Help celebrate the new Pequot Lakes library!

Pequot lakes is a small town in Minnesota, population 1956. It's a little over 20 miles north of Brainerd. You'll notice it because of the bobber water tower right in the middle of town. Another thing you should know about Pequot Lakes is their cool library. It's a volunteer library, run by 30 volunteers. There are over 1800 card holders in the library, and they average 50 patrons a day!

They are in the process of change at the Pequot Lakes library! Soon they'll be moving to a new location and this weekend, to raise money for this move, they are holding a book sale.

It'll take place Friday July 3rd from 7:30-4pm and Sunday July 5th from 7:30am-3pm. They are located in the Pequot Lakes city hall at 4638 County Rd. 11. (It's the big white house with the pillars!)

I never meant to be a cat lady

I had a bad dream once - of appliqued kitty-cat sweatshirts with built-in polo shirts - little children in shopping malls saying, "Look at the crazy cat lady with her bag of books mommy!". And they were pointing at ME.

And then I went and fell in love with a fella who likes kitties. After I filled my allergy prescription, I started to like the furry little friends. Especially Sweetie - she's much friendlier than Jasper. And her purr is really loud.

But just because I like our cats at home, I didn't want to be someone who collected cat figurines or calendars or posters from Scholastic books with cats hanging off the chair and "hang in there" typed below.

And then a book came across my desk about a cat named Dewey ReadMore Books. I mean c'mon! What are they trying to do to me?

Here's the story:

Dewey Readmore Books was the resident cat at Spencer Public Library. He was put in the book return one cold January night in 1988. When the staff found him the next morning, they decided to adopt him. After the library's board of trustees and the city council approved, the kitten was declawed, neutered, and given the proper vaccinations. A contest was held to pick a name, and Dewey Readmore Books was officially added to the staff. The staff cared for Dewey and donated their pop cans to feed the kitty. Patrons and friends from as far away as New York have donated money for Dewey's food.

Librarian Vicki Myron has published the story of Dewey, called, "Dewey - The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World"... I'll be talking with Vicki on an upcoming edition of Realgoodwords. Stay tuned.

And PLEASE Mom! No funny kitty-cat figurines or sweatshirts.

The Iron Range Read

The Iron Range is reading Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" in conjunction with the exhibit at Ironworld in Chisholm Requiem: By the Photographers Who Died in Vietnam and Indochina. It's a collection of 290 images dating from the early 1950s through 1975 that documents the days and months before the conflict began through the fall of Saigon. This exhibit continues through April 20th.

Book discussion of "The Things They Carried" will be:

Monday February 25th:

Bovey Public Library 6-7pm

Hibbing Public Library 7-8pm

Tuesday February 26th:

Chisholm Public Library 2-3pm

Thursday February 28th
Hibbing Public Library 10:30am

Other events at Ironworld in Chisholm in conjunction are:

February 24, 2-4 p.m.Visit with the Vets ClinicRepresentatives from the local veterans Affairs clinic will be available to talk with visitors about services available at the clinic, the reality of post-traumatic stress disorder and how community members can aid in the healing process for Vietnam veterans and others returning from combat situations.

March 1 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Memoir Writing Workshop($25 class fee; limit of 10 participants)In this introductory workshop, participants will read various short memoirs related to war and then begin to write their own recollections' whether from the battle field or the home front'through a series of different writing exercises.

March 2, 2:00 p.m. Film: Regret to Inform. This documentary by photographer Barbara Sonneborn was prompted by the death of her husband in Vietnam. It focuses on the losses and agonies endured by women on both sides of America's military campaign in Southeast Asia.

March 6, 13, 20, 7:00 Film: American Photography: A Century of ImagesThis three part series traces the profound effect photographs have had on American life in how it both documented change and created it. The Developing Image, 1900-1934; The Photographic Age, 1935-1959; and Photography Transformed, 1960-1999.

March 27-30The Wall That HealsVisit with the Vets Clinic (March 27th 6 to 8; March 29th 3 to 5)

April 3, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Memoir Writing Workshop

April 5, 2:00 p.m. Lecture Battle Notes: Music of the Vietnam War by Lee Andresen. History and Political Science instructor at Lake Superior College, Lee Andresen began using music to bring history alive for the students in his class 'Vietnam, America's Longest War.' This work evolved into the book Battle Notes. Book signing to follow presentation.

April 19, 11:00 a.m. Film: Vietnam Requiem. Vietnam Requiem is a startling documentary revelation of how the Vietnam War haunts its veterans, their families and friends, and the conscience of the nation 2:00 Panel Discussion The Legacy of the Vietnam WarHear from a Vietnam veteran, college instructor, a nurse practitioner from the VA Clinic and others about the lasting results of the Vietnam War in our communities.

April 20,1:00 and 3:00 Film Vietnam Requiem(Encore Presentations)2:00 to 4:00 Visit with the Vets Clinic