By Nicole Fowles
Glad You Asked
It doesn’t need to be Veterans Day to celebrate or honor someone who has served our country. However, if you need a holiday, today (April 5) is recognized as Gold Star Spouses Day – a day dedicated to those whose spouses sacrificed their lives while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States or as a result of service-related disabilities after returning home.
The Delaware County District Library honors and serves those who have served our country by keeping their legacy alive through our special veteran history project. When you visit www.delawarelibrary.org/services/veterans, you’ll discover a collection containing the history of Delaware County veterans.
The Delaware County Veterans and Heroes project, which seeks to gather, preserve and make accessible the experiences of all county veterans, has a robust collection of 427 records that have been submitted. If you, a relative, or someone you know has served in any branch of the Armed Forces, and has a connection with Delaware County, we would love to hear from you. Information can be added by submitting the form on the website, or by contacting project coordinator Cindi Bardash at [email protected].
The veteran stories contained on the website include records, photographs, biographies and more. More than 80 veterans, out of 427, are from the Powell and Liberty Township area. Each veteran record contains a photograph and a brief biography. Visit the website and try using keyword searches like “Powell” or “Ostrander” to see what stories you can discover.
The Delaware County Veterans and Heroes project is ongoing. New veterans can submit their information at any time, and people just discovering the project can add to it as they are ready. If you know of a local veteran who should be included, head to the website or contact the project coordinator.
As Delaware Library staff celebrated the grand opening of the Liberty Branch Library, we looked into some of the people who made the area what it is today. Take a moment to look up the record of Mr. Thomas Cellar. He served in the Revolutionary War and, in 1802, became the third pioneer to move to what is now known as Liberty Township. His 4,000-acre purchase in 1801 was bought at $1.37 an acre. He was a founder of the Liberty Presbyterian Church and is buried in the Presbyterian Church Cemetery.
Thank you to those who serve, and thank you to those who continue their legacy.
New on our shelves in historical fiction this month range from Berlin’s Jazz Age to the desegregation movement in Alabama. Discover what you may read next.
• “The Night Travelers” by Armando Lucas Correa. This sweeping, character-driven family saga about sacrifice, separation, and survival is set between Berlin as the Jazz Age ends and Nazism rises, and Cuba at the beginning of the Revolution. Alternating timelines and chapters will keep readers engaged in this journey to self-discovery and testaments to the power of motherly love.
• “Independence” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Sisters Deepa, Priya, and Jamini’s sheltered lives are shattered when their Hindu family is displaced in the traumatic upheaval of the Partition of India. Read it for the well-developed, nuanced characterizations of each of the sisters and their rich inner lives.
• “The Lipstick Bureau” by Michelle Gable. After her recent marriage to an American, Czech-born Niki Novotná joins the nascent OSS and becomes an unlikely linchpin in the agency’s propaganda and sabotage operations in Rome during World War II. The story is inspired by Barbara Lauwers, a Czech-American lawyer, journalist, and operative known for her wartime work in Italy. Gable takes the time to thoughtfully explore the personal fallout of Niki’s high-stakes profession.
• “Moonrise Over New Jessup” by Jamila Minnicks. Discover the thought-provoking story of the effects of the desegregation movement on a small, all-Black Alabama town that has thrived in its isolation. The story begins with a young Black woman getting off a bus to Birmingham in the titular town of New Jessup, where she is shocked to find it free of markers of the oppression she’s used to.
• “The Circus Train” by Amita Parikh. Traveling across Europe with the circus her illusionist father works for, polio survivor Lena befriends Alexandre, a Jewish orphan who hides among the troupe to evade the Nazis. Interpersonal and financial considerations lead to the ultimate betrayal, scattering members of the circus and sending others into hiding as they all try to survive the war.
• “A Castle in Brooklyn” by Shirley Russak Wachtel. Jacob Stein and Zalman Mendelson met as boys in Poland while hiding from the Nazis. Both eventually make it to the US after the war. Zalman, who moved to Minnesota to become a farmer, visits Jacob in New York to rekindle their friendship, neither man aware how meeting again as adults will radically alter the course of both their lives for good.
If you have a question that you would like to see answered in this column, mail it to Nicole Fowles, Delaware County District Library, 84 E. Winter St., Delaware, OH 43015, or call us at 740-362-3861. You can also email your questions by visiting the library’s web site at www.delawarelibrary.org or directly to Nicole at [email protected]. No matter how you contact us, we’re always glad you asked!
