4 Things I Learned from 'Tales from Beyond'

Jim Kleefeld visited the Mentor Public Library Wednesday to share some macabre and mysterious Tales from Beyond with our teen patrons.

He talked about tragedies like the Titanic, horrors like the Lizzie Borden murders, and mysteries like the death of Otto Reuben.

Here are four things I learned from Kleefeld's program. (By the way, these are just some tidbits. They, in no way, encompass the entirety of his talk.)

1. Lizzie Borden was a trailblazer in her way.

The story of Lizzie Borden is well known. She was accused of brutally killing her wealthy father Andrew Borden and her step-mother Abby Borden with a hatchet. However, she was eventually acquitted on all charges.

Borden's case would still be eyebrow-raising today -- in part because of Lizzie's debutante status.

However, in 1892 when the murders occurred, the case was practically unimaginable.

At this time in the country's history, only six people had been convicted with the murder of their parent. In each case, all six suspects were men and each were only accused of killing one parent.

Consequently, had Lizzie been found guilty, she would have been the first woman in U.S. convicted of patricide and of killing both parents.

2. Help is on the way... slowly.

There's not much that can be said about the sinking of the Titanic that hasn't already been said a thousand times before.

However, Kleefeld offered this intriguing nugget:

When the Titanic began sinking, it sent out a call for help to the RMS Carpathia, which was only a few miles away.

However, the Carpathia was moving away from the Titanic when it received the call; and it takes a long time to turn a 550-foot-long ship.

The Carpathia did everything it could to travel as quickly as it could -- even cutting off hot water so more steam would be available for the engines. But it still took four hours for the Carpathia to arrive.

Ultimately, the Carpathia still took aboard more than 700 survivors from the Titanic's lifeboats, likely saving their lives.

3. Voodoo might not be as exotic as we all think.

Katrina Prunty puts a needle into a doll of Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau.

Kleefeld emphasized the macabre aspects of many of his topics, but not voodoo.

"Voodoo's real but it's not real creepy," he said.

If anything, he emphasized the more relatable aspects of the religion.

Voodoo had its beginnings in Nigeria and matured in Haiti. However, it did not become recognizable as we know it today until it mixed with Catholicism.

In fact, Marie Laveau -- perhaps the most famous voodoo practitioner -- also considered herself Catholic and encouraged her followers to attend Mass.

4. It is illegal to buy or sell shrunken heads in the United States.

Thank goodness because who knows how the sellers would collect the raw materials they need.

Kleefeld brought three shrunken heads that he bought from a Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum as a child. (I had no desire to verify their authenticity.)

Robert Ripley bought his first shrunken heads from the Jivaro tribes of Peru in 1923.

However, Ecuadorian and Peruvian governments made it illegal to sell shrunken heads in the 1930s; and the U.S. followed suit (making it illegal to import them) in the 1940s.

Speak Softly & Carry A Duct-Tape Sword

Our Anime Club made duct-tape swords and shields -- and I think I see a scythe back there -- during their most recent meeting Saturday.

My love for our anime club is pretty well documented here; and, while I hate to feature a club to the exclusion of others, the anime club keeps doing awesome stuff!

At their most recent meeting on Saturday, July 27, they made swords, shields and scythes out of duct tape.

They also perfected their warrior faces.

And they're still wearing costumes. This time, Meagan McLaughlin came dressed as Terezi Pyrope of MS Paint Adventures.

Yes, I had to Google "Pyrope" to make sure I spelled it right.

The Anime Club's next meeting is August 24. They'll be watching one of Hayao Miyazaki's classic Studio Ghibli films. (They haven't decided which one. My vote's for Totoro.) They will also make candy sushi.

Drop by if you like. You can register here.

We have a lot of other fun events for teens coming up in the next week or two, including:

• Storyteller Jim Kleefeld will share macabre and miraculous true stories later today (July 30) during Tales from Beyond.
• We close out our Mentor’s Rock Roots: Celebrating Homegrown Bands concert series with a split performance by Cheap Clone and Hedgehog's Dilemma on July 31. (As you probably guessed from its name, the concert series features bands from in and around Mentor).
• On August 3 (this upcoming Saturday,) teens can compete and win prizes in our Minute-to-Win-It Competition. (Register here and dress for a mess.)
• Then, on August 9, teens can celebrate Holi on our Read House lawn. Holi is a Hindu festival of color in which people celebrate the salvation of Prahlada, a follower of Vishnu who also happens to be the son of the great king of demons. People celebrate by surprising one another with brightly colored paint and powders. (In that way, it's a bit like paintball.) Feel free to join our celebration, but bring a white shirt and old clothes you don't mind getting messy.

