New Cookbooks for the Changing Season

 by Edward Hirst Rowan Public Library

With the change of seasons from winter to spring the fruits and vegetables at the local markets seem to undergo a change as well with brighter colors and a wider variety available. Now is a great time to explore a variety of cookbooks from Rowan Public Library.

“How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” by New York Times columnist Mark Bittman  is a well written, great introduction to cooking vegetarian meals. Each recipe starts with a description followed by a list of ingredients and directions. It is a large book at nearly one thousand pages and covers a wide variety of meals, from soups and salads to bread, pizzas, and desserts.

“The Modern Vegetarian” by Maria Elia is beautifully illustrated with over 120 vegetarian recipes. Some of the ingredients listed are little on the exotic side and may not be available locally although we are given suggestions for substitutions.

In “Sacred Feasts from a Monastery Kitchen,” author Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette has organized the recipes by month and holidays. More then just a cookbook the Brother Victor-Antoine shares his reflections and wisdom on life in a New England monastery.

If you want to cook great food that is fun and easy to make, then “Mediterranean Harvest” by Martha Rose Shulman will not disappoint. This cookbook explores the healthy cuisine of the Mediterranean region. Take a culinary journey around the Mediterranean from France to North Africa with stops in Italy, Greece, Turkey and more.

The book “In the Green Kitchen” by Alice Waters not only has many enjoyable recipes exploring local foods;  it is also illustrated with techniques to learn how to prepare the recipes that are shared.

You can find these and other titles to get started cooking at Rowan Public Library.

Family Trees

by  Dr. Betty Middleton Rowan Public Library

Curious about your history? Have you ever wondered if someone famous is in your
background? My search began when a granddaughter was researching the Daughters of the                              
American Revolution for a project at school.  We were aware of a distant relative from New Jersey who had served as one of George Washington’s aides, so the quest began.  It was an exciting adventure and more difficult than it is today because that was before historic records became digitalized and accessible online.

If you would like to create a family tree of your own and are unsure where to start then a visit to
The History Room at Rowan Public Library is the place to go.  Their data bases include
HeritageQuest which has four major sections:  The Census Search helps you find your ancestors through
the U.S. Federal Census Schedules, U.S. Slave Schedules, Selected Non-Population Schedules and more. 
The Revolutionary War Pension  Files can help you find patriots in your family tree who were in that
war. The Freedman’s Bank Records  helps you search for your African American ancestors.  You can
also locate ancestors in the Family and Local Histories and City Directories.

The Ancestry  data base contains the following  categories :  Census & Voter Lists, Birth,
Marriage & Death, Military, Immigration & Travel, Newspapers & Publications, Pictures, Stories,
Memories & Gazetteers, Schools, Directories, & Church Histories, Tax, Criminal, Land & Wills, Family
Trees.

You can access Heritage Quest from home by going to the Rowan Public Library
HOME page and under Related Links on the left-hand side select Online Tools.  This data base can be
accessed through that location if you have a Rowan Public Library card with a four digit Pin Number.
If you are in any library branch Ancestry can be accessed from any computer in the library.

Some tips that can be helpful:  When I began gathering family information several months ago I
was keeping my own notebook with the information printed out from various sources and it was taking
a long time to find the information about long-ago relatives (not knowing  maiden names, or birthdays,
etc.)   I discovered that just about every generation had a William and Mary combination or something
similar therefore the approximate date of birth can be vital.)

When I began to create a family tree through Ancestry I had to look up each person individually until I
had entered the third generation (using maiden names and approximate birth dates).  The next day
when I signed in there were little green leaves attached to some of the names on the tree.  This
indicated additional information that Ancestry located about that person – census, birth, marriage, death
information.  It was amazing how quickly the tree grew once that began.

You too can learn more about your family, where they lived, occupations, and when they came
to America.  Give it a try.  Be careful – it is addictive.

