Danbury Library Blog

Brooklyn Sanitary Fair 1864

2010-03-17T16:19:48Z

One of the little known organizations of the Civil War was the United States Sanitary Commission. This organization was the forerunner of the Red Cross. The Sanitary Commission raised money (25 million dollars), collected donations, worked as nurses, ran kitchens in Army camps, administered hospital ships and organized Sanitary Fairs to support the Federal Army with funds and supplies. These fairs were social events that combined entertainment, education and philanthropy. One of the largest of these fairs was the Brooklyn Sanitary Fair of 1864.There is an on-going exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum about this fair and its artifacts. The Brooklyn Fair was enormously successful and raised $400,000 (the equivalent of 4 million dollars by today's standards). One of the attractions was the New England Kitchen which showed the kinds of activities done by women in the years before the American Revolution. One of the artifacts for sale was a doll along with an elaborate trousseau which was made by Eliza Lefferts.

Saving Civilization

2010-03-08T19:49:29Z

Thomas Cahill's How the Irish Saved Civilization chronicles the role of the Irish monks in saving the books and, in effect, western civilization when libraries and their contents were destroyed as the barbarians overran Europe beginning in the fifth century. Cahill's assertions about the monks may be exaggerated a wee bit--but St. Patrick and company did indeed copy the majority of manuscripts which would have otherwise been lost forever.

In This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All Marilyn Johnson contends the present-day saviors of civilization are the librarians who "fuse the tools of the digital age with their love for the written word" and provide "quality assistance to anyone in need".

Tony Judt

2010-03-03T18:53:56Z

We all know that Lou Gehrig, the Iron Horse of the New York Yankees, had his career ended by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (which is now called Lou Gehrig's disease). It is an insidious, fatal disease which gradually destroys a person's ability to move breathe, swallow and talk. One of its more recent victims is prominent historian Tony Judt. He is a professor of history at New York University and the creator of the Remarque Institute. He has published many important works on European history which include Postwar: A history of Europe since 1945 and Reappraisals: reflections on the forgotten twentieth century. He is fighting back against the disease and is still giving lectures from a wheelchair. He is also still writing. He has done a series of articles for the New York Review of Books in which he discusses vignettes from his past. ALS has indeed encountered a formidable adversary in the person of Tony Judt.

Presidential Protection

2010-02-16T19:25:33Z

The celebration of Presidents' Day is a good time to celebrate the men who protect the president and various other dignitaries. The Secret Service officially assumed responsibility for protecting the president in 1902. The recent gaffe at the White House whereby uninvited guests came in close proximity of President Obama points up the difficulty of this job. The job has grown more complicated and complex in the modern era. The best source of information on this topic is In the President's Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect. One of the most dramatic attempts at assassination targeted Harry Truman in 1950. Two Puerto Rican nationalists attacked Blair House (where Truman was staying) and engaged in a pitched gun battle with police and the Secret Service before one was killed and the other captured. The biggest gunfight in Secret Service history was over in forty seconds with a total of twenty-seven shots fired. The incident is recounted in a spellbinding book titled American Gunfight: the Plot to Kill Harry Truman and the Shoot-out that Stopped It.

Crazy Hearts

2010-02-08T21:49:33Z

Valentine's Day is named after St. Valentine (270 A.D.) who may have assisted a young couple in their courtship by passing notes for them--the young man was in prison. The existence of St. Valentine is not disputed, historians dismiss the saint's role as a go-between for young lovers but the myth persists. We do know by the MIddle Ages St. Valentine's Day was an annual celebration and by mid 19th century became very popular as it remains--more then a billlion valentine cards are purchased annually.

This year I've noticed a number of radio stations and retailers are asking folks to send in stories of their worst Valentine's Day--which kind of dampens the spirit of the holiday. I would like to hear some heart-warming Valentine's Day stories--send us yours.

