Category Archive: Uncategorized
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Tween Beyond the Book: Wings of Fire (Morgantown)
Leave a CommentMake books come alive with us at our Beyond the Book night! Tweens ages 10-12 are invited to join us for activities and crafts inspired by your favorite reads!
On Wednesday, March 20th from 6:00-7:00pm in Meeting Room A, we will be exploring the world of Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland. Make paper airplane dragons and mini clay dragons, paint your own dragon scene, and create dragon eyes from marbles! Don’t worry if you haven’t read the book; you will get the opportunity to take a copy of the first book home with you.
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Black History in Monongalia County
Leave a Commentby Riley B., researcher at the Aull Center for Local History & Genealogy Research, Morgantown Public Library System
Black Americans were among the very first settlers in what we now know as Monongalia County, West Virginia. Many of these early arrivals were enslaved by the county’s earliest white American settlers, while others came as free persons who established their own farmsteads. Ever since the founding of these initial non-Indigenous settlements in the region, Black Americans have significantly contributed to the development and the history of Monongalia County. This month, I would like to share with you some stories picked from scholarly works housed at the Aull Center that focus on Black Americans who have called this county home over the centuries.
One of the earliest known individuals to settle in this region as a free Black person was Henry Dorton, a veteran of the American Revolution. Born in Maryland in 1748, Henry Dorton first enlisted in 1777 at Redstone Old Fort, Pennsylvania. He survived an ambush by enemy Indigenous combatants near Wheeling, and was discharged thereafter. He enlisted with the revolutionary forces twice more, once again in Pennsylvania, and lastly served in a regiment from Maryland, from which he was discharged after Cornwallis’ surrender to the Americans at Yorktown.[1]
Following his service, Henry Dorton settled and raised a family in Monongalia County. Arriving about 1790, Henry Dorton was a well-known and respected member of the community, where he spent his adulthood and later years as a successful farmer. He and his three sons owned a substantial amount of land in the eastern part of the county, with the latter three owning as much as 200 acres of land apiece throughout their lives. When he was granted his military pension in 1832, Henry Dorton was noted for being the only applicant from this county who had preserved the records of his discharge.[2]
While agriculture was the most prominent industry that Black Americans worked in within Monongalia County for roughly a century, others with the means and freedom to do so worked in other sectors as well, pioneering industries in Morgantown that had yet to be established in the area. One such individual was John Edwards, who began the first water service in Morgantown in 1865, which he operated until 1889 when the city approved the installation of a water works system.
John Edwards delivered barrels of water to families and businesses for over two decades, and was successful enough in this venture to purchase himself 4.5 acres of land along Deckers Creek in 1877. Edwards was also known for almost never wearing shoes. He must have had a sense of humor, for when he was initially dismissed from the county courthouse for his lack of footwear on the day he intended to purchase this property, he returned later with a pair of shoes tied around his neck. Ultimately successful in purchasing this property and supporting his family, one of his sons went on to found one of Morgantown’s most successful sanitation businesses before the city took it over in 1926.[3]
As we look ahead toward the warmer summer months, I will end on a story of perhaps the most iconic seasonal treat: ice cream. Prior to the year 1900, Monongalia County had no ice cream companies. This was until John Hunt, a successful Black businessman and restauranteur, founded Hunt’s Ice Cream Factory on the corner of Hough Street and Beechurst Avenue. Hunt collected and preserved ice from the Monongahela River in the winter months, which he used in the summer to make his popular ice cream on a stick that he dubbed “Hokey Pokies.”
Hunt was a staple member of the Morgantown community. He provided food for weddings, fed soldiers stationed in Morgantown during WWI, and catered Morgantown’s Jubilee Celebration for the 50th anniversary of emancipation. In total, Hunt operated twenty-three separate businesses, including restaurants and local resorts. He made use of his successful position to lobby Monongalia and Preston County officials for the improvement of roads between the two counties, which would not only benefit his business, but also regional traffic as a whole. John Hunt passed away at the age of sixty-one in 1932.[4]
These histories, and more, can be explored through the scholarship of individuals like Connie Park Rice and Edward M. Steel, Jr., some of whose works we possess at the Aull Center for Local History and Genealogy Research. Please feel free to stop by sometime and learn more about rich and interesting histories such as these.
