NEW AT THE LIBRARY: A way to go online and learn to become proficient in many of the computer programs now being used in various businesses and professions and just for you. Our main library in Port Lavaca is now making available to all residents classes online in the following software programs: Computer & Internet Basics, E-mail Basics, Social Media (Facebook, etc.), OpenOffice, Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook. All you have to do is to visit our Library, sign up at the desk and then go online. What a painless and non-stressful way to learn!
Just found the newest book by a very unusual author; entitled The Ballad Of Tom Dooley as written by Sharon McCrumb. I’m sure that most of us remember listening to the Kingston Trio perform that ballad back in the 60’s. I was extremely fortunate at that time as the Group would take lessons and rehearse from a musician in Berkeley, and a number of us students would worm our way into the rehearsal hall to listen. But the author emphasizes that her story is not as it is related in the ballad; her family roots date back to the late 1700’s in the mountainous area between North Carolina and Tennessee and so she knows the area and people, and she did extensive research in the facts of these characters.
Beautifully written in very colloquial English, one feels as reading the words, you are there in person. Her characters, truthful yet somewhat fictionalized, are very believable. You can see the comeliness of Ann Melton as she is described with a stunning mop of black hair on a face of perfection; you can also sense her laziness and sloth and total disregard in caring for her husband and children. The narrator, Pauline Foster at times seems belligerent at her fate and the realization that she will die soon and dreadfully despite medical attention. And, as for Tom Dula (the actual name of the protagonist, Tom Dooley), he is somewhat of a good-for-nothing man, living off his mother, who somehow survived the horrors of the Civil War. These are residents of the mountainous area in North Carolina; education is lacking throughout, and the poverty is amazing. Yet each person lives and struggles day by day, each looking for a little extra something in those bleak days. I loved the book, and have read earlier one of her previous novels, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
A somewhat fun book to read yet unusual in its facts was General Howe’s Dog by Caroline Tiger. You ask, as did I, about the part a dog could play in an important battle of the Revolution, and why it mattered. But the animal not only was a force in the behavior of the Generals, Howe and Washington, but also assumed an unusual role. Additionally, the author narrates the importance of one battle, and its effect upon the total conflict, but also describes the personalities and background of each important character. I found this was a very pleasant way to learn more of the happenings of the War of our beginnings
We still have books for sale at the Library thankfully with donations from residents coming in regularly. Luckily for Shirley and me we have received a number of current books that cover a variety of subjects; even some for handcrafting special items. The monies received from these sales go to add to our DVD collection and to purchase additional books – many times those missing from a series. Do come and check them out! You won’t be disappointed.
“When an old person dies, a Library burns down.” – Karin Gillespie
