In my nearly four years of service to Matilda, our 2019 slate of programs for National Library Week (April 7-13) is the best yet! You’ll find historians, yoga, Lego-mania and a UCDA business coffee that week, and when you enter our doors, be sure to notice the beautiful design for our library expansion, which is closer than you think to becoming reality.
At 6 p.m. Monday, April 8, please join me for a presentation on “Sesqicentennial Sources: A Bibliographic History of Creston, Iowa.” I’ll summarize important historical literature on Creston, and talk about raw materials available to anyone interested in exploring our history. This includes some well-known sources, such as Ide’s 1908 History of Union County, and unknown but nonetheless valuable histories of Creston that can be found among our genealogy materials. I’ll also discuss contributions by the late Harold Roberts, who compiled a great many stories and oral histories about Creston.
Are you curious about yoga? At 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 9, Michelle Wilson of Radiant Wellness Solutions will lead a session of chair yoga, at which you can explore your range of motion without leaving your chair. We’re eager for Michelle to brighten our doors and help us move things around a bit, and Matilda will be watching from her perch in the old east entryway.
At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, is a presentation by Iowa historian Linda McCann, who will share highlights of her recent book, “Prisoners of War in Iowa.” Linda reminds Matilda that during WWII, the main POW camp in southwest Iowa was at Clarinda, and branch camps were located at Shenandoah, Audubon, Tabor and other locations. This is a unique opportunity to learn about the WWII homefront in our area, and we’ll be eager to hear your stories of the “the greatest generation” that evening.
From 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 11, we’re hosting Lego-mania for children grades K-12. Parents are welcome, but if you have an errand to run, rest assured that we’ll have plenty of adult supervision on the scene to insure that nothing gets too crazy. There will be treats, and we provide the Legos, so it’s the perfect after-school activity.
Friday, April 12, Matilda is hosting the Union County Development Association’s weekly business coffee. Join us for a quality cup of coffee, treats and news of good things happening in Union County. If you haven’t been to the library in a while, it will be a great opportunity to see the architectural plans for the new addition. Every day I imagine that beautiful new facility as I come and go from our library, and I’ll never tire of advocating for the advantages that will come to Creston and Union County when it’s completed.
And, in the immortal words of Steve Jobs, there’s one more thing ... Matilda wants you to know that her Gibson Gals, also known as our Crochet Club, is still going strong. They’re eager to share their stitches with newcomers, so if you would enjoy the company, please come join them about 11 a.m. Monday mornings.
Is there a program you’d like to see at the library? We’ve already scheduled master gardener Valerie DeJoode for a presentation on vegetable gardening for the last week in April, so keep an eye out for details on that. Matilda’s plan is for Val to do a follow-up program specifically on tomato gardening, and I won’t miss that.
If there’s something you’re interested in, for you or your family, email me at david@creston.lib.ia.us, or give me a call at 641-782-6507. I’d love to hear from you!