[1] Edward M. Steel, Jr., “Black Monongalians: A Judicial Review of Slavery and the Negro in Monongalia County 1776-1865,” West Virginia History 34, no. 4 (1973): 333-334.
[2] Connie Park Rice, Our Monongalia: A History of African Americans in Monongalia County, West Virginia (Terra Alta, West Virginia: Headline Books, Inc., 1999), 16-17;
[3] Ibid, 35; 100-101.
[4] Ibid, 101.
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StoryFest 2024
Leave a CommentDiscover, Connect, Create: StoryFest 2024
The Morgantown Public Library System is proud to present StoryFest — a day of non-stop fun for people of all ages! Join us on Saturday, April 13th from 11:00am-4:00pm at the Spruce Street Pavilion (located at 400 Spruce Street) and the Morgantown Public Library. This new downtown event is a festival celebrating storytelling in all its forms. Kids, teens, and adults are sure to find something to love at StoryFest!
For children, we will have play areas filled with Legos and games, free crafting stations, a chance to meet Miss West Virginia and have a tea party with her, lightsaber demonstrations by The Outer Rim Praxeum, cartoonist workshop and dance with Umbrella Arts, and lots more special guests and fun!
For the grown ups, there will be amazing creators selling their work including local authors Michael Strayer, Linda Gribko, Ashley Belote, Patricia Harman, and local artists Liz Pavlovic and Angela Awesome Pants. There will also be free crafting areas including a D&D minis painting station, free tarot card readings, fun entertainment, free temporary tattoos, delicious carnival style food from Mag & Pops food truck, neat library merch, and more!
StoryFest by the Morgantown Public Library System is a Main Street Morgantown Affiliate event.
Event Overview
Date: Saturday, April 13th
Time: 11:00am-4:00pm
Location: Spruce Street Pavilion (400 Spruce Street, Morgantown, WV 26505) & the Morgantown Public Library
Admission: FreeMark your calendars for this free, one-of-a-kind event that promises something for everyone in the family. Whether you’re a bookworm, an art enthusiast, or simply looking for a fun day out, StoryFest welcomes you with open arms. Bring your friends, bring your family, and join us as we celebrate the magic of storytelling together!
Special Guests & Activities
One of the highlights of StoryFest is the opportunity to meet special guests, including Miss West Virginia! Join us for a royal tea party and story time with Miss West Virginia herself, and immerse yourself in tales fit for royalty. It’s an experience you won’t want to miss!
Some of our other exciting guests include The Outer Rim Praxeum who will show off their thrilling lightsaber dueling skills and Umbrella Arts who will lead us all in fun dance and art classes — no matter your interests, there’s something for you to enjoy at StoryFest.
But that’s not all – StoryFest offers a variety of experiences to delight and inspire. From tarot card readings to book signings, art exhibitions to story time, there’s something exciting happening around every corner. Stay tuned for our full events schedule here!
Authors & Artists
We have a fantastic line-up of local authors and artists who will have their works available for sale during StoryFest. Check back here soon for a full list of our local creators who will be in attendance!
Family-Friendly Fun
At StoryFest, we know that creativity is boundless and that storytelling in all its forms is a joy meant to be shared. That’s why we’ll have a wide range of crafts and activities for the whole family to enjoy. Whether you’re creating masterpieces at our free crafting areas, watching unique performances, or simply soaking in the lively atmosphere, there’s endless fun to be had for everyone.
If you are a part of our Reading Dragons & Friends program, you can pick up your exclusive card family at StoryFest!
Conclusion
We can’t wait to celebrate everything the library has to offer with you at StoryFest 2024!
At this event, we encourage you to dress up as your favorite character from any book or show, eat funnel cake, get a temporary tattoo, have a tea party, play games with your friends, discover your new favorite author, connect with cool people in your community, and create some art of your own! Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 13th, gather your friends & family, and join us for a fun-filled day.
