Notes from a Civil War Battlefield

Fort Sumter, 1861, courtesy of Wikipedia

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 Scott Longert took library patrons on an armchair tour of Civil War battle sites.

It would be impossible to repeat everything Longert said, so I'm just going to hit you with one interesting/funny/unbelievable fact from each battle field.

1. Bull Run—This is the battlefield where General Barnard Bee bestowed a famous nickname on General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.

Watching Jackson's troops fight, Bee said, "Look, men, there is Jackson standing like a stone wall. Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer."

However, some civil war experts have suggested that Bee meant his comment (at least partly) as a jibe. He was implying that Jackson was a "stone wall" because he was taking too long to move his troops.

2. Shiloh—The Battle of Shiloh was a resounding victory for the Confederacy and one of Ulysses Grant's lowest ebbs as a general.

The Union certainly lost that day but the question has always been, "Did they lose (at least partly) because Grant was drunk and, thus, unfit to command?"

The South ambushed the Union soldiers that morning and Grant was late to appear on the battlefield. Grant's opponents—mostly those in the North—claimed it was because Grant was inebriated.

However, others have claimed it was because Grant was nursing an injury after falling from his horse.

3. Fort Sumter—At the onset of the Civil War, only 65 Northern soldiers manned Fort Sumter even though the fort was designed for a garrison of 650.

Consequently, the Union soldiers never had much of a chance of defending the fort. But only one Union soldier died during the battle that began the Civil War. (The number of Union casualties doubled during the surrender ceremony.)

Fifty-two Confederate soldiers died at Fort Sumter during the span of the war. Slaves were killed while working there, as well, but we don't know how many.

4. Gettysburg—I've already written at length about the Battle of Gettysburg; so, as to avoid redundancy, I want to highlight a modern addition to the Gettysburg National Park.

If you visit the park, make certain to see the Gettysburg Cyclorama. It is a circular, 37-foot high, 377-foot long depiction of Pickett's Charge.

It was painted by the French artist Paul Philippoteaux and is absolutely breathtaking.

5. Appomattox Court House—One short anecdote about General Robert Lee's surrender.

Apparently, Lee was very put out during the surrender (and not for the obvious reasons.) While the Confederate general had worn his best outfit for the ceremony, General Grant wore muddy boots and looked like he had slept in his clothes.

Lee was irritated by the Union general's lack of decorum.

The James A. Garfield National Historic Site's next Civil War talk will be noon on Wednesday, Feb. 12, at the Mentor Public Library's Main Branch. The topic will be art inspired by the war. It's free and open to the public.

Ohio Means Jobs & The Reserves Network hosting job fair at Mentor Library

Ohio Means Jobs Lake County and The Reserves Network are teaming for a job fair to help people find both temporary and long-term employment.

The fair will be from 10 a.m. to noon on Friday, Jan. 17, at Mentor Public Library’s Main Branch.

The Mentor branch of The Reserve Network helps match people to positions throughout Lake County and parts of Geauga County. Those positions from packing and assembly to machine operation and inspection.

The Reserve Network has immediate needs for labor candidates with industrial skills, including CNC machinists, machine operators and assembly. General-labor positions are also available.

The job fair is open to everyone and no registration is necessary. Job seekers should bring a resume and two forms of identification. They should also be professionally dressed and prepared to interview.

With the aim of helping job seekers, Ohio Means Jobs Lake County has also partnered with Mentor Public Library to host a series of monthly career coffee talks at our Main Branch.

The talks are designed to help people get the tools they need to help them find the career they want. The first talk will be from 10 to 11 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23.

The speaker will be Charlene Long, the Talent Acquisition Specialist for Progressive. She’ll offer advice on what companies like Progressive are looking for in prospective employees.

This talk is also free and open to the public. No registration is necessary.

Mentor Public Library adds OverDrive streaming video

Mentor Public Library has added another way for you to enjoy streaming videos.

Now anyone with a MPL card can stream videos via OverDrive to their smartphones, tablets and computers.

If you browse OverDrive’s video collection, you'll find everything from The Adventures of Paddington Bear to cooking classes to award-winning foreign films and documentaries.

You can “check out” as many as five videos at a time and stream them at their convenience for the next three days. All videos will automatically expire at the end of the lending period so there are no late fees.

You can stream video on iPhones, iPad, Androids and any other mobile device that supports HTML5. Here's link to a step-by-step explanation from MPL Librarian Mary Pelton how to use the new streaming service.

(One note: Streaming video can consume a lot of data; so, if you have a data cap on your mobile plan, you should use a Wi-Fi connection when streaming.)

By the way, this new streaming service isn't replacing Hoopla or IndieFlix. You can still stream movies and music from Hoopla and watch feature-length and short films from film festivals all around the world with IndieFlix.

And I know I've said this before but it bears repeating: All of these digital services and more are available for free with a Mentor Public Library card. 