               

               

The Call of the Sea

by Marissa Creamer Rowan Public Library

Growing up near the Chesapeake Bay, I was always surrounded by water. The Tidewater region of Virginia is home to one of the world’s largest natural harbors, which incorporates the mouths of the Elizabeth, Nansemond, and James rivers with several smaller rivers, and empties into the Chesapeake Bay near its mouth leading to the Atlantic Ocean. Instead of rolling hills, there are wetlands, with snowy white egrets and great blue herons waiting patiently for a catch. The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway runs near my family home, and we always timed our outings to the schedule of the drawbridge. We canoed, swam, and lured blue crabs into our nets with a chicken neck on a string. A day at the beach was as common as a day at the park in this area.  Of course, I took it all for granted, and never realized how much I would grow to miss it when I moved inland. After nearly 30 years living away, I still feel the pull of the sea and never feel quite at home until I’m back at the coast. So I felt a kinship with Maren, the girl who is turning into a mermaid in “The Mermaid’s Sister” by Carrie Anne Noble.

                                  The year is 1870, and Maren and her sister Clara live with their guardian in a cottage high atop Llanfair Mountain.  Auntie tells them fabulous tales of fairies and faraway lands, but their favorite story is of three orphan infants: Clara, who was brought by a stork; Maren, who arrived in a seashell; and their best friend O’Neill, who was found beneath an apple tree. Maren has always loved the water, and as she grows older, shimmering scales begin to appear beneath her skin, and webbing grows between her fingers and toes. Clara wants Auntie to use one of her healing potions to cure Maren, but as Auntie tells her, “There is no cure for being who you truly are.” Maren is slowly turning into a mermaid, and soon it becomes obvious that she must be taken to the sea or she will not survive.

                   So Clara and O’Neill set off in a wagon with Maren, but their journey to the sea does not go smoothly and they encounter unexpected obstacles. Will they reach the sea in time to save Maren? Find out what happens in this 2014 winner of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award for Young Adult Fiction.

Helen Dunmore’s “Ingo” also deals with the pull of the sea. On the coast of Cornwall, eleven-year-old Sapphire and her older brother are determined to prove that their father did not desert them or perish at sea. They believe their father was lured into the sea by the siren calls of the Mer people. Sapphire soon finds herself drawn towards the ocean to the underwater world of Ingo by voices that only she can hear. Will she leave behind her earthbound life for the magical sea kingdom of Ingo?

Mythical sea creatures are also featured in Lydia Millet’s new novel “Mermaids in Paradise.” This satirical novel takes place at a Caribbean resort, where newlyweds Deb and Chip meet a marine biologist who claims to have seen mermaids in a coral reef. In a comedy of errors, our newlyweds join forces with others to protect the mermaids’ habitat from a resort chain that wants to turn their reef into a theme park.

Put winter behind you and answer the call of the sea with these books from Rowan Public Library.

Planning for a Family Reunion

by Paul Birkhead   Rowan Public Library

     

                When you think of family reunions, what comes to mind?  Is it a large gathering at a local park, three-legged races, and wonderful picnic food?  The assembling of extended family is considered by many to be a cherished tradition but isn’t quite as popular as it used to be.  Families these days tend to have busier schedules and most do not live as close to one another as they used to.  However, just because it might not be easy, doesn’t mean it isn’t worth the effort.   Rowan Public Library has resources to help you gather those long-lost cousins.

                If you want to host a successful family reunion, you’ll need more people attending than just you.  You’ll want to invite aunts, uncles, cousins and other extended family members.  If those folks don’t live close by or you haven’t ever met them, you might need to start planning early.  Tracing your family tree is one way to find relatives you never knew you had.  You do this through the practice of genealogy which is the study of family ancestries and histories.

                Shaking the Family Tree: Blue Bloods, Black Sheep, and Other Obsessions of an Accidental Genealogist is a fun book to read through if you’re just getting started researching your ancestors.  The author, Buzzy Jackson, is a journalist with a PhD in history who gets inspired to discover her roots after the birth of her son.  What follows is an interesting account of her journey through historical societies, libraries, abandoned graveyards, and even aboard a genealogy cruise ship. 

                Once you’ve decided to trace your family tree, you’ll discover right away that today’s genealogists can gather a lot of information without ever leaving their house.  Using the Internet is a good way to jump-start your research.  Genealogy Online for Dummies is helpful for finding out how to use your computer to locate family information, communicate with distant relatives, and stay organized.

