Planning to see the movie Lincoln which opens in mid-November? Several of our colorful local Blairs appear as characters: Elizabeth Blair Lee; her father Francis Preston Blair: her brother Montgomery Blair.
Here are two books that should be on your personal "must read" lists. Don't miss them.
973.741 L 477 Wartime Washington: The Civil War Letters of Elizabeth Blair Lee edited by Virginia Jeans Laas.
973.709 GOODWIN and CD-Book 281 Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Elizabeth was married to a Virginia Lee, Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee, U.S. Navy, and wrote to him almost daily during the war. She was an active, intelligent, observant, opinionated woman, a very good writer.
The actual Silver Spring, down the road from us under the acorn, was on the Blair farm where many of the letters were written. Unfortunately the spring hasn't had water since the 1950s.
Elizabeth's "Dear Phil"
The Library, like all City of Takoma Park offices, will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday Oct. 30 due to the storm. This means there will be no Circle Time tomorrow. Please also note that there will not be Circle Time next week either! Next Tuesday, Nov. 6, is Election Day and we want to make sure voters have a place to park.
The Library, and all Takoma Park city offices, will be closed on Monday due to the storm. Our Scary Stories program, scheduled for Monday night, also is canceled.
How can you find out if the library is open or closed? If we have an electricity we will probably be open, and if we also have an Internet connection we can post here.
If we don't have electricity we will probably be closed, but one of our staff members may be able to post the information from home. Probably to twitter @takoma If we can do that, the information will be automatically duplicated at facebook www.facebook.com/takomaparklibrary. Look at the twitter tab.
If there are no posts anywhere, then we have lost power, Internet, and 3G both in the library and at our homes. We will probably be reading books by candlelight.
Friends of the Library book sale October 27th, 10-3.
We can't take any more donations, sorry. We have no more space. But that is good news for those of you planning to come buy books - we have boxes upon boxes.
As usual, we will have an excellent selection of almost new children's books.
The library does not close for Columbus Day, traditional (October 12) or observed (2nd Monday in October).
The holiday is controversial in the United States. It originated, and is still observed enthusiastically, within Italian communities.
South Dakota instead celebrates Native Americans' Day.
Leif Erikson Day is October 9th, so the Norwegians have parties too.