Yearly Archives: 2015

‘Tis the Season for Christmas Specials

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A Claymation ChristmasAs a kid, I loved them. As an adult, I still do. Christmas specials, people. Christmas specials. A Charlie Brown Christmas, with the little tree and Linus’s speech. An animated Fred Astaire dancing around with a bunch of forest critters. Scrooge McDuck holding onto Jiminy Cricket for dear life as they fly through the air. I can’t get enough of them and have a steadily growing collection of these classic Christmas specials on DVD.

One of my very favorite specials is Will Vinton’s A Claymation Christmas Celebration. For those of you who aren’t in the know, this special is from 1987. It’s about an hour long and features two bickering dinosaurs as masters of ceremony for a variety show of Christmas carols. Think Fantasia. With clay and Christmas. The California Raisins perform “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” Quasimodo directs an orchestra of bells in “The Carol of the Bells,” and three camels steal the show in “We Three Kings.” Each segment is animated using stop-motion animation and clay figures, sets, and props. Everything is made of clay.

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Screencap from “Joy to the World” Animated by Joan Gratz

For years, one segment of A Claymation Christmas Celebration has confused me. “Joy to the World” always looked hand-drawn or painted to me. What was it doing in a claymation movie, anyway? This year, I finally learned Will Vinton’s secret. Her name is Joan Gratz, and she animated “Joy to the World” using clay painting. That’s right. It’s still clay. Watch the segment for yourself on YouTube. As a child, I loved the music and the colors of this segment. As an adult, I am blown away by the amount of time, energy, and talent that went into this two and a half minute song. It’s some of the most beautiful art that I’ve ever seen, and this year I got to see it with new eyes.

This Christmas, I hope you get to look at your own traditions with new eyes and see the time, energy, and talents that go into making Christmas the best time of the year.

 

Merry Christmas!

Liz

Teen Librarian

 

 

Meet Kent State Kicker April Goss

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April GossMonday, January 4 at 6:30 PMApril Goss2

April Goss made history this past fall by becoming only the second female to score in a Division I college football game. Goss, a senior at Kent State University, kicked an extra point in a 45-13victory over Delaware State on September 12th. Goss will share the inspirational story of her journey to major college football and will sign autographs. Call the library at 330-343-6123 to register for this free community program.

Video of Goss’ historic kick can be seen here.

A Coach in Progress: An Evening with Marshall’s Red Dawson

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http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ycm2w2NYL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpgJoin Marshall’s Red Dawson at 7 PM on Friday, January 15, 2016 for an evening of discussion and reflection.

A Coach in Progress depicts the catastrophe of the Southern Airways flight that crashed en route to Huntington, West Virginia, in 1970, killing all seventy-five passengers on board: players, coaches, and boosters of the Marshall University football team, as well as the flight crew. From this tragedy, the foundation of the Marshall football program was laid, and it has thrived ever since, culminating with the Thundering Herd being the winningest team in the NCAA Division I program in the 1990s, portrayed in the hit movie We Are Marshall.

This book is written from the viewpoint of Red Dawson, a former Marshall assistant football coach, who was one of the few team members not on the plane. Still suffering from survivor’s guilt decades after the crash, Red has recovered enough to finally discuss the disaster in full. What’s more, Red helped build a team with mostly freshmen and walk-ons in 1971, and thus was recognized as bridging “the gap from tragedy to rebirth” of the Marshall football program.

Red also reveals what he previously would not discuss: the seemingly insurmountable obstacles he faced prior to the plane crash and the difficulties that followed the tragedy, like the heated tension that persisted between school administrators and a harassed and confused Red as they all attempted to rebuild the devastated program.

This book is the story of Red Dawson’s involvement with Marshall football during the last near half century spent living with the memories of the worst sports-related air tragedy in history.

A book signing will follow the program, which is free and open to all. Call the Dover Public Library at 330-343-6123 to register.