For more information and updates, follow us on social media and check out our website. See you at StoryFest!
StoryFest by the Morgantown Public Library System is a Main Street Morgantown Affiliate event.
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Leap Year Party! (Morgantown)
Leave a CommentOnce every four years in February, we LEAP into an extra day!
Celebrate this special day by coming to a Leap Year Party at the Morgantown Public Library on Thursday, February 29th from 6:30-7:30pm in Meeting Room A. Kids of all ages are welcome!
We will be making time capsules that can be opened next Leap Year, decorating cupcakes to look like frogs, and making a frog craft. You can also test your jumping skills by competing in a jumping contest and a jump rope contest. We’ll see you there!
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Fiction 101: Romance Breakdown
Leave a CommentWelcome back to Fiction 101! Each month we will be focusing on a different topic, exploring genres that span from the enchanting realms of fantasy to the gripping tales of mystery and everything in between. For February, I wanted to shine the spotlight on romance. Valentine’s Day may have passed, but it’s always the season for a good love story!
Romance Breakdown: A Closer Look at Popular Romance Tropes
by Shelby D., Evening Supervisor
Romance tropes are the repeated themes and plotlines that we see in some romance novels. They can be a little cliché and overdone, but when they are done well they can be so much fun — sometimes classics are classics for a reason. Read on to learn some of my personal favorite romance tropes and a book recommendation to go with them!
Enemies to Lovers
If I had to pick one romance trope that is my absolute favorite, it’s enemies to lovers! I love the banter between characters that slowly turns into love.
Book Recommendation: Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales
Fake Dating
Fake dating is when, for whatever reason, the main character has to fake being in a relationship with another person. In most romance books, it inevitably leads to them falling in love.
Book Recommendation: The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
One Bed
This is another one of my personal favorites! Two characters who are not dating (maybe even enemies) find themselves in a hotel and, in a shocking twist, not only have to share a hotel room but also have to share a bed. Scandalous.
Book Recommendation: The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton
Grumpy/Sunshine
Opposites attract might be a cliché, but I love when a book has a grumpy character with a soft spot for a ray of sunshine character. This trope can also sometimes go hand-in-hand with enemies to lovers — making it even better.
Book Recommendation: Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
Friends to Lovers
I might not personally like it as much as enemies to lovers, but friends to lovers is great too. This trope is focused on two characters who are good friends that slowly realized they love each other. This makes for such a good dynamic to read.
Book Recommendation: People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
The Bet
As the name implies, one of the characters makes a bet to date another character and then falls in love with them. Perhaps not the best start to a relationship, but love prevails.
Book Recommendation: Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy
Fish Out of Water
When the protagonist is thrown into a situation where they are entirely out of place, not only do they have to learn to live an unfamiliar lifestyle but will they find love while they’re at it?
Book Recommendation: It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
Forbidden Love
Another classic (thanks Romeo & Juliet!), the star-crossed lovers trope: when two people are in love but not able to be together. Secret meetings, hidden love, and separation make for a really tense love story.
Book Recommendation: A Phở Love Story by Loan Le
Second Chance
Can two people who tried before get a second chance at love? Is the second time the charm?
Book Recommendation: To Have and To Hoax by Martha Waters
Forced Proximity
Another trope that goes hand-in-hand with enemies to lovers — what happens when two people are forced by circumstances to spend time together? This is often paired with the hotel only has one bed trope.
Book Recommendation: The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
It’s clear that despite their predictability, these themes continue to capture our hearts time and time again. No matter which trope is your favorite, they all offer an entertaining journey towards that heartwarming happily-ever-after.
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Patron Needs Assessment Survey
Leave a CommentGot 5 minutes to spare? We need your input! Please fill out this quick survey about the needs of patrons at the Morgantown Public Library.
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Teen Anti-Valentine’s Day Party (Morgantown)
Leave a CommentDon’t like Valentine’s Day? Teens (ages 13-18) are invited to our Anti-Valentine’s Day Party this Wednesday, February 14th from 5:00-7:00pm in Meeting Room A at the Morgantown Public Library. We’ll watch a movie, eat pizza, decorate cookies, and make anti-love potions!
