To the Library and Beyond Visit with Joan at the Library on Saturdays 10 AM – 3 PM. Like us on “Facebook, Prairie Community Library.” Pat G. gives Thumbs-Up for Curiosity Didn’t Kill the Cat by M.K. Wren and Dead Man Pass by Peter Dawson, and Thumbs-down for Up & Down by Mat Coward. Joan has reviewed the 1958 book, The Autobiography Of the West, by Oscar Lewis, about the exploration and settlement of the western United States from the 1500s to the late 1800s. Joan especially appreciated reading direct quotes by famous persons and the many interesting descriptions. In this book, Mr. Lewis recalls the Cabaze de Vaca’s 1530s trip from Florida to the Pacific across Texas and the Southwest. The author continues with Sir Frances Drake’s trip across the globe in the 1570s. He tells of several explorers and trappers’ trips including Lewis and Clark, Jedidiah Smith, and John C. Fremont, leading to the Spanish settlement of California and Americans headed there, as well. There is an excerpt from Jim Marshal, who built Sutter’s Mill and discovered the great deposits of gold in 1848; the author describes the California gold rush, the Oregon Trail, buffalo herds, cattle drives from Texas to Montana, and interactions with Native Americans. He describes a trip with Kit Carson from Los Angeles to the East, and the discovery of the Comstock Silver Lode in Nevada. Finally, he discusses kinds of travel, including steamer ships, stagecoaches, a Pony Express description by Mark Twain, and Robert Lewis Stevenson’s account about riding on the transcontinental railroad. June is Immigrant Heritage Month. Library volunteers may be looking at policies. The volunteers who manage and operate Prairie Community Library aspire to close associations with partners that complement our mission of community service. Send your volunteer message to cottonwoodlib@gmail.com. “Volunteering keeps our minds and bodies active.” Please recommend improvements to the Library’s direction, priorities and customer service. Thank you all! | COTTONWOOD
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