From the Cellar

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This month I would like to draw your attention to a collection that I recently processed and made available in The Roots Cellar: Subject Files. These are articles, pamphlets, and booklets that contain information relevant to the history of Tuscarawas County. Some of these came to me from an old vertical file maintained for years in a filing cabinet in the director’s office, others I added while searching for obituary requests or old photos in our microfilm collection. I found one such treasure in the February 25, 1965 issue of The Daily Reporter while looking for information on St. Joseph’s football team for a patron. This issue contains a plethora of Dover history. In the 27 pages of this file (searchable in our catalog by the title: “Take a good look: and see the wonderful community in which you live – Dover”) one can find things like a list of Dover Mayors, what Christian Deardorff and Jesse Slingluff paid for the 2+ acres in 1806 ($4622.00), information on the Tuscarawas County Children’s Home, pictures of our library (current building and the previous house), an article on Jeremiah Reeves, a photo of the plane that crashed in the middle of Walnut Street in 1943 (killing Addie Wendling, Edward Early, and Edward Early, Jr., his 12-year-old son), The Little Theatre, Dover Historical Society, the Basketeers, and yes, there is a picture of the 1946 St. Joseph football team. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of topics found in this issue of The Daily Reporter; let me just say that if you are conducting research on any aspect of Dover history, there is a good chance this file holds some valuable information.

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Check the local history section of our website for a complete list of subject files, and drop by The Roots Cellar on Thursdays to immerse yourself in the wonderful history of Dover.

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An Evening with Author Paul Stutzman

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“Life almost never turns out the way we planned. Instead, everything depends on how we react to the twists and turns and surprises of the trail and the country road. I am now on a path I never imagined, and I hope the books I write along the way help you find peace on your own journey home.”

Join Author Paul Stutzman as he discusses his new book, Stuck in the Weeds

Tuesday, December 15 at 6:30 PM

“Imprisoned in my kayak, I leaned back and wondered if this choice I had made was perhaps the most foolish, ill-advised choice of my entire life.”

Paul Stutzman was stuck in the weeds. Literally stuck, in the thick weeds of a Mississippi River swamp. All of us at one time or another are “stuck.” We may find ourselves at a place In our jobs, our marriages, our parenting, or our faith when there seem to be no answers and no clear path ahead. What does a follower of Jesus do then? Stutzman gives an honest account of events and questions in his own life that left him feeling just as stuck as the thick, impenetrable swamp weeds that confounded his Mississippi River journey. In a pilgrimage to find answers and clarity on personal and faith issues, he hikes a famous trail in Spain and ponders how choosing to be a disciple of Christ affects the choices we all make in our pilgrimages. His reflections will challenge the discipleship of every follower of Jesus. Call the Library at 330.343.6123 to register for this free program. Copies of Stuck in the Weeds will be available for purchase for $15.00.

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The Zoar Story: A Morning with Author David Meyers

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Have you ever wanted to learn more about the history of Zoar? Join us on Saturday, December 12 at 10:00 AM in the library’s Community Room as David Meyers presents on his book, A Glance of Heaven: The Design and Operation of the Separatist Society of Zoar. Call the library at 330-343-6123 to register for this free program.  All welcome!

Na-No What Now?

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There’s only 10 left in November! That means there’s only 10 days left in NaNoWriMo!

NaNoWriMo? What’s that? How do you say it?

It’s National Novel Writing Month, the month when writers everywhere try to write a whole 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I’ll save you the math: that’s about 1,667 words a day, for 30 days. For a normal typist (40 words per minute), that’s about 42 minutes of straight typing per day. I’m a fast typist (60 words a minute), but writing 1,667 words takes me about an hour.  Either way, that’s a lot of typing.

And it’s pronounced “Nan – Oh – Wry – Mo”

As the organization says on their website, “Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel.”

And it’s certainly one way to do it, though it’s no easy task.

Every year, I try to do NaNoWriMo. First, I’m excited. What will I write this year? Sci-fi? Fantasy? A cheesy vampire novel? I do some planning and get a basic outline going for the story. Then November starts, and I start typing. And typing. And typing. Then I miss a day, get the flu, get busy making paper wreaths for a craft show… Life happens. And suddenly there are ten days left in November, and I’m short about 25,000 words.

Oh, well. There’s always next year.

Two years ago, I did get to 50,000 words. Here are a few tips I picked up for overcoming writer’s block and keeping the momentum going:

  1. Write something every day
  2. Stop writing in the middle of a scene – this forces you to get back into writing to finish it the next time you sit down
  3. Keep a general list of upcoming scenes so you know where you want to go next
  4. Don’t worry – this is a first draft.
  5. Seriously, it’s a first draft. Just write. Worry later.

NaNoWriMo may be ending, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait a whole year to write your novel. Make December your WriMo. Or make 2016 your WriYear. Make your own goal, set your own deadline, and write the book you’ve always wanted to.

Happy Writing!

Liz

Teen Librarian

PS: Link to my very favorite random writing tool: Write or Die by Dr. Wicked. Check it out.