You can always check out our event calendar at www.mentorpl.org to see more programs for teens, kids and adults.

Teens Can Travel Into the Macabre, Mystical & Miraculously True at the Library

Pseudo-psychometry? Mystic mentalism? Bizarre storytelling?

How about plain old creepy fun?

Jim Kleefeld is visiting the Mentor Public Library Tuesday afternoon to share Tales from the Beyond, and his program consists of everything but the mundane

Teens who come to the show will see strange artifacts, learn about mentalist powers and hear unbelievable but true stories.

His audience will learn about a Louisiana voodoo doll from the 1920s and its victim. They may even feel the pins in their hands.

They'll use portrait photographs to determine who survived the Titanic's crash and who went down with the ship.

Letters from the Lizzie Borden murder, shrunken heads from Ecuador -- Kleefeld has prepared a macabre cavalcade that will stimulate your minds (and possibly chill your spines.)

And there's a seat waiting for you...

Like all programs at the Mentor Public Library, Tales from Beyond is free to attend. However, we ask that you register beforehand on our web site or by calling (440) 255-8811 ext. 247.

Nail Art Tips & Tricks from Ladies & Gentlemen Salon & Spa

Some of the ladies of Ladies and Gentlemen Salon and Spa visited the Mentor Public Library Thursday to offer some nail arts tips and tricks to our patrons.

Daisy Sahoo paints her daughter Rhea's nails outside of the Mentor Public Library's Read House Thursday.

Here is some of the advice they shared:

1. Always try to use a base coat before polishing your nails. This prevents them from yellowing.

2. Never pull at or tear hangnails. Use nail clippers instead.

3. Are you a nail biter and can't seem to break the habit? Always keep a coat of polish on your nails. That will make you less likely to take a bite.

4. Just like with any other beauty treatment -- so much of nail art is taking care of your body (in this instance, your nails and hands, specifically.) Try to keep your hands moisturized to prevent them from looking dry and cracked.

Tia Silbaugh applies jojoba oil to Amanda Densmore's hands.

5. Along the same lines as Tip 4, keep the underneath of your nails clean to prevent the growth of bacteria and germs.

Additionally, here are instructions on how to do a few of the cool and unique tricks the nail technicians demonstrated Thursday.

Morgan Yancy and Rita Pollock served as models, painting 20 different designs across their four hands.

Polka Dot Nails
1. First, prepare your nails by cleaning them off. Then paint each nail with a base coat and one to two coats of nail polish.

2. Once your nails are dry, take the flat end of a lip gloss applicator (the end without foam) and lightly dip it in the polish. You only need a small amount of polish on the applicator. (If you don't have an applicator, other circular objects can be substituted.)

3. Next, take the applicator and dab it on your nail to create polka dots. Dot as many circles on your nails as you want. (Pretty much everything in nail art comes down to lines and dots. The more you practice both, the better and more elaborate designs you'll be able to create.)

4. Allow your dots to dry.

5. Apply a top coat to your nails to prevent them from chipping.

Morgan and Rita model their newsprint nails.

Newspaper Nails

1. Once again, apply a base coat and one to two coats of polish.

2. Allow the nails to dry. Then, pour some rubbing alcohol into a small cup.

3. Once your nails are dry, dip them into the small cup.

4. Place the newspaper (or comic book, print book or any other type of paper that has ink on it) on to your nail. Be sure that the nail is still wet with alcohol.

5. Lightly press on the nail to make sure that the ink transfers on to it.

6. After about a minute, peel back the corner of the paper to see if the ink is on your nail. If so, you can remove the paper.

7. Finish your nail design with a layer of clear topcoat.

Not all of your nails need to be uniform. It's becoming popular to have an accent nail -- one that's slightly different than the other digits. For example, the nail of the ring finger here is accented with glitter.

Thank you to both Ladies and Gentleman Salon and Spa and all the patrons who came to the program Thursday. For more information on events and programs at the Mentor Public Library, visit www.mentorpl.org.

Mentor Librarians Talk about their Favorite Books as Students and Now

The News-Herald recently interviewed two of our adult information services librarians and asked them what were their favorite books -- both as students and now.

Watch the video below to see what books Cailey Williams and Kristin Milks loved. (You'll also get recommendations from Cheryl Sadler and Tricia Ambrose of The News-Herald Book Club.)

Mentor Public Library will also be in this Sunday's News-Herald. Journalist Elizabeth Lundblad visited the library earlier this week to talk to librarians and patrons about teen reading habits.

Paws to Read II: Adorable Boogaloo

By now, it's likely that you've heard of our Paws to Read program -- in which we pair shy readers (between the ages of six and 12 years old) with therapy dogs who are trained to be good listeners.