Heinrich Harrer

2010-02-04T14:18:50Z

The literature on mountain climbing has been understandably dominated by Mount Everest. However, the Eiger mountain in Switzerland has also received attention for its North Face. There is a German movie titled Nordwand (North Face) which tells the story of an ill-fated attempt to climb the Eiger's most challenging peak in July of 1936. The first successful attempt to climb this part of the Eiger took place in July of 1938. It was accomplished by a four man German-Austrian team which included Heinrich Harrer. He was an Austrian and a very skilled climber. After his successful assault on the Eiger he joined the German Army and was sent to India in 1939 to scout some potential climbing sites there. While he was in India the Second World War started and he became a prisoner of the British. He eventually made an escape (with another prisoner) and made his way to Lhasa in Tibet. He befriended the Dalai Lama (who was eleven years old at the time) and became one of his tutors. He wrote a book about his stay entitled Seven Years in Tibet which was also made into a movie. Harrer and the Dalai Lama remained life-long friends until Harrer's death in 2006.

Join us for Snapshot Day!

2010-01-31T20:11:16Z

Thursday, February 18, 2010 is Snapshot Day in Connecticut Libraries throughout the state. It is a joint project lead by the Connecticut Library Association, the Connecticut State Library and the Connecticut Library Consortium, and the purpose of Snapshot Day is to "capture the impact that Connecticut libraries have on their communities on a typical day." We hope you'll visit the library on this day and show your support! While you are here, please fill out a very quick survey to let us know why you visited the library and why Danbury Library is important to you. If you can't make it in, you can fill out our survey available online.

For more information on Snapshot Day, you can visit the Connecticut Library Consortium's Snapshot website, or visit our own page on the Danbury Library website.

Free Tax Assistance

2010-01-25T20:34:04Z

Free tax assistance is available from the following groups. You must call for an appointment.

Community Action Center (VITA), 66 North St. • 744-4700 • Starts Jan. 23

Western CT State University (VITA), 181 White St., Warner Hall, Room 103 • Starts February 3 • 797-4511

AARP (TCE, seniors age 60+), 10 Elmwood Pl. • 797-4686 • Starts Feb. 1

Stieg Larsson

2010-01-20T18:30:52Z

The number seven book on Amazon's Best Books of 2009 is The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson. Mr. Larsson was the second best-selling author in the world during 2008. His fame as an author rests on the Millenium Trilogy of crime novels of which The Girl Who Played With Fire is the second installment (the first is The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo). These books have been wildly successful but Mr. Larsson unfortunately did not live to enjoy this success. He had a varied career before he became a novelist. He was a journalist in Sweden, a science fiction devotee and a crusader against right-wing extremism and neo-Nazis in Sweden. He had received many death threats from right-wing extremists in Sweden. He died in November of 2004 from a massive heart attack. The eagerly anticipated third entry in the series, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest will be published in the United States on May 25, 2010. Curiously for a writer of a crime series, Larsson cited as one of his major influences Pippi Longstocking!

Famous Danbury Guests

2010-01-11T20:46:38Z

A recent article about former Boston Mayor James Curley remided me of the fact that in 1947 Curley served part of his last term as mayor while an inmate at the correctional facility in Danbury (he had been convicted of mail fraud but was pardoned by President Truman after serving five months). Other famous residents include the Berrigan brothers: Daniel and Philip, both priests who served time in the early 70's for their anti-war activities. The Watergate scandal of the Nixon administration brought G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt to Danbury also in the 70's, both convicted for their part in the break-in of Democratic National Committee headquarters among other charges--all committed in a plan to get Nixon re-elected.

Opened in 1940 as an all male facility, in 1988 the correctional facility transitioned to all women. New York hotelier Leona Helmsley served time for tax evasion in the early 90's. Martha Stewart wanted to serve her time for stock fraud here but was sent to a Pennsylvania facility instead.

A. C. Gilbert

2010-01-06T16:19:50Z

A. C. Gilbert (1884-1961) is known today primarily as an inventor. However in his youth he was an outstanding athlete. He excelled at gymnastics, wrestling, boxing, track and field and football. In the 1912 Olympics he tied for first place in the pole vault. He obtained a medical degre from Yale University in 1909. But he never practiced medicine and his intention was to become an athletic director. He had earned money while a student by learning magic tricks. He and a partner started the Mysto Manufacturing Company which initially produced kits for magicians. While Gilbert was visiting New York City he became fascinated by the construction of power lines for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Watching crews assemble girders to support trolley lines gave him the idea for the invention of the Erector Set. The toy was manufactured in New Haven and became a huge hit. One of the children who played with the Erector Set was Donald Bailey in the United Kingdom. He later became a member of the Royal Engineers and made a working model of a portable bridge with his Erector Set. This became the basis for the Bailey Bridge which General Eisenhower cited as one of the key technological advances of World War Two along with heavy bombers and radar.

Once in a Blue Moon First Night

2009-12-28T22:24:43Z

This year's First Night celebration happens to fall on a Blue Moon--the twentieth century definition of a blue moon being the second full moon in a calendar month. The 19th and early 20th century Maine Farmer's Almanc defined a blue moon as the third full moon in a quarter. Both defintions allude to a blue moon as a rare occurrence.

Earlier definitions of a blue moon refer to the moon actually having a blue color caused by climatological events. The eruption of Krakatowa in 1883 gave the moon a blue hue for nearly two years.

Enjoy the Blue Moon this New Year's Eve (we'll go with the modern definition) and Danbury's First Night activities.
Happy New Year!

Christmas in Danbury December, 1864

2009-12-23T18:06:17Z

In the December 22, 1864 edition of the Danbury Times there is a front page letter entitled "Getting Home." It is from a soldier in the Union Army named H.P. Manton. He describes his furlough from the army and his journey back to Danbury. He describes the first part of the journey which involved a sea voyage on a ship named the Arago. It was not an easy voyage for him and he is relieved when he reaches New York City. He describes himself as reaching land "with a full beard and empty haversack." He then takes a rail journey to Danbury. While stopping at Norwalk he says that "things began to look more natural, and I breathed freer." Then when he reaches Danbury he "got out on the platform, and found myself face to face with the beauteous being who has shed a ray of light across my gloomy pathway, and will continue to shed through all time to come, if not sooner discharged.

In the meantime she had recognized me, and with a wild, wild cry, pitched against my enlisted bosom. Hi Manton! Mary Ann! And far above the worldly din, arose two sighs, piercing the outer darkness, and travelling on their din.

Oh dear yea.
Cheerfully Yours H. P. Manton
Danbury Dec. 1864"

H.P. Manton was the pseudonym for Danbury's own James Montgomery Bailey!

Happy Winter Solstice!

2009-12-21T16:50:34Z

Today is Winter solstice, which marks the longest night of the year. Winter solstice always falls between December 21 and 23 every year, and we can now look forward to our days becoming longer each day. The actual solstice event only lasts for a moment - it's the moment when the sun is the greatest distance away from the equatorial plane and shines directly over the northern hemisphere, but many cultures celebrate the entire day as the beginning of winter. So here I am, wishing you a happy winter solstice, a happy, safe winter, and while I'm at it, I hope you've all been having a happy, healthy, cheery holiday season and may it continue through to the new year and beyond!

"Frankly, My Dear"... is 70!

2009-12-16T13:49:32Z

Film buffs generally agree more great films were released in 1939 than any other year. It's hard to believe Gone with the Wind is 70 years old--every few years I watch it again and am always amazed at how well-written, well-acted and quotable this movie is. Other great films of '39 include John Ford's classic western Stagecoach, Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington with Jimmy Stewart, Only Angels Have Wings with Cary Grant and Jean Arthur and The Hunchback of Notre Dame--to name just a few. The great character actor, Thomas Mitchell, best known for his role as Scarlett O'Hara's father in Gone with the Wind also appeared in all the other movies mentioned. He was also the first actor to win the big three: Oscar, Tony and Emmy.