Just Keep Fishing: Steelhead Tips from Gander Mountain

It may sound crazy to talk about fishing in the midst of a polar vortex; but it's supposed to be 52 degrees this Saturday, according to the 5-day forecast. (Ohio, am I right?)

Round here, that makes it steelhead weather.

When fishers talk about it being “the season,” they’re not talking about blizzards or frozen pipes. They’re talking about steelhead trout.

Lake County is one of the best places to catch steelhead in the state. The Chagrin and Grand Rivers both receive more than 90,000 yearlings annually.

But catching steelhead can be difficult for novice or even the experienced angler. Consequently, the Gander Mountain and Mentor Public Library are teaming for a seminar on the fly fishing steelhead this Thursday at the library’s Main Branch.

The experts from Gander Mountain will talk about the best places to find steelhead, what baits and lures work best, and offer some inside tips on making the most of the season. They will also go over the basics of fly fishing with gear and demonstrations.

The seminar is free and open to the public. However, people are asked to register beforehand. They can do so by calling the library at (440) 255-8811 ext. 214 or by visiting the library's website.

Mentor Public Library and the Gander Mountain in Mentor have been holding programs for hunting and outdoor enthusiasts since 2002. In the last two years, the experts from Gander Mountain have talked about urban deer hunting, the safe way to deep fry a turkey, fishing from a kayak and much more.

And they're not done. The library and Gander Mountain will continue the outdoor series in 2014.

They will have seminars on Lake Erie fishing, grilling, camping and tailgating later next year. All of those talks are free and open to anyone.

Thanks for the Can-Do Spirit

Sorry that we don't have better photos. It was COLD that day.

We want to thank everybody who donated during our annual Can Your Fines food drive.

Thanks to you, we were able to donate about 880 pounds of food to the food pantries at St. Gabriel and St. John Vianney on Monday.

That food, in turn, will go to families in the community that need it.

A good deed is its own reward, but we also waived nearly $700 in library fines to those who donated.

By the way, this 880 pounds is in addition to the 175 pounds of food you all donated to the Cleveland Food Bank during the Feed Ohio food drive in autumn.

Thanks again for your kindheartedness and generosity. You keep our community great.

Joe sorts the donations at the St. John Vianney Food Pantry.

Mentor Public Library starts writing club for kids

Mentor Public Library has a book club for children who love to read, a comics club for fans of sequential art and Studio MPL for kids who love every other kind of art.

But, until recently, it didn’t have a club for burgeoning writers. That’s why Judy Schulz, who you know as Ms. Judy from our Children's Department, started the Wordplay Creative Writing Club.

“I decided to start this monthly club after working with Lisa Layton on our Studio MPL programs and with Marilyn Weiss on our Comics Club,” Judy said. “The one area we don’t address is writing, but we have had several children who have mentioned that they write stories. I thought that a group like Wordplay could bring together the children who enjoy writing.”

Our writing club give the kids some creative ways to develop their interests.

“I plan to do some interactive word games, use story starters and prompts and provide time for the kids to share what they are working on if they choose to do so,” Judy said.

Wordplay’s first meeting will be 4:30 p.m. Jan. 15 at our Main Branch. After that, the club will meet the second Wednesday of every month.

The Wordplay Creative Writing Club is free and open to any kids in third through sixth grade.

However, the library asks that parents or guardians register their child for the program beforehand. They can do that by calling (440) 255-8811 ext. 221 or by visiting our website.

Our New Year's Resolutions for 2014

We've swept the confetti and picked up the balloons.

We've eaten our last Christmas cookie for about 11 months.

This morning, we had no holiday to observe—just driveways to shovel and trees to take down.

It's 2014. The holidays may be over, but that doesn't mean there's nothing left to celebrate.

Now we celebrate the ways in which we will make ourselves better this year.

What was your New Year's Resolution? Even if you don't make resolutions, what do you want to accomplish this year?

Do you want to get fitter? Find a better job? Learn something new? Spend more time with your family? Mentor Public Library can help you do all those things and more.

And, yes, we have some resolutions this year too. We want to create young readers, stimulate your imagination, satisfy your curiosity, connect you to the online world, and help you find and understand the information you're looking for.

We're also resolving to read more. (We are, after all, a library.) And we hope you join us.

Over at our Main Branch, some of us will fill out stars with our Reading Resolutions—that is, the names and number of books we resolve to read in 2014.

You're all welcome to post your Reading Resolution at the library too. These stars will decorate the Main Branch's first floor.

You could even win a prize. All you have to do is check out a young adult or adult book at Mentor Public Library and bring the receipt to the reference desk at the Main Branch. That will enter you into our “Reading Resolution Raffle.”

You have all of January to enter the raffle. The winner will get a $25 gift certificate from Barnes & Noble.

But our biggest resolution (this year and every year) is to help you be the best possible you that you can be.

So whatever you want to do this year, come to Mentor Public Library. We'll help you do it.