The dogs help the kids relax so they can get used to reading to an audience.

You see, reading in public can be a little scary for some children; and nothing calms kids down like an adorable, unconditionally affectionate audience.

I wrote about the program before in June and there's no need for me to repeat everything I said there. But we had another Paws to Read session last week, and I suspect some of you might enjoy seeing photos of kids reading to dogs.

You can tell me if I'm wrong when we're finished.

Kaitlynn Bittner's a great reader but Caesar's an even better napper.

Alex Wolak reads "Bad Kitty" to Millie.

Wilson gives Tyler Rice a nuzzle as a thank-you for reading to him.

Jacquelyn Minich reads to Caesar, who is still struggling to keep his eyes open.

Hayley relaxes while Sophia Kiggins reads to her.

Sometimes reading time turns into snuggle time.

If your child can read independently but doesn't like to do it in front of other people, you might try signing them up for Paws to Read. (Especially if your son or daughter is also a dog lover.)

The next session is slated for August 21 at our Mentor-on-the-Lake Branch and registration for it begins on August 7.

Registration fills up quickly, so contact the children's department at Mentor Public Library soon if you think you child could benefit from Paws to Read.

There is often a waiting list for the program once registration begins.

For more information on Paws to Read and other children’s programs at Mentor Public Library call (440)-257-2512 or log on to www.mentorpl.org.

By the way, if you want, we have more Paws to Read photos on our Facebook page.

Celebrating an Extraordinary Volunteer

We spend a lot of time thanking people on this blog, but there's a good reason for that.

A lot of people deserve to be thanked: our Summer Reading Program sponsors, the Boy Scouts who built our new pergola, the therapy dogs and their owners who come to Paws to Read.

And we haven't even gotten to the teens who volunteer at our children's event, the Friends of the Mentor Public Library who sponsor so many of our programs, or our Board of Trustees.

In short, we're fortunate to be in a community where so many people care so much about their libraries.

But amidst all these wonderful people, one guy deserves a special mention: Dennis Edward Hauer.

Dennis Hauer cuts his cake -- part of our thank-you to him for his hundreds of hours of service.

Hauer joined the Friends of the Mentor Public Library in 2006 and, since that time, it has become common place for him to volunteer an average of 40 hours a week.

To express our gratitude, the Library Board of Trustees thanked Hauer at their most recent meeting on July 17 and named August 12 as Dennis Edward Hauer Day.

Board President Amy Frank-Hensley called Hauer a hero for the meaningful way in which he has spent his retirement.

“You’re amazing – the way you stay active in the community,” Hensley said to him during the board meeting.

Lynn Hawkins, the library's executive director, called Dennis “a real gem.”

“It is just not possible to measure the effort he has expended on a daily basis, season after season—and the positive effects of that effort. He is a tremendous ambassador for the library.”

Hauer has spearheaded several initiatives that helped us. In 2008, he set up a way for the Friends of the Library to sell donated books on the Internet. To date, that has raised more than $25,000 in book-sale revenues.

He’s donated his time as a volunteer educator, sharing his knowledge and experience as a Mandarin language interpreter with young homeschoolers, as well as Boy and Girl Scouts.

Hauer has always been willing to pitch in – dressing as a clown or Uncle Sam for parades, serving as a Starry Night waiter or a book club greeter, clean-up crew or anything else his talents or enthusiasm are needed.

He has served as a volunteer, officer and board member both for the Friends of the Library and the Citizens of Mentor Public Library.

Most of all, he has always helped with dedication, kindness and humor.

True to form, Hauer was humble when the board honored him on July 17.

“I’m just so happy to contribute to the library in any small way,” he said.

“I’ve never been one who expects praise because I don’t take myself seriously,” he added. “But I take what I do seriously.”

Dennis with his wife, Barbara Hauer, who is also the manager of our Tech Services & Acquisitions Department.

Tips on Kayak Fishing from Gander Mountain

Matt Buck of Gander Mountain explains how to fish from a kayak without tipping over.

The professionals from the Gander Mountain store in Mentor visited the Mentor Public Library Thursday to offer tips on how to fish from a kayak.

Here are some of the suggestions from Gander Mountain's Matt Buck and Mitch Leppelmeier:

1. There are two types of kayaks: sit-on and sit-in. As you might expect from the name, you sit atop sit-on kayaks. You actually get inside of sit-in kayaks. (Matt Buck is using a sit-in kayak in the above photo. He is showing a sit-on in the shot below.)

Matt Buck shows the drainage holes in a sit-on kayak.

Both sit-in and sit-on kayaks have their benefits and the difference often comes down to a matter of taste.

