INDEPENDENCE

Since Independence Day is fast approaching, our  curiosity kicked in this week when someone mentioned that this collection contains a lot of books on that subject. So we searched the data base and came up with 21 hits. We'll list a few of them here to give you an idea of the variety of information on that subject that can be found here in the Bullis Room.

(By the way, don't you just love some of these long titles on these books from the 1800s? In some cases, the titles serve as a synopsis of the content - which is handy for researchers and casual readers, alike.)

Anyway, here are some of the books on the subject of independence that we thought you might be interested in:

Camp-fires of the Revolution:  or The War of Independence,

by Henry C. Watson, published in Philadelphia in 1850 by Lindsay and Blackiston

The Pictorial Field-book of the Revolution; or, Illustrations, by pen and pencil, of the history, biography, scenery, relics, and traditions of the war for Independence,

by Benson John Lossing, published in New York by Harper & Brothers, 1860

Karl Marx and the Close of His System: A Criticism,

by Eugene von Bohm-Bawerk, published in New York by Macmillan, 1898

A Centennial Edition of the History of the United States:

from the discovery of America, to the end of the first one hundred years of American independence;

with a full account of the approaching centennial celebration.

by Benson John Lossing, published in Hartford by T. Belknap, 1876

The Rise of the Dutch Repuiblic: A History,

by John Lothrop Motley, published in New York by Harper & Brothers, 1868-69

The Centennial History of the United States: From the discovery of the

American continent to the close of the first century of American Independence,

by James Dabney McCabe, published in Philadelphia by National Publishing Company, c 1874

Well, that's all folks. Hope you see something here that grabs your interest so that we can see you in the Bullis Room in the near future. In the meantime, Happy 4th of July.

JUNETEEN

Yesterday was Juneteen - a date set aside to commemorate the day in 1865 when Union troops commanded by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War was over, and that all remaining slaves in Texas were free.

Last year our Juneteen post focused on an MPL presentation on slave quilts, sponsored by the Friends of the library. This year, in memory of this occasion, we looked for some Bullis books on the subject of slavery.  We found several, and chose this one to highlight this week:

A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States : with remarks on their economy, 

by Frederick Law Olmsted, published by Dix & Edwards, New York, in 1856

Frederick Law Olmsted was a journalist and landscape designer of city parks, and his most famous achievement was Central Park in New York. He was also a passionate abolitionist who took many journeys throughout the south in 1853 and 1854. 

This book has lots of fascinating and witty descriptions of the author's encounters and experiences on those journeys through the southern society, which was on the verge of overwhelming change at that time.  If you are unable to celebrate Juneteen with fireworks and feasting, consider spending some time with this interesting book.

GARDENER'S AND FARMER'S REASON WHY...

Now here's a book that offers interesting and useful information to those of us who are into growing, whether we are farming a multi-acre plot or tending a potted geranium on our front stoop. Yes, we realize it was published well over a hundred years ago and much of the information, naturally, is  in need of updating. And yet, when we carefully leafed through the book this week, it caused us to occasionally mutter one of those "hmmm...so that's why..." remarks.

We're talking about the Bullis book Gardener's and Farmer's Reason Why... written by Robert Kemp Philip and published in London in 1860.  (This author wrote a series of these "reason why" books that covered the general science, natural history, the Bible, history, and housewife's areas. They are all in the question/answer form, with a helpful alphabetical list of all questions in the Table of Contents.

Mr. Philip used the knowledge of well-recognized experts of his day to write this book, among them: Sir Humphry Davy,  Professor of Chemistry Baron Liebig, and "Mr. Lawes of Rothamstead Park, whose papers have been published in the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal."

Some of the questions addressed are:

Air, why is it necessary for the germination of seed?

Caterpillars and moths, method of destroying

Gravelly soils, how they may be improved

Horses, why does their excrement develop so strong a heat?

Light, its effect upon vegetation

Mushrooms, why do they grow by moonlight?

Nitrogen, what is it?

Ploughing, rule for.

Sap, what causes the flow of it

Yoking horses, best method of

Winds, varying, why beneficial to vegetation?