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Library Yoga Series: Be Like A Tree
Leave a CommentJoin us for the next event in our library yoga series (recommended for ages 6-12) this Saturday, February 17th from 1:00-2:00pm at the Morgantown Public Library.
We are partnering with The City of Morgantown’s Tree Board for a story time with “tree yoga” and a healthy snack! Members of the Tree Board will read Leanne Whiting’s book Be Like a Tree, which has fun yoga poses woven throughout. Our tree yoga class promotes well-being, boosts confidence, and encourages a love for the world of storytelling and movement. Yoga mats will be provided for children to use during the program, or you can bring your own if you’d prefer.
This event is sponsored by The Health Plan — please be sure to register to reserve your spot!
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Teen Candy Sushi (Morgantown)
Leave a CommentCalling all teens (ages 13-18)! Are you ready for a sweet and creative adventure? Join us at the Morgantown Public Library on Saturday, February 24th from 2:00-3:00pm in Meeting Room A for a delightful candy sushi-making session! Don’t miss out on the chance to create sweet memories with friends old and new.
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A Trip Down Memory Lane: Yearbooks at the Aull Center
Leave a CommentWhy do we hold on to yearbooks?
This question may seem to yield a simple answer: to remind us of days gone by, and of friends (or foes) of the past. For many, such sentimental tokens serve this purpose well enough so as to remain in a box in the attic somewhere, or (if it’s one of the lucky ones) on a shelf. Within families, perhaps it is a discovery to be made every generation or so, providing a glimpse into a time when relatives navigated youth and bygone eras.
It is to these bygone eras that I now turn our attention.
The work of a historian is to keep their finger to the pulse of antiquity. Metaphors are often used to describe how this work is remembered and appreciated — images of waves and ripple effects are employed to evoke a sense of continuity of past events flowing into present experiences. Across history, there is perhaps no demographic group whose ‘ripple effects’ are more pronounced than the youth of a given generation. Young adults and children generally constitute some of the most outspoken members of society, whose support or criticism of the status quo often become an era’s defining characteristic. To understand the youth of society, past and present, is to understand its trajectory and its spirit. What better way to engage in this subject matter than by exploring the print material that they produced about themselves?
Yearbooks contain a wealth of information, both consciously and subconsciously produced by their editors and subject matter. The portraits contained within demonstrate fashion trends such as how young people dressed to how they wore their hair — from denim jackets and long hair to short cuts and formal dress, these all show us what was expected of them. Information regarding clubs and student activities reveals the kind of interests that were popular at the time in that environment. Language clubs, robotics teams, student government, and how such organizations changed or evolved over time reflect societal developments and contemporary concerns. Eventually, the study of Latin and Greek gave way to Spanish and French. The number of ROTC members (and its former compulsory participation in many universities) in roughly the first half of the twentieth century makes sense when one considers contemporary conflicts like the World Wars and the Vietnam War. That this changed following backlash against the Vietnam War is unsurprising.
All of these changes and more can be traced through materials like high school and college yearbooks. To the curious mind, they may even raise some questions. Which languages interested students over time, and why? What are these oddly named clubs, and do they still exist? What did they do?
Perhaps some of these questions have no answers, and there is always the chance that those with answers prove underwhelming to inquirers. But for those who seek to understand history’s youth, something like a yearbook collection in a local history center can prove a bountiful resource.
At the Aull Center for Local History & Genealogy Research in Morgantown, we house a collection of yearbooks ranging from local elementary schools all the way through to the university level (you read that correctly—WVU used to publish a yearbook, and we possess dozens of them). Perhaps you are interested in finding a relative from MHS’ class of 1965, or maybe you are curious to see who all attended the gone (but not forgotten) Sabraton Junior High School in 1975. Whatever the case may be, the Aull Center is a great resource for those interested in learning about the rich history of our region’s youth.
by Riley B., researcher at the Aull Center for Local History & Genealogical Research, Morgantown Public Library System