Buck said that sit-ons are more stable despite having a higher center of gravity and are probably a little better for fishing.

Also, if a sit-on flips, you can get back on it -- even in the water, Buck said. But if your sit-in flips, you're swimming that thing back to dry land; because the water rushes into the sit-in's cockpit and forms a vacuum.

However, sit-ins tend to keep your drier. (Leppelmeier stressed that no kayak keeps you completely dry. If you don't want to get any water on you, stay on land.)

Buck and Leppelmeier both use sit-in kayaks in their personal lives.

"I fish from a sit-in," Buck said. "I feel more secure."

A kayak -- whether sit-in or sit-on -- can run you between $200 and $1,300.

(Buck also mentioned a type of kayak called Hobie Cats that are similar to pedal boats, because you can pedal them with your feet. That makes them ideal to fish with because your hands don't need to handle a paddle and a fishing rod. However, they are on the pricey side.)

2. Kayaks also differ in weight and length. A shorter kayak -- a 10-footer, for example -- is extremely maneuverable and great for more enclosed or harder to reach areas.

But if you're in a lot of open water -- like, say, a great lake -- larger kayaks are much faster.

3. Picking the right paddle is just as important as picking the right boat, and the right paddle will depend predominantly on the height of the kayaker and width of his or her boat.

Try the paddle out before you buy it. See if it feels right. (Actually, that's good advice for anything kayak-related. There are a lot of places where you can rent kayaks around here. Rent a sit-on and a sit-in. Try them both before you decide what feels right for you.)

Mitch Leppelmeier explains how to pick a paddle.

People can buy both aluminum and graphite paddles. Graphite is lighter but less rigid; aluminum is more rigid but heavier.

It sometimes helps to have a more rigid paddle. (They can balance you when you're getting in and out of the kayak or can pry you forward if you get stuck on a stump.) But if the aluminum paddle is too heavy for you to use comfortable -- go with the graphite.

4. Speaking of must-have gear -- have a dry box, preferably one with a carrabiner that you can attach to the kayak. That way, even if your kayak flips, you'll still have your car keys and cell phone, and they'll still be dry.

Kayaks can also be outfitted with rod holders, fish finders and even outriggers.

5. You also need a life jacket.

"I wear a life jacket 100 percent of the time," Buck said. "I don't care if it's 90 degrees. I rolled my kayak several times, especially while fishing."

Before you buy a life jacket, try paddling with it. You don't want something that's going to rub your torso raw when you paddle.

6. Speaking of uncomfortable friction, take your wedding band and other rings off when you kayak.

"You will get calluses if you leave it on," Buck said. "Right underneath it. That's what dry boxes are for."

7. You also need registration to own and use a kayak. It costs $25 for three years. You can get it at BMV or the Mentor Gander Mountain store.

8. Fishing from a kayak presents some unique opportunities and some unique challenges.

"The great thing about fishing from a kayak is accessibility," Leppelmeier said. "You can reach places that boats can't get to. You can get to places that people on shore can't reach."

However, kayaks are lightweight and more tenuously balanced than a boat. If your body is rocking one way or another while trying to bring a fish in, then that can be enough to tip the kayak.

Buck stressed that the best way to stay afloat is to keep everything in front of you while fishing.

"Always fish in front of you. It will keep you dry. It will keep you safe," Buck said.

9. Also, kayaks don't have as much storage space as other boats, so fishers need to be practical about what they bring with them on the kayak.

"It's like normal fishing scaled down," Leppelmeier said of kayak fishing. "Don't take your giant tackle box with you."

Buck and Leppelmeier tend to fish catch-and-release when on their kayaks, but some fishermen bring a cooler with them to store their fish.

10. Watch the weather.

This is true whenever you're boating but especially important in a smaller craft like a kayak -- doubly so if you're on open water.

It's very difficult to paddle a kayak against turbulent water and a single Lake Erie wave can dump four to five inches of water into a kayak, Leppelmeier said.

"If the wind says 'north,' go home," Buck said of kayaking on Lake Erie.

11. Enjoy yourself.

Kayaking is about the atmosphere.

"The fishing is secondary," Buck said. "You're just paddling and having a great day in the water."

Paddling in a parking lot is slightly less fun.

For more information on programs and events at the Mentor Public Library, visit www.mentorpl.org.

Revealing Mentor's Rock Roots

 

Before I begin, take a second to watch the video. It's OK. I'll wait.

(You might want to put some headphones in. The music might be a little loud.)

Altered Generation helped us kick off our Mentor’s Rock Roots: Celebrating Homegrown Bands concert series last Wednesday at the Read House.

