Pick a Famous Person ― Any Famous Person

Pick a famous person ― any famous person--- and learn all about him or her. If you’re researching or just plain interested in a particular person, start in the Children’s Room of the Columbus Public Library where there are hundreds of biographies. Further research can be done in the adult non-fiction “B.” (for biography) area on the second floor of the building.

Pick a president. I picked Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt. He was a sickly child who never saw the inside of a school room until he entered Harvard College. His classmates thought him strange because he was so fanatic about exercise and because he kept snakes and lizards in his room. During the Spanish-American War Roosevelt and his “Rough Riders” fought the Battle of San Juan Heights. He became the twenty-sixth president when President McKinley was assassinated, and was elected by a large majority for second term. Roosevelt was a fascinating character whose motto was: “Walk softly and carry a big stick.”

Pick an agricultural genius. I picked George Washington Carver. He was born a slave sometime near the end of the Civil War. He and his mother were kidnapped when he was just an infant. The Carver family found the baby, but he never saw his mother again and never knew his father. The Carvers sent him to school. His thirst for education eventually led him to Iowa State College where he studied agriculture. Although he loved painting, he wanted more to help poor Southern farmers. He discovered hundreds of uses for plants, especially peanuts. He gave to the world such treats as peanut butter, peanut brittle, syrup and molasses.

Pick a famous child. I picked “Anne Frank, child of the Holocaust.” Anne died of typhus at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in March, 1945, just weeks before the end of the war in Europe . Anne’s father, who survived the atrocious brutalities at Auschwitz, released her book: “The Diary of Anne Frank”. It later became a Pulitzer Prize winning play and a movie. One of Anne’s last entries before the family was whisked away to concentration camps was, “Could we be granted victory this year, 1944? We don’t know yet, but hope is revived within us: it gives us fresh courage, and makes us strong again.”

Pick a famous artist. I picked Michelangelo who lived a turbulent, quarrelsome life. His father beat him for asking to become an artist’s apprentice. Michelangelo persisted. He was obsessed with perfection. His stormy association with Pope Julius led him to his greatest masterpiece, the brilliant paintings in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

Pick a famous Native American. Crazy Horse” by Mari Sandoz is the “One Book, One Nebraska” selection for 2007. She describes how he was loved by the Sioux people for his generosity and determination. He was a respected leader, strong in battle, a man who fought to preserve the Sioux way of life and protect their lands from homesteaders.
It’s believed Crazy Horse was born in the fall of 1840 at what is now Sturgis, South Dakota. He earned the name Crazy Horse in 1858, after displaying courage on the battlefield. Later he was involved in an attack on settlers crossing the Platte River and participated in the Wagon Box fight near Fort Phil Kearny. On June 25, 1876, Crazy Horse joined Sitting Bull in victory at “Custer’s Last Stand,” in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. At Fort Robinson, Crazy Horse finally surrendered, thinking it best for his tribe. History proved him wrong and the rest of his story is sad.

Read it the Sandoz book for yourself. The Library has many copies available. And for your child, pick up a copy of “Crazy Horse, Sioux Warrior” by Brenda Haugen, found in the Children’s Room at the library.

The Library’s spring book sale promises a great selection of novels, non-fiction, children’s books, paperbacks, audios and videos. If you are considering a shelf-cleaning in your house, please donate your books, videos, etc. to the Library. Items not added to the collection will be sold and the money used to purchase new materials. The book sale begins on Thursday, May 31st at 6:00 PM and runs during library hours until 5:00 PM on Sunday. An entry fee of $5.00 is charged on Thursday night.