Remember

Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer.  We usually begin the weekend with a picnic for family and friends at my brother’s house, with plenty of food, swimming and games.  The flag is flying, stories are shared, the departed remembered.

The rest of the weekend includes the Memorial Day parade, various veteran’s events and watching special programs on Maryland Public Television.

I’ve had many family members who served their country. My father Joseph A. Farinholt, and one of his brothers received severe wounds that affected them the rest of their lives. His other brothers were luckier.

 He didn’t talk much about the war when we were young, but he always stressed that we remember and honor those who didn’t return. They are the ones who should be honored and remembered, he said.

Among those who lost their life during World War II was my mother’s brother, Robert Henry Marshall. He was still a teen when he joined the Navy

He survived Pearl Harbor, but the ship he was on was sunk in the Pacific Theater. When I was a child, I remember Mom, Agnes Farinholt, used to say that he was just missing, suffering from amnesia and stranded on an island. Someday he would remember his family and come home.

Robert Henry Marshall

I remember wishing that was true and that I could know this ghost uncle, who rode motorcycles and took up for his little sister. Mom only had her memories of her redheaded brother, two letters he wrote during training and an old photo of him as a teenager before he went into the Navy. I still have that picture.

It was only in her later years that she learned more details about what he did. Navy Department files state that he was a Torpedoman’s Mate 3c and was killed in action. His name is listed on a tablet at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

I cry when I hear bagpipe music or Taps at cemetery ceremonies. I cry for the Uncle Robert I never knew, for lives cut short and for the families of those gave their all.

Memorial Day, which was first called Decoration Day, was established as a national day of remembrance for those who gave their lives during the Civil War. The official proclamation was issued on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan and was first observed on 30 May 1868, by placing flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

After World War I, the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting the Civil War to honoring all Americans who died fighting in any war and those risking their lives even today. I remember Dad and Mom and other veterans putting flags on the graves of veterans in the Westminster Cemetery.

It is important to honor their service, not just by parades and special services, but by respecting those who are serving their country today, by casting our hard-won voting rights wisely, by treating others with respect, and by doing our best to make this a better community, state and nation.

How lucky we are to be Americans and to be able to take the time to remember.

Libraries, history and mystery

Like many people, I to read and there are so many books available. I can’t afford to buy them all. A solution is the public library. Libraries offer you books, free (as long as you return them in time).

Part of the appeal of public libraries is the wide variety of books and other reading material available. 

We take this privilege for granted, but libraries weren’t always free. Those that did exist were generally subscription libraries, where there was a membership or similar fee required.

It is hard to believe that public libraries didn’t begin to become more common until after the Civil War. Now there are more than 16,000 public libraries in the United States.

Although I am a high-volume library user, I hadn’t given too much thought to the institution until a recent 65^th celebration of the opening of the Davis Library in Westminster, MD. It was the predecessor of the Carroll County Public Library system.

Lynne Wheeler, Executive Director of the library, talked about how the county’s library service began in 1863. Previously dues and fines supported a small library, which was only open on Fridays.

In Jan 1949, Mr. and Mrs. Walter H Davis announced that they would give a building to Westminster for a library and would provide an endowment for its support in the future. The small library donated their books and the library system grew from there.

The difference one person can make was stressed often during presentations by Christina Kuntz, Westminster branch manager; Sharon Yingling, Friends of the CCPL; Steve Wantz, president of the County Commissioners; and Caroline Babylon, of Davis Library Inc. Also mentioned was the difference a public library can make to individuals and to a community.

Paul Zimmermann gave a brief performance as Walter L Davis, who opened one of the first car dealerships in the country in 1910, gave the town a public library and ensured that it could continue to operate.

Joyce Muller, of the CCPL Board of Trustees, lived only a few blocks from the Davis Library. She remembered going there about twice a week, beginning when she was and six years old.

The “Remembering Davis Library” video, by Jennifer Boatman featured Jonathan Slade, Elaine Adkins, Barbara Beverungen, Kevin Dayhoff, Jane Sharpe, Sharon Yingling, Caroline Babylon and Mimi Ashcroft. Many others, including me, shared stories as they enjoyed cake and Hoffman’s ice cream.

I remember going to the Davis Library on Main Street. Like many, the dazzling white exterior and cathedral-like atmosphere took me to another world. It was intimidating in some ways, unlike the more people friendly libraries of today. Still the books called people in, to browse and to read.

Libraries are great examples of democracy, open to people of all ages, economic status, race and education; they offer access to all types of material in various types of media.

If you haven’t been to a library recently, I recommend that you go see what is going on now. Rather than becoming outdated, libraries are in the forefront of education. It’s smart for us, our children and grandchildren to take advantage of what they have to offer.

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Wait, you ask. Where is the mystery part of this blog? I discussed a particular library and some of its history, but there obviously is no mystery about that.

Well, as I worked on this particular blog during the past several weeks, I kept changing its focus. Finally, during one of those 3:00 a.m. epiphanies, I thought about doing a blog on mystery books that revolve around libraries, book clubs, or book collectors.

It was hard to decide which to finish and publish first. I kept going back and forth and then decided to publish them at the same time – two blogs in one.

To use a cliché (ouch, I knew I shouldn’t do that) but I thought it might be easier to kill two birds with one stone. (Did you get the reference to kill?)

Murder isn’t usually associated with libraries but writers seem to have fun as they combine the usual safe, secure feeling of a library with murder and mayhem.

Once I discovered these books, I couldn’t get enough of them, particularly mystery series where I could follow the main characters through their problems and successes. Most of these are cozies (see – again that safe feeling), murder without a lot of blood and gore.

Some of the series that I am familiar with include:

Jenn McKinlay’s Library Lover’s mysteries; Lorna Barrett’s Booktown mysteries, Ian Sansone’s and  Laurie Cass’ bookmobile mysteries, Ellery Adams Books by the Bay, Victoria Abbot’s and John Dunning’s book collector mysteries, Lucy Arrington’s Novel Idea Literary Agency mysteries, Eva Gates’ Lighthouse Library mysteries, Miranda James’ Cat in the Stacks mysteries; Cate Carlisle’s Bibliophile mysteries, and Ali Brandon’s Black Cat Bookshop mysteries.

Reading these allows me to enter different lifestyles and gives me a puzzle to solve. The characters and I share the same love of books. Fortunately, I haven’t been involved with murder or theft in real life. In most stories, the guilty party is discovered, will pay for his/crime and the world is safe again.

Many  stand-alone mysteries also are set in libraries or other book related venues, as well as non-fiction books, such as Dewey by Vicki Myron. That library cat became famous around the world, although I don’t think he ever solved a mystery.

But whether you like biographies, thrillers, romance, sports, historical fiction or other genres, the library is the place to go. Once you find authors you really like, head to your local bookstore. Whether you prefer the printed word, Nook, Kindle, other e-books or audio, just enjoy the story and remember the library is there if you want to try something different. There is no mystery about that.