As you probably guessed from its name, the concert series features bands from in and around Mentor.

Tonight, Brendan Burt Band will be playing from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Read House.

The series ends with a split performance by Cheap Clone and Hedgehog's Dilemma on July 31.

The concerts are all free and open to the public. They are also sponsored by the Friends of the Mentor Public Library.

I've already talked about some of the reasons why we host concerts at the Mentor Public Library, and there's no need to repeat each one. But there is one reason that bears repetition: It gives us a chance to support local talent.

There aren't a lot of places in Mentor (or even in Lake County) where a young band can perform for their local fans.

That's why we want to give these bands the spotlight they deserve. (And if the concert brings young people to the library who might not visit otherwise, that's great too.)

Altered Generation performs July 9 at Mentor Public Library's Read House.

For more information on concerts and other programs at the Mentor Public Library, visit www.mentorpl.org.

7 Things I Learned About Lake Erie Shipwrecks

Both this shoe and bell were salvaged from shipwrecks in Lake Erie.

Mike Wachter visited the Mentor Public Library Thursday to talk about the many historic shipwrecks there have been Lake Erie.

Mike and his wife, Georgann, have been diving for almost 40 years and have rediscovered 25 wreck sites in Lake Erie. They've also written several books on the subject.

Here are some of seven things I learned from Mike's talk.

1. Lake Erie is incredibly shallow -- the shallowest of all the Great Lakes. It's average depth is 62 feet.

Its deepest point is 210 feet, which is above the water level for Lake Ontario.

2. Its shallowness is one of the reasons so many ships have sank in Lake Erie.

According to Wachter, Lake Erie has had more known shipwrecks per square foot than any other body of water (with the possible exception of the English Channel.)

There are 1,750 documented wrecks in Lake Erie. Wachter knows of at least 300 more and estimates that there are between 2,200 and 2,500 wrecks total.

3. The "holy grail" of Lake Erie shipwrecks is the Marquette & Bessemer #2. It presumably sank while en route from Conneaut to Port Stanley in 1909.

We don't know what caused the steel steamer to crash; because its wreckage has never been found. Some members of the crew washed ashore, none of whom survived; but nothing has been seen of the ship.

"To this day, no one's found it," Wachter said. "For all we know, aliens picked it up and dropped it behind Hale-Bopp."

4. Several ships wrecked during the French and Indian War. During an expedition led by Col. John Bradstreet, 17 of his 59 bateaux -- large, flat-bottomed boats sized between 34-46 feet long -- crashed.

Each of these boats carried about 40 people; so, to make room for these soldiers in his remaining boats, Bradstreet had to bury six of his cannons and a whole lot of his provisions in the area now known as Bradstreet's Landing.

Jean Soboslay checks out a cannonball that Mike Wachter found near Bradstreet's Landing.

Even with the space saved by ditching the cannons, 380 of Bradstreet's soldiers had to march through enemy territory back to Fort Niagara.

5. The most fatal wreck in the history of Lake Erie (and the second most fatal in all of the Great Lakes) was that of the G.P. Griffith in 1850.

Back then, the Great Lakes served as the aquatic equivalent of the Oregon Trail and boats would take immigrants from Buffalo or New York City to Cleveland, Toledo and Detroit.

The steamer departed from Buffalo, N.Y., with German, Irish, English and Scandinavian immigrants aboard. It stopped in Fairport Harbor.

When it stopped in Fairport, the G.P. Griffith was already burning. But its captain was confident that the crew could douse the flames, so it set back out to sea.

The captain's hubris proved fatal. Not only did the fire continue to burn, it scorched the life jackets that were all being housed in the women's formal parlor.

Several of the immigrants jumped overboard in an attempt to swim to safety. However, it was common back then for women to sow their valuables (including gold) into the hems of their skirts so nobody could steal them. Their valuables dragged many of them to the bottom of the lake.

About 290 people died -- a half-mile from shore.

6. While there are hundreds of wrecks in Lake Erie, there is only -- at most -- one treasure ship.

The Atlantic sank in 1852 after it collided with the Ogdensburg. The steamer is rumored to have gone down with a valuable payload, in addition to about 250 of its 576 passengers.

About 140 Norwegian immigrants were on the Atlantic the day it sank, and its tragic end is still taught in some schools in Norway.

7. The package freighter Dean Richmond was another rumored treasure ship after it went down in 1893. (It had set off from Buffalo on Friday the 13th.)

Its manifest said it held "pig lead," which was rumored to be code for gold bars. But, in truth, it was just zinc ingots.

For more information on Lake Erie Shipwrecks, visit Mike and Georgann Wachter's website. For more information on programs and events at Mentor Public Library, go to www.mentorpl.org.

