrons to enjoy our Michigan State Parks.

Here is the DNR's press release about the Park & Read program:

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10365_36576-215611--,00.html

National Nurses Week Display

You may know men and women that are nurses. There are probably quite a few other people among your friends and acquaintances that also trained and worked as Registered Nurses. Two of us now work and/or volunteer at the East Tawas Library.

Stop by the library and see the display honoring nurses. The display features our actual nursing caps from Michael Reese Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago and from Wayne State University in Detroit. The display also includes personal photos, clippings, certificates, and graduation mementos.

National Nurses Week is observed each year from May 6th through May 12th. May 12 was chosen as the final day of the week because it was Florence Nightingale's birthday. Somehow I never knew this despite three years of nursing school and 15 years of working as a RN. During some of those years National Nurses Week meant a free coffee mug, or a free button/pin, or a free meal in the hospital cafeteria. Other years, it was just another week without any special mention or celebration.

So, if you know a nurse, thank them for all their education and skills, their hard work and long hours, and most especially, their caring. Your thanks may be the only mention of National Nurses Week they receive this year.

Titanic Display

Today, air travel in Europe and across the Atlantic has been interrupted by an ash plume from a volcano. The volcano is located under a glacier in Iceland. Over 5,000 flights have been cancelled and the actual total may be closer to 6,000 cancelled flights. A report emailed from a friend in Barry, Wales states that over 300,000 travelers in the United Kingdom alone, have had their travel plans interrupted. The inconvenience, however, may save lives; the ash can cause engine failure.

98 years ago travel across the Atlantic was also interrupted, but by an iceberg rather than a volcano. On April 14, 1912 the Titanic struck an iceberg. Less than three hours later, at approximately 2:20 am on April 15th the Titanic sank with many lives lost.

The East Tawas Library currently has 21 different books about the Titanic on display. The library display case contains a foam three dimensional "jigsaw puzzle" model of the Titanic and a Titanic board game.

One favorite book is Polar, The Titanic Bear by Daisy Corning Spedden. The original manuscript was written in 1913 as a Christmas present for Daisy's son Douglas. Polar was Douglas' white mohair Steiff bear. A picture of Douglas spinning his toy top on one of the Titanic's deck has been reproduced in many books.

Please stop by the East Tawas Library and view the tribute to those travelers of April 1912, many of whom never reached their intended destination.

Holocaust Remembrance Day Display

Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed on April 11th this year.

The East Tawas Library has a display of 26 books about the Holocaust, its victims, and its survivors. Besides the books on display, the library's Holocaust collection consists of over 40 additional books. There are children's picture books, graphic novels, fictional stories for kids as well as adults, diaries, books of photographs and letters, memoirs, and historical studies.

When thinking of the Holocaust most people immediately think of Anne Frank, however, the name Miep Gies is unknown to many of us. Without this Dutch woman, who recently died (at age 100) we would not have Anne Frank's diary. The library's display case contains a January 25, 2010 People magazine article about Miep Gies and how she kept Anne's diary safe until she gave it to Anne's father, Otto Frank, following the war.

The display case also contains several note cards featuring art work by child survivors who were brought to England after their liberation. Twenty-eight hostels were opened up in England to care for the 732 children. These cards were produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. For more information see the following two web sites:

http://www.rh7.org/factsheets/Holocaust.html

http://www.ushmm.org/

We must all remember!

Fire Prevention Week Display

Today is the first day of Fire Prevention Week, which continues through October 10.

Fire Prevention Week has been celebrated since 1922. The week always includes October 9th in memory of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. While the Chicago Fire actually started on October 8, 1871 most of its damage occurred on October 9th.

Today, the Chicago Fire is more "famous" but the bigger fire actually occurred in Peshtigo, Wisconsin. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) website states that the Peshtigo fire was the "most devastating forest fire in American history." It burned down 16 towns in northeastern Wisconsin. It also spread into Michigan burning the town of Menominee.

The East Tawas Library has a new display case which was given to the library earlier this summer in memory of Suzanne Smith Frantz and Hubert "Stacy" Smith. The display case allows the display of small items as well as books. The display case is a wonderful addition to the library and something that has been on the library's wish list for a long time.

This week the display case contains a few items from the fire collection of the late Thomas C. Elvey. My Dad started his life-long career and passion for fire prevention by serving on the University of Alaska's fire department in College (Fairbanks), Alaska, while still in high school.

Some of my favorite fire related memories include: taking my Dad to see the Old Chicago Water Tower (one of the few buildings to survive the Chicago fire), when I lived in Chicago; visiting the new University of Alaska fire station with my parents, 25 years after they left Alaska; and I will also never forget visiting the Peshtigo fire museum and cemetery.

The East Tawas Library Fire Prevention Week display includes 33 different books, some of which are:

Jim Murphy's The Great Fire, a 1996 Newbery Honor Book, is a factual book about the Great Chicago Fire.

The Firebrand by Susan Wiggs is a novel about the Chicago Fire.

The book Day of Darkness, Night of Light by C.L.G. Martin tells the story of the Menominee fire from the perspective of a thirteen-year-old boy.

See the following web sites for more information:

http://www.nfpa.org/categoryList.asp?categoryID=1438&URL=Safety%20Information/Fire%20Prevention%20Week%202009

http://www.chicagohs.org/fire/

http://www.peshtigofire.info/

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/hal_mhc_mhm_fire_10-08-2003_92068_7.pdf

Community Garden Book Display

This month's book display celebrates the new community garden located across the street from the library.

The creation of the garden has been spearheaded by Christ Episcopal Church, which is also located just across the street. As someone who both works and lives within sight of the garden I want to personally thank everyone involved in the project. The garden is a wonderful addition to the neighborhood! I hope this is the first of many years to come, for the community garden.

Some of the books on display include:

The Green Guide to Herb Gardening: Featuring the 10 Most Popular Herbs by Deborah Harding. This book includes information about growing, harvesting, and storing herbs. Various uses and recipes for herbs are also included.

Ortho's All About Vegetables by Barbara Pleasant and Katie Smith. This book has general gardening information plus it contains specific information about the growing needs of different vegetables.

How Groundhog's Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry. This book is not just for little kids. It is also not just for gardeners. I love this book and I haven't had a garden since I lived in an apartment in Chicago, over 20 years ago. The illustrations are wonderful; they are so incredibly detailed. I showed this book to a patron, who liked it so much she shared it at a recent Master Gardener's meeting.

Taste of the Midwest: 12 States, 101 Recipes, 150 Meals, 8,207 Miles and Millions of Memories by Dan Kaercher. Dan is the founding editor-in-chief of the magazine Midwest Living. If you like the magazine, you will like this book. If you are not familiar with the magazine, stop in and look at an issue. I think you will enjoy both the magazine and the book.

Vegetables on the Grill: A Menu Cookbook by Kelly McCune. In addition to recipes, this book will tell you how to grill every vegetable from apples and artichokes to turnips and yams.

Besides the books on display, the library has two and a half shelves of gardening and landscaping books. The library also subscribes to the magazines Birds & Blooms and Garden Gate. For those of us who are non-gardeners, the library has lots of other books and magazines.

Whether you garden or not, please enjoy the view of the community garden as you visit the library.