      Once you’ve found a good pool of relatives to invite for a reunion, make sure to check out some books from the library to help you plan the event.  Family Reunion Handbook and Family Reunion: Everything You Need to Know to Plan Unforgettable Get-Togethers are two good choices.  Both books include examples to follow from successful reunions, helpful checklists, and tips on how to feed and entertain everyone. 

      Did you know that the world’s largest family reunion is being held on June 6th this year?  And your ‘cousin’ A.J. Jacobs, a four-time New York Times bestselling author and journalist, wants you to join him at the New York Hall of Science, on the grounds of the World’s Fair.  There will be many celebrities present and various talks, contests, and games will be held. The reunion will be highlighted in a future book by Jacobs and be the focus of a new documentary by Morgan Spurlock, of Super Size Me fame.  Go to www.globalfamilyreunion.com to learn more.

      If you ever feel the urge to connect (or reconnect) with distant family, don’t forget that Rowan Public Library has resources to help you track down long-lost cousins and plan an unforgettable reunion.

Political Cartoons of Dr. Seuss

by Gretchen Beilfuss Witt  Rowan Public Library

                Political cartoons have been part and parcel of American and much of Western culture for the last 200 years.   Interestingly, according to Stephen Hess and Sandy Northrop, authors of “Drawn & Quartered:  The History of American Political Cartoons”, founding father Ben Franklin was both the first cartoonist and the first public figure to be ridiculed by cartoon.  “Political Cartooning is a symbolic art.  The symbols are a shorthand, a convenience…” both for the artist and the audience.   Many cartoons feature caricatures of famous people as well as symbols that have become representative because of their use in cartoons.   Thomas Nast,  illustrating for Harper’s Weekly in the 1870’s, not only brought world-wide attention to the corruption of city government with his many depictions of “Boss” Tweed and other Tammany Hall politicians, he is also credited with the icon of the elephant representing  the Republican party.  The task of a political cartoonist is to comment, to have an opinion, not to illustrate the news.  Hess and Northrop take us from the beginnings of American National identity including the creation “Uncle Sam” through the end of 20^th century in which folks become more concerned with political correctness and being offended than in using cartoon to begin a dialogue.  The authors look at the artists and the publications with which they were often associated as well as the history of how these talented folk managed to “reduce a complex issue to a simple cartoon presented in a tiny box.” 

                Flemming Rose’s “Tyranny of Silence” takes a more in-depth look at this trend of self-censorship by cartoonists and the media.  Rose is the editor of the Danish paper, who commissioned and printed cartoons about Islam in 2005 offending some of the Muslim community and created a global controversy.    He states that he was prompted to commission these cartoons by his “perception of self-censorship by the European media.”   He continues by expressing his own experiences and why he feels so strongly that the true issue is about the freedom of speech.  Rose reflects that everyone has the right to tell their story in their own way.  He asks “should we be unable to criticize cultures that still adhere to those [unpopular] practices because they are minorities?”   He indicates that living in a democracy does not give you the right not to be offended and that perhaps a little more training in tolerance rather than sensitivity might be more useful in having a multi-cultural society coexist peacefully.  This is certainly a thought-provoking book having its origin in a global reaction to political cartoons.

                For many the idea of Dr. Seuss and his artwork brings to mind the delightful and whimsical images of Whoville or Green Eggs and Ham.   However a rarer treat is in store, library patrons will have an opportunity to sample Dr. Seuss’ political cartoons created during the 1940s.   Theodor Geisel had strong views regarding American policy on non-involvement in the war as well as the New Deal policies of FDR.   He began drawing political cartoons well before the US officially entered World War II in December of 1941.   Italian fascism led him to draw his first published political cartoon for PM magazine in 1941 and he continued until accepting a commission in the U.S. Army in 1943.  His cartoons for PM expressed his views against fascism, anti-Semitism, and bigotry.   For a more complete listing of his cartoons and information relating to his drawings, Richard H. Minear’s book “Dr. Seuss Goes to War:  The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodore Seuss Geisel” is available for check out.

Made available through the NC Council on the Holocaust, the library will host a display fourteen panels representing the work of Dr. Seuss.   The pictures will be displayed in the Gallery of the first floor of the Headquarters building from March 2-March 27^th.