13 Things I Learned about the Battle of Gettysburg

Rangers and volunteers from the James A. Garfield National Historic Site have been hosting a monthly series of talks about the battles of the Civil War at the Mentor Public Library.

On Wednesday, Park Ranger Todd Arrington talked about the Battle of Gettysburg. The talk corresponded with the battle's sesquicentennial earlier this month.

Here are 13 things I learned from Mr. Arrington:

1. The Battle of Gettysburg is one of the single most studied battles in the world -- not just in America, the whole world.

It's still studied at West Point and it's even studied at the Naval Academy even though it was a landlocked battle that predates the Navy.

2. Gettysburg came on the heels of the Battle of Chancellorsville, one of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's finest hours.

After the loss at Chancellorsville, Abraham Lincoln wanted to replace Major Gen. Joseph Hooker as the head of the Army of the Potomac. But his first choice wasn't General George Meade.

Instead, Lincoln offered the position Major Gen. John Reynolds who declined. (According to Arrington, Reynolds would only accept the job if Lincoln could assure him that he wouldn't have to deal with politicians in Washington second-guessing him.)

With Reynolds uninterested, Lincoln commanded -- not offered, commanded -- Meade to take the lead.

3. Lee had originally intended to invade Harrisburg, Penn. However, he abandoned that strategy when he heard Meade had replaced Hooker.

Lee had more respect for Meade as a general than he did for Hooker -- the two had served together in the U.S.-Mexican War -- and Lee opted for a more cautious strategy.

4. It's a popular myth that the Battle of Gettysburg began because the Confederate Army was looking to commandeer new shoes. Arrington said the story is unfounded.

5. The battle began on July 1, 1863 when Union Brig. General John Buford's cavalry division ran into two large Confederate corps.

The Union held the high ground at McPherson Ridge, but they were badly outnumbered. Making the disparity even worse, the cavalry had to fight unmounted and (because of that) about one-fourth of Buford's 2,100 soldiers were stuck holding the horses instead of engaging in combat.

However, Buford was able to hold the high ground until reinforcements arrived.

6. The aforementioned Reynolds arrived and assumed command of the Union Army. However, he was soon shot and killed.

Then Maj. General Abner Doubleday -- who is often erroneously credited as the inventor of baseball -- took command. Maj. Generals Oliver Howard and Winfield Scott Hancock would also briefly have control of the Army of the Potomac until Meade arrived.

7. Toward the end of the day, Lee ordered his Lt. General Richard Stoddert Ewell to take Cemetery Hill (which was desirable high ground) "if practicable."

Those two words have resonated through history. Ewell ultimately decided that it was not practicable. Some historians have argued that Ewell's predecessor -- Gen. Stonewall Jackson who died from friendly fire during the Battle of Chancellorsville -- would have taken the hill. Moreover, they suggest that possession of that hill could have swayed the outcome of the battle and, perhaps, the war.

But, for whatever reason, the hill was not taken.

8. Let's take a second to talk about Union Maj. General Daniel Sickles III. Sickles was an interesting man. Not only did he kill his wife's lover, he was the first man to be found not guilty for reasons of temporary insanity.

The man who he killed, by the way, was Francis Scott Key's son.

9. On Day 2, Lee attempted a flanking maneuver -- similar to what had done successfully at Chancellorsville. He ordered Lt. General James Longstreet to attack the Union's left flank.

In the meantime, Sickles was stationed at Cemetery Hill but he fancied higher ground along Emmitsburg Road. Against Meade's orders, Sickles advanced -- leaving a hole in the Union line.

However, the plan -- insubordinate or otherwise -- worked. Sickles' soldiers delayed Longstreet and exhausted his ranks so they were not at full strength when they reached Little Round top.

Years after the war, Longstreet himself wrote that Sickles had saved the Union Army.

10. Anyone who's seen Gettysburg or read Killer Angels knows about Col. Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine. They were the extreme left flank of the Union Army. If the Confederates got around them, they could flank the whole army.

The 15th Alabama repeatedly charged up Little Round Top but could not get around Chamberlain's men. Toward the end of the day, the 20th Maine ran out of ammunition and they ended up repulsing the Confederates with a bayonet charge.

Later in his life, Chamberlain said he ordered his troops to fix bayonets but he didn't explicitly order a charge. Instead, the charge happened organically as a matter of necessity (but it did make for a nice scene in the movie.)

Ultimately, Longstreet's men were rebuffed.

11. Lee figured if the Union's flanks were strong, its middle must be weak.

Consequently, he ordered a full-on assault of the Union Army's center on Day 3. It's commonly known as Pickett's Charge.

