Did you hear that central Arkansas had earthquakes Monday? The largest earthquake registered 3.8 in magnitude. Some of the quakes were felt in Louisiana, about 200 miles away. The US Geological Survey says there have been 19 recorded quakes in the area since Sunday.
I love doing research in the library. Answering reference questions is my favorite thing, if a little rare these days. But, I am not a genealogist. Still, I was curious about some people who were important to me when I was a child, and I found some of the answers I was looking for by using online resources available to me through MCPL.
Dr. Ron Miriani, retired Professor of History, conducted a walking tour called Westport: The Town That Re-Invents Itself on October 9. The group met at Kelly’s Westport Inn, a designated national historical landmark, and stopped at over 30 locations, including Harris Hotel and Pioneer Park.
Patrons explored the little known history of Kansas City’s oldest establishment, Westport. The adventure culminated with a tour of the Harris-Kearney House given by the Westport Historical Society.
Now, I know Halloween is over, but every year around this time I start thinking about how Halloween became Halloween. I feel like there is more to the date than costumes, candy, and trick-or-treating. I began my research on our MCPL list of history databases. Searching individual databases was not providing me with a ton of general information, so I decided to do a cross search on multiple databases (top of the page). This search brought plenty of results, including a rather interesting tale from Ireland.
Platte County Was Not Part Of Missouri In 1821 When the State Joined the Union
Platte County is part of the Platte Purchase which added the northwest section to Missouri in 1836. It was one of the last official acts of William Clark before his death. The signing of the treaties that allowed settlers to start coming into the area was held at Fort Leavenworth.
Why does Missouri have the boot heel? Why is Michigan in two parts? How come Texas is so big, but Rhode Island is so small? If you’ve ever wondered about the eccentricities of the 50 states or would like to learn about them, then we have the perfect book for you.
Most of us have at least heard parts of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. We might even have read its chiseled words on the walls of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. It is a memorable speech to be sure. However, I believe Lincoln’s greatest speech, only 703 words long, is his Second Inaugural Address.
The pundits of Lincoln’s time gave the speech mixed reviews. But, Lincoln’s words have stood the test of time. Its final paragraph inspires me in today’s circumstances:
The assassination of John F. Kennedy, thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. My parents often speak of the assassination around this time of year, and it’s very emotional for my entire family. When I ran across the book, Letters to Jackie: Condolences from a Grieving Nation by Ellen F. Fitzpatrick, I knew this was a book I had to read.
I learned something new today. December 1st marks the 119 anniversary of the invention of basketball. This fact is particularly interesting as I am a KU alum and fan (I know, I know), and basketball has long been identified with KU. I thought I would share with you some facts about basketball that you can share with the family and friends during timeouts and halftime.
The Kansas City Star newspaper had a front page article Saturday, November 27 on a WWI military unit which became known as the Polar Bears. They were sent by President Woodrow Wilson to the Arctic shore of Russia in 1918, at the end of WWI. Their mission was to oppose the communists and support the czarists as the Russian Revolution began. The men were left in frigid Russia for about seven months before they were evacuated.
