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Live Oaks and Dead Folks 2012 |
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The 10th annual Live Oaks and Dead Folks event was held on the evenings of
November 2 and 3, 2012 at the Columbus Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery. Eleven "haints" were portrayed by local actors for two hundred guests each night. This
year the tour was also part of the first
annual Columbus Folk Fest.
Live Oaks and Dead Folks
Photo Spread:
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Trick or Treat! |
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Trick or Treat! One hundred seventy Kindergarteners, teachers and parents
came in for treats on October 31, 2012. Some kids will never be too old for
costumes.
More Trick or Treat Photos
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Two |
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Marjie Crisp, River of
Contrasts |
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Bruce Glasrud,
Tracking the Texas Rangers |
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Maudine Brubaker, Do I Dare? |
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Summer Reading Program 2012 |
These are some of the 30 children that completed the
goal of reading 70 books or 1750 pages. |
Get a Clue at Your Library was the 2012 Summer Reading Program theme. We truly
appreciate our volunteer storytellers that came each Tuesday: Glenda Lambert,
Jacob Truchard, Mary Moore, Deborah Mitchell, Jessica Neath, and Shanna Neisner.
Of the 141 children that signed up for the reading program, 87 received
certificates for reading at least 10 books or 250 pages. Thirty children completed the goal to read
at least 70 books, or 1750 pages by July 23. After every 10 books logged, each child
entered his or her name in a box for a drawing for one of eight
$25 gift cards. The names were drawn at the closing program on July 24.
Magician/Storyteller Julian Franklin was the headliner for the closing program
for the 11th year in a row and got oohs and ahhs from the crowd of 65 children
and 30 adults. Overall, at least 225 children and 85 adults attended the Tuesday
programs. |
More Summer Reading Photos |
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James C. Kearney, Friedrichsburg |
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Local historian
James C. Kearney returned to the Nesbitt Memorial Library to present
FRIEDRICHSBURG, which he translated from the 1847 German
novel by Friedrich Armand Strubberg. He also annotated and drew
illustrations for the novel portion of the book, and included images from
other collections to support what really happened as Fredericksburg, Texas
was being settled. The novel's author Strubberg (or Dr. Schubbert, as he
was known at the time) was the first colonial director of Fredericksburg and
was fired from the position. He was then involved in a gun battle in
northern Fayette County, in which two people were killed, as referenced in
Kearney's first book Nassau Plantation: The Evolution of a Texas German
Slave Plantation.
Proceeds from the initial sales of FRIEDRICHSBURG
were shared with the Nesbitt Memorial Library Foundation. Check these other
sites for more information about the book:
The Colorado County Citizen,
The Texas Monthly, and various internet book sellers. |
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Amanda Danning, Imagining C. Barange |
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The Nesbitt Memorial Library was fortunate to have forensic artist and local
resident
Amanda Danning present "Imagining C. Barange" on May 22, 2012. Danning
displayed the head she reconstructed from the skull of a possible sailor,
whose name might have been C. Barange. The skull was from the 1686
LaBelle shipwreck off Matagorda Bay, and "C. Barange" was the name engraved
on a cup found near the skull.. She presented highlights of the
reconstruction process that she used in this and numerous other projects.
Along with husband Jim Brasher, Danning has been very active in the Columbus
area. Danning is Chair of the Columbus Folk Fest Committee that is planning
the first annual
Columbus Folk Fest at the courthouse square, to be held
November 2 & 3 of this year. |
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Roger and Marilyn Wade, AROUND COLUMBUS |
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Alleyton residents Roger and Marilyn Wade presented their book AROUND
COLUMBUS to a crowded meeting room on the evening of May 8, 2012. The
book contains over 200 vintage photographs from the Nesbitt Memorial Library
Archives. The Wades highlighted some of the photos used in the book, and
audience members identified their ancestors. Roger further tested their
Columbus knowledge with close-up views of local landmarks. A detailed
article about the Wades and this book project was published in
The Colorado County Citizen. Proceeds from the initial sales of
AROUND COLUMBUS were shared with the Nesbitt Memorial Library
Foundation. For additional copies check with the
Columbus Chamber of
Commerce, The Silver Barn gift shop, Arcadia Publishing or other internet
book sellers. |
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Alvin Thompson, Local Poet |
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Local poet Alvin Thompson began the evening of March 13, 2012, with several
impromptu poems on topics brought up by the audience of twenty. He read
selections from two of his books and reminisced about the teachers that
encouraged him. When he was eight years old he started writing down the
poetry that comes to him so easily. As a young man he spent a year in New
York City in training for a church organization. Thompson has worked at
Keyser Meat Market, Schobel's Restaurant, and Walmart. He is
currently active in national and international poetry societies. In the
photo with Alvin are his brother Ollie Thompson, Jr., sister Sadie Moore,
niece Deborah Mitchell, brother Virgil Thompson, sister Judy Robinson, and
nephew Johnny R. Thompson. |
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Donaly E. Brice and The Governor's Hounds Book
Signing |
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Donaly E. Brice, who co-authored
The Governor's
Hounds: The Texas State Police, 1870–1873 with
Barry A. Crouch, spoke to Texas history buffs on February 21, 2012 about the
tumultuous Reconstruction period in which Governor Edmund J. Davis created
the Texas State Police. Brice and Crouch, friends of the late Nesbitt
Memorial Library director and archivist Bill Stein, did much of the primary
research for the book at the library and at the Colorado County courthouse.
Brice also wrote The Great Comanche Raid: The Boldest Indian Attack of
the Texas Republic which became a classic. A well-known historian
and lecturer, Brice continues his work at the Texas State Archives as Senior
Research Assistant. Proceeds from the evening's books sales benefitted
the Nesbitt Memorial Library Foundation. Brice is shown in the photo
(right) with library director Nancy Koehl, and foundation officer Jim
Kearney. |
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Joe R. Lansdale Book Signing |
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Award-winning and internationally known
Texas author
Joe R. Lansdale gave a lively presentation at the Nesbitt Memorial Library on January
24, 2012. Lansdale
recounted growing up with parents who survived the Great
Depression, and living in a house with a great view of a drive-in theater
screen and a beer joint in East
Texas. His fiction is flavored with history, pop culture, horror and fantasy, such as the "Hap Collins and Leonard Pine" mysteries
of which Devil Red is the latest title. One of his stories was
made into the 2002 film Bubba Ho-Tep starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie
Davis and gained a cult following. His latest title, Edge of Dark Water, will be added to the library collection as soon as it is released. |
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Blumberg and Kuntz Film: Live Oaks, Dead
Folks: Bill
Stein and the History of Columbus |
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Caleb Kuntz and Mark Blumberg, University of
Texas Film Institute graduate students, presented their short film: "Live
Oaks, Dead Folks: Bill Stein and the History of Columbus" to 66 attendees on
January 10, 2012. Blumberg researched and directed, and Kuntz filmed 17
hours of footage which they edited down to 15 minutes. The film was
well received by the audience and the scenes included Stein's friends at
Becky's Cafe, the county fair parade, and the Live Oaks and Dead Folks tour,
with comments from the community including Jim Kearney, Virgil Thompson, Tracey Wegenhoft, and Roger
Wade. The film focused on the former Nesbitt Memorial Library
director/archivist's demand for accuracy in historical research. Blumberg
and Kuntz will present a 27 minute version of the film to festivals. |