It required nine brigades -- 13,000 soldiers -- to advance over a mile of uncovered ground while being fired at by Union muskets and cannons.

Lee tried to soften the Union line with artillery attacks and additional flanking maneuvers beforehand, but it did not work. Ultimately, the charge was a massacre. More than 50 percent of the Confederate soldiers in the charge did not survive.

It did not help that several farmers' fences blocked the Confederates' advance and had to be torn down or climbed over.

12. Gettysburg was the largest battle fought on the American continent. About 45,000 soldiers died. (That's a conservative estimate. Some guess as high as 51,000.) Both the Union and Confederacy lost about 22,000 men each. The difference: the Union lost about a fourth of their army; the smaller Confederacy lost about a third.

13. We can't talk about Gettysburg without mentioning the Gettysburg Address.

Lincoln wasn't even the featured speaker at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery on Nov. 19, 1863. That was Edward Everett. He spoke for more than two hours.

Then, Lincoln stood and spoke 271 words that have not been forgotten since.

The Garfield National Historic Site will return to the Mentor Public Library on Aug. 14. The topic will be the Battle of Chattanooga. You can register for the talk here.

Know How to Fold 'Em: Origami at the Library

What you're looking at is called modular origami.

At the most basic level, it's a ball within a ball within another ball. Each ball requires 38 individual folds to create.

This is just one of the examples that Jennifer and Mark Cline of the Ohio Paper Shapers (also known as the Ohio Paper Folders) brought with them when they gave a presentation on origami Monday night at Mentor Public Library's Main Branch.

Jennifer showed people how to make cups, pinwheels, bullfrogs, butterflies and cranes all from paper.

But, instead of talking about it, how about I show you the pictures?

Darby Leininger makes a butterfly from paper Monday at the library.

Jennifer Cline explains to Raegann Leininger and Amara Pernus how to form the wings of a paper butterfly.

Margarette Heintz checks out a jar filled with glittering paper stars. Jennifer Cline, Monday's speaker, brought several examples of different types of origami.

Dominik Honarvar concentrates on the many folds it requires to make a paper crane with flapping wings.

Leena Malik demonstrates the flapping wings of her crane.

For more information on upcoming programs and events at the library, visit our website at www.mentorpl.org.

Kids' Stuff at the Library: Cosplay, Pool Noodle Games & Hunting for Jewel Fish

More than 1,300 children have already signed up for our summer reading program.

And those kids have already read about 4,500 hours in the last month.

In addition to reading, they also built catapults, met some of Outback Ray's exotic animals and made good use of our karaoke machine.

But they've also done a lot of other cool things that I neglected to post here. (Please forgive me. I've been distracted by the concerts, Little Free Libraries and Cleveland Mafia.)

So allow me to catch up in the most effective fashion -- with photos of awesome kids doing cool stuff.

Who dares challenge Sasori of the Red Sand to a noodle-eating contest?

This is Vince. Vince is awesome for a lot of reasons. First and foremost, Vince is dressed as Sasori of the Red Sand from Naruto. He wore this to the most recent meeting of our Anime Club, the members of which (you may remember) like to get dressed up.

Furthermore, Vince devoured five bowls of Ramen to win one of our noodle-eating contests at the meeting.

The moral: dressing like Sasori gives you powerful, digestive abilities. Also, Vince is awesome.

By the way, teens, if you love anime, our next club meeting is July 27. We'll be making duct tape swords.

Kim Sidorick, our children's services manager, shows a couple of members of our American Girl Book Club how to make a God's eye

Speaking of our clubs, our American Girl Book Club met Julie Albright -- a young girl growing up in the 1970s -- during their most recent meeting last week. They also learned how to make a God's eye.

The club's next meeting is Aug. 7 where the girls will meet Kirsten.

Jared Hines and Manav Malik search for scarabs, jewels and stoned with hieroglyphs in the backyard of the Read House during the library's Dig Into Egypt program.

During our Dig Into Egypt program, kids tried to catch a jewel fish (like in the Graeme Base book, The Jewel Fish of Karnac.)

They started their search by digging for special stones. Then they traded the stones for tools or won them by playing mancala. Finally, the kids used their tools to go fishing.

In hindsight, it was kind of like Legends of the Hidden Temple -- y'know with fewer palace guards and no Olmec.

We have more photos from the Dig Into Egypt program on our Facebook page, if you want to check them out.

You think croquet's tricky with a mallet? Try it with a pool noodle.

Finally, at last week's Fun Day Monday, kids used pool noodles as paintbrushes, croquet mallets and tic-tac-toe game boards. (It's incredible to see how creative children's librarians can be when coming up with games.)

