Rain, rain, go away, come again when it's convenient to me...

Yesterday, we enjoyed our first tornado drill.  Today, we considered putting on our winter coat instead of a lighter jacket.  Looking out the window, one expects to see Mary Poppins sailing by with her umbrella and bottomless carpet bag.  Expect the unexpected, it's spring in Wisconsin. 


Spring calls to mind that it's time to do some cleaning, or maybe CLEARING of unused household items.  It's not just the "rummage sale" or "yard sale" signs that bring it to mind.  Everyone knows that spring is graduation time and you have to get your house in order before you have everyone over.  You may even need to sell some items in order to help with the next step in your child's life...college.  (We have many books that will help your prospective student find ways to secure financial aid if you don't want to sell the farm.)

If you're going to have a family reunion, neighborhood barbecue or any type of gathering or celebration, you will also want to beautify the outside of your home.  You may have a small space to work with so container gardening may be the thing for you.  It may be the first of many projects to share with your family which means you'll need a plan or fresh ideas.  Whatever the case may be, the library has the books to keep you growing and prospering in the great outdoors.  Thanks to our community partners, we also offer programming featuring local businesses like Hartman's Towne and Country Greenhouse which can be very helpful to the beginning gardener.

Checking out books from the library won't make your flowers grow better nor will your home organize itself. It won't make the weather behave itself or keep you from wishing for summer while it rains and rains and rains.  However, it will give you something to do as you anticipate another season of riding your lawn mower listening to Bob Uecker while the KIDS weed the garden. 





Milwaukee - Home of the Brave(s)

I didn't grow up in the 50's or 60's but author Lesley Kagen took me there with Whistling in the Dark.  I didn't grow up in Milwaukee (or even in the Midwest), but I have heard of Samson and now I feel like I've met him.  (Samson is Sally's favorite exhibit at the zoo and she visits him frequently.)  In this book, the author has captured the sights and sounds of a Milwaukee neighborhood and a midwest summer in the city perfectly.  The people you meet in this book seem real.  This is not the Milwaukee of "Happy Days" or "Laverne and Shirley" where everything works out perfectly fine in the end after a heart to heart talk with Mr. Cunningham or "The Fonz".  These people have PROBLEMS and young Sally O'Malley and her sister "Troo" are in the middle of them. 

Samson

Sally made promises to her dying father that she is having trouble keeping.  She promised her dying father that she would look after her little sister.  However, Troo is a wild one and difficult to manage.  There are neighborhood bullies to stand up to, an abusive step-father who has gone on a drinking binge, a mother in the hospital fighting for her life and a teenage sister who is too busy with boys to look after two little girls properly.  As if this wasn't difficult enough, there is a murdering molester on the prowl and Sally's over-active imagination has thrown her (and the reader) completely off the trail of the real killer.

What I enjoyed most about this book is the relationship between Sally and her little sister.  At times, Troo's shocking behavior may lead you to believe that she is the older sister.  The authenticity of the lost little girls (and Sally's point of view) as they struggle to take care of themselves one long hot summer will immerse you in the story.  Similar to Emma Donoghue's Room, this book pulls you into the mind of a child trying to deal with life's unusual situations.  The interactions between the sisters takes me to Lorna Landvik's book, Patty Jane's House of Curl.  Most of all, I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel, Good Graces.  Perfect reading as we wait for summer and a visit to the City of Festivals.



The United States 1940 census has been made public!

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) released the United States 1940 census on April 2, 2012. They will provide free access to the 1940 census digital images. There is no name index for the 1940 census (yet), so you will have to look through the scanned images.

How do you know on which census image your family will be located? 

You might think knowing the address will be enough, but the 1940 census records are not organized by address. They are organized by enumeration district numbers (ED). Knowing the ED number will make your census search faster and less frustrating.

What is a ED number? 

 a ED number on a
enumeration district map

An ED number consists of two parts.

The first part is a region (usually a county) within each state and the second part is a district within that region. Once you have the ED number, you will be able to access the census pages. The ED number will get you to the image of the first census page for that enumeration district. You will need to go through the other images within that particular district to look for your family. 


The Unified 1940 Census ED Finder is one way to search for an ED number. Simply enter state, county, and city. (If you do not know the city or your family did not live in a city, just leave that part blank.) Then click Get 1940 ED number. Under the heading 1940 ED numbers corresponding to your location a list of ED numbers will appear. Then click on more details. Another window will load and on that screen there will be a list that looks like this:

Year	Series	Roll	State	County	ED	Description	Details
1940	T627	4494	WI	Manitowoc (36)	36-1	CATO TOWN OUTSIDE VALDERS VILLAGE, CATO, CLARKS MILLS, GRIMMS, WHITELAW	view	1930
1940	T627	4494	WI	Manitowoc (36)	36-2	CENTERVILLE TOWN, CLEVELAND, HIKA	view	1930

Click on the roll number. The census image should load on a separate screen.  Happy Hunting!!