In his preface, Mr. Philip states that the farmers' and gardeners' mission is to "enrich and beautify the earth." That's a big order for those of us with soil under our nails...one that requires us to be as knowledgeable as possible about the growing process. This book is one of many in the Bullis collection that offers this knowledge. You are invited to spend some time with it on your next visit to the Bullis Room.

BICYCLES

The Friends of Macedon Public Library has scheduled another interesting program this summer:

BICYCLES: THEIR HISTORY, PROPER MAINTENANCE

AND BASIC ROADSIDE REPAIRS

Zoltan Vigh of The Wheelwright in Canandaigua will give background information on bicycling and demonstrate bicycle maintenance and repairs in this program at the library on Monday, July 8, 6 PM in the Community Room at the library.

You are invited and we look forward to seeing you at this presentation, which is paid for through the Friends' endowment. And while you're in the library, we invite you to stop by the Bullis Room. One book on the shelves that is of interest to bicyclists is:

The Wheels of Change; A Bicycling Idyll

Written by H. G. Wells and published in 1905 by The Macmillan Company in London, the book is a commentary on the political scene surrounding World War I. At that time bicycles were beginning to become very popular and were actually a part of the social changes in England because people could move quickly and rigid class structure was beginning to crumble.

Between now and July 8 we plan to spend some time with this book so that we can tell you more about it when we see you at Mr. Vigh's presentation. In the meantime, remember that we're always glad to help you find other books in the collection. Just give the library a call and let us know a convenient time for you.

WAYNE COUNTY COMMUNITY ENDOWMENT

The Wayne County Endowment Advisory Committee (together with the Rochester Area Community Foundation) announced last week the awarding of $29,400 in grants to eight nonprofit organizations serving the Wayne County community. Organizations receiving grants are: Bishop Sheen Ecumenical Services, Finger Lakes Visiting Nurse Service, Historic Palmyra, Home Meals Service, Lyons Community Center, Montezuma Audubon Center, NAMI Rochester, and Rochester Chapter of Young Audiences, Inc.

This permanent endowment fund was started in 1984 with charitable gifts from the estate of Nettie Bullis, who believed strongly in  her community, education, and projects that improved the quality of life.

This community is grateful to Nettie Bullis for these most-recent gifts. As we pointed out in a post a few months ago, her New England frugality and business acumen allowed her to accumulate the capital she used to create an endowment that will benefit this area for generations to come.

Again, we thank you Nettie Bullis.

WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT

There have been several posts on this blog about Nettie Bullis's Uncle John Lapham Bullis who fought in the Civil War and continued his military career on the western border. His contributions were recognized in many ways, including the naming of Camp Bullis in his honor.

We thought of John Lapham Bullis this week when we heard about the Friends of Macedon Public Library scheduling a June 19 presentation of the Wounded Warrior Project. Mr. Bullis, we feel sure, would have supported such a project in his day, not only because he himself was wounded in the Civil War but also because he was so conscientious about caring for his comrades who suffered such a fate.

We encourage you to come to this presentation  on June 19, 6 PM, here in Macedon Public Library's Community Room.  LCpl. J.M. Gonzalez will explore the project's mission (to honor and empower Wounded Warriors) and its purpose (awareness, enlist public support,  help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and provide unique and direct programs and services. He will also include general background on the organization.

We hope to see you on June 19. And in the meantime, please tell others about this presentation.

OUR WESTERN BORDER

In 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a measure creating the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, whose members came to be known as WACS. Long before this event, however, women participated in combat situations in various capacities and several books in the Bullis collection record their experiences.

One book, Our Western Border ... gives us an idea of the level and manner of participation that pioneer women took in the battles in the Ohio Valley, on what was then our western frontier.  If you're into women's history, you will find this book interesting and informative.

Written by Charles McKnight, Our Western Border ... was published in 1876 by J.C. McCurdy in Philadelphia. Included in its 756 pages are 15 plates as well as illustrations. We suggest you stop by to spend some time with this book and take an armchair journey to the Ohio Valley in the latter half of 1700.