We host Fun Day Monday every Monday at 1 p.m. in the backyard of The Read House, which is next door to our main branch on Mentor Avenue.

You don't have to register your kids for Fun Day Monday. Just come out and play!

We have a lot more fun programs coming this summer -- activities with fairies and dinosaurs and ninjas. (These are separate programs. We don't have a Fairy Ninja Dinosaur Party on the docket, though that sounds pretty incredible.)

Check out our calendar and see what's coming up. I bet you'll find something your kid will love.

I mean, who doesn't like dinosaurs?

What's Better Than Shakespeare? Free Shakespeare

We at the Mentor Public Library love William Shakespeare's work in pretty much any of its iterations.

So we're always excited when the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival season arrives.

If you haven't heard of the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, it's a unique experience. Actors from the area perform a pair of the bard's plays in beautiful outdoor locations throughout the region. For free.

And the only thing better than Shakespeare is free Shakespeare.

The festival comes to Lake County this weekend with a performance of Measure for Measure on Saturday, July 6, at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site and The Two Gentlemen of Verona on Sunday, July 7, at Penitentiary Glen.

Both shows begin at 7 p.m.; and they are outside, so it's recommended that you bring a blanket or lawn chairs.

Also -- not to belabor the point -- both are absolutely free.

Shakespeare billed Measure for Measure as one of his comedies, but that classification might be oversimplifying it. It has a darker tone than, say, Taming of the Shrew or Gentlemen of Verona.

The play deals in some lofty issues of: pride, humility, mercy, justice and truth.

Its famous line and overlying theme is, "Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall."

If you want a primer, Wikipedia's not a bad place to start.

Meanwhile, The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a more straightforward comedy. It's also one of Shakespeare's earliest plays. Some think it was his first.

It features a lot of the tropes and themes that will later become commonplace in Shakespeare's work: issues of loyalty and fidelity, comedic sidekicks and heroines dressing as men. (Cross-dressing has long been a staple of British humour.)

So see one of the shows. Watch them both. Bring a picnic dinner with you.

Enjoy Shakespeare in some of the most beautiful settings Lake County has to offer.

And, if you like Shakespeare, we have pretty much everything he ever wrote if you want to borrow it.

5 Reasons We Host Concerts At Mentor Public Library

The Sunset Country Band is performing a concert Wednesday evening at our Mentor-on-the-Lake Library Branch. It's our way of helping to kick off that long Fourth of July weekend.

Sunset Country Band mixes classic and contemporary country music. If you go to their shows, you'll hear everything from Merle Haggard to Zac Brown Band to Toby Keith.

Here's a short video from when they performed at the Mentor Public Library's Main Branch earlier this summer.

You don't have to register for the concert or anything like that. Just show up, bring a blanket or lawn chair if you like, relax and enjoy the music.

Most people don't associate libraries with live music, though we've been hosting concerts at Mentor Public Library for a couple of years now.

We do it for a lot of reasons. Here are the five biggest.

1. We love music.

Sometimes, it's really that simple. We love music -- all kinds, from jazz to country to pop and back again -- and this is one of the ways we share that love.

It's also one of the reasons we offer Freegal, which is a free and legal way for library patrons to download mp3s, and have stacks upon stacks of CDs for you to borrow.

2. Libraries aren't just places to borrow books. They're cultural centers.

Don't get me wrong. We love books. Most people who work in a library are there, in part, because they love to read.

But libraries aren't just about books.

They're a place to engage with the culture, and culture doesn't end in the written word. It includes music, fashion, art -- pretty much any way a person expresses themselves.

3. It lets us promote local talent.

This July, we're launching our Rock Roots Summer Concert Series.

We're featuring four local bands over the span of three free shows. All four bands -- Altered Generation, Brendan Burt Band, Cheap Clone and Hedgehog's Dilemma -- have roots in Mentor.

This not only gives these bands a chance to perform on their home turf, it also exposes them to a new audience who might not hear of them otherwise.

You can check out our program schedule for more information on our Rock Roots series. The shows are from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on July 10, 17 and 31 -- all Wednesdays -- at the Main Branch.

4. The concerts might introduce you to something new that you'll love.

Mentor Public Library is all about lifelong learning. That's why we host computer classes and programs about the Civil War, origami and spelunking. (And that's just in July.)

That's also why we bring in an eclectic range of performers. We've already hosted jazz and country groups this summer; and we've got alternative, indie pop, oldies and Beatles tribute bands lined up for July and August.

We hope you come to all of the shows. Even if you don't think of yourself as an indie pop or a country fan, you might discover something new to love.

5. The concerts are a lot of fun.

It really is that simple sometimes.