Summer Round Up!

It is September! Summer is GONE! I hope all of you were able to take advantage of the Helen Plum library space during the summer. There were a huge number of programs back on the calendar at the library over the summer. It was great for me to come into the library and see all of the different activities going on.

I especially loved story time in different languages!

The Land Acknowledgement programs were very informative. Our genealogy librarian David Togo produced fantastic Land Acknowledgement events. The first speaker Chief White Winnebago related how his family and the Ho-Chunk people had numerous past struggles to keep their land. he spoke about how his family was stripped of the land then forced to purchase it back. They were then swindled out of this land again du to discriminatory practices. The land is near Starved Rock and is still in dispute. Another speaker and musician, William Buchholtz Allison. His native flute playing was sublime. I hope that the library is able to sponsor him again for a performance.

I created a bookclub with some wonderful friends a few ears ago. Through our discussions our friendships have depended and some of us have taken trips together. During the summer a few of us in the group traveled to Minneapolis after our club read the Prince biography Beautiful People. We made our first stop in the city at the George Floyd Memorial. We got out of the car at the far end of the street and were immediately stunned by the list of names painted on the roadway. It became clear that these names were a list of innocent people killed by police officers. Some were well know names, others were not, but the list was very long. It was a very somber and reflective area and created a powerful impact on me. After the sadness of the memorial, we took a tour of the areas that Prince made famous. We finished that day with a Prince inspired drag show! The performers were fantastic! They covered different songs and styles of Prince and the event was great fun!

As we move into fall I look forward to cooler days and hopefully more time to read.