Middletown offering dinner, history
and library activities    

[OCT. 14, 2003]  MIDDLETOWN -- "Read all about it." The annual Knapp-Chesnut-Becker "all-you-can-eat" turkey supper at the middle school in Middletown is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 18, from 4 to 7 p.m. K-C-B is also hosting a newspaper exhibit at the supper.

The menu is as follows: turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, cranberries, assorted salads, rolls and butter, pie or cake, and beverages. Donations are $7 for age 10 and above, $3.50 for ages 4 to 10 and free through age 3.

A Lincoln College Museum exhibit entitled "A Moment in Time" will be on display. The historical exhibit is under the direction of Ron Keller and Paul Gleason -- both college instructors and museum personnel. A cross section of newspapers from the 20th century will present news of major events many viewers will recall from childhood or youth. This provides an opportunity to see national news details that are omitted when the material eventually makes it to American history textbooks but appeared in the press at the time.

Personnel from the Knapp Library/Museum also will display books, