Historical Moments
This is a week of important events in history, from famous rides on horses to famous rides on space shuttles, from earthquakes to Earth Day, from first library to first home run.
Paul Revere made his famous ride in 1775, with the Revolutionary War beginning the next day. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his very well-known and quotable poem about this event in his Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. You may have had to memorize it in school. I know my dad did, and remembered it until the week he died. We know this because my sister and I got him to recite it for us in the hospital. We were supposed to have memorized it, too. Oops!
The space shuttle Columbia lifted off our planet in 1981 and was crewed by John Young and Robert Crippen. Watch the DVD When We Left Earth to learn more about our heroes and their space missions. Or read Space Shuttles which presents the history and development of the shuttles. Author Robin Kerrod provides information on the Columbia, the Challenger disaster, and the future of space travel.
It wasn’t much fun to be in San Francisco in 1906 during the great earthquake, but Mary Pope Osborne set one of her Magic Tree House adventures there. Jack and Annie travel across time and geography in Earthquake in the Early Morning. Lauren Tarshis also set one of her I Survived adventures during the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906. Both are for second through fourth graders.
Earth Day, established in 1970, has evolved and expanded to include most of April. We did a river clean up last week. Greensboro Public Library’s Kathleen Clay Branch is holding their festival on April 14th. It should be great for kids and their families. Before you head up there, read McDonnell’s Celebrating Earth Day, a children’s story about a class planning a party to mark this special day.
The Library of Congress was established in 1800, in Washington, DC, with the first librarian/Clerk of the House of Representatives being paid $2 per day. Most of the original books were destroyed by the British during the War of 1812. Thomas Jefferson’s personal collection of six and a half thousand books was purchased to start again.
Margaret Truman’s mystery, Murder at the Library of Congress, is on our shelves. I’ll Be Home for Christmas is a look at what soldiers did to celebrate during WWII. Authorized by the Library of Congress, this is a collection of journal entries, magazine articles, letters and photographs.
Hank Aaron hit his first home run in 1954. Read his biography, The Last Hero by Howard Bryant, to learn more about this amazing baseball hero.
All this happened this week, but years ago. Catch up on history at Jamestown Public Library.
