Leap of Dave: L is for Library Lover

Thursday, April 17, 2025

L is for Library Lover

My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me. Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.

It's time for some A to Z catch-up. , I am currently 3 posts behind. The next letter is L so let's get right to it shall we?

A was for Amateur Parodist

B was for Blogger

C was for Christian

D was for David Davidovich

E was for Evangelical Sans the Trump Kool-Aid

F was for Father of 3 Adult Children

G was for Giraffe Lover

H was for Husband of One Amazing Wife

I was for Iguchi Appreciator

J was for Jester

K was for Kindergarten Clear

L is for Library Lover

My family loves libraries. I grew up literally across the street from one. Over the years I have written lots and lots about libraries. To give you an idea of what me and my family do at libraries, I too a post from Jabuary of 2024 that was languishing in draft status finished it up and am inserting it below. I'm putting it in italics so you'll know when I'm back.

Double Library Day

Today was my last school day off of school for winter break. I decided to spend some of it on ad adventure.

First I went to breakfast with my wife at Allen's Corner Diner in Hampshire, Il.

Allen's Corner is an excellent spot to eat, but they accept cash only. They do have an ATM on the premises, but I am not fond pf paying the additional fees. Last year, we were on our way to being regulars there, (Amy and I dream of being regulars at a local place with atmosphere, And Allen's Corner diner has atmosphere in spades.) when we were both working at the same school in Hampshire. Unfortunately, I am no longer working at the same school, so when we came in today, there was no shouting of Norm, or any other "regular" greeting. We split a skillet and had a good time.

While we were at the restraunt, I looked up cities that were 60 miles or less than Hampshire. I found a place called Rockton, Illinois and found out they had a library called the Talcott Free Library. I headed over to Rockton after Amy went to her school to catch up on work before the students and teachers came back in force on Monday.

I got to Rockton before the library was open so I decided to go the extra few miles to the Wisconsin state border and make it a double library day by going to the library in Beloit. The library in Beloit was also not open upon my arrival. So I checked out some of the beautiful areas near the library.

The Library is located to some sort of medical building that used to be a department store.

I got to the library and decided to check out the children's section. They had a section of A to Z books which I believe are called alphabets.

They also had what is called a library of things where you can borrow all kinds of things. I was struck by the fact that you could borrow snow shoes. Amy and I went snowshoeing a few years in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and really enjoyed ourselves. Maybe some day we'll make the trek tp Beloit and borrow us up some fun.

I really enjoyed the Beloit Library but it was time to get back to Rockton and the Talcott Free Library. Libraries were traditionally private and not just anyone could use them. This article gives a good history of the first free libraries.

Rockton, Illinois is kind of a blink or you'll miss it border town. I know because I've driven to Beloit many times, and blinked and missed Rockton. I did like my time in downtown Rockton not only at the library but visiting some of the local haunts. They had a very nice bookstore there and I had a good meal at a sit down restaurant before my double library day came to an end.

One of my favorite books with a cool cover at a Rockton Bookstore

Meanwhile back at the challenge ...

Our Local Public Library

Celebrating 150 Year Anniversary

January 2024

Our family used to do something twice a year during our homeschool days called library week. Once each semester usually over Christmas and Spring Break instead of our regular school days we would visit libraries.

We would still do school but in a different format. It is one of the things we liked best about homeschooling and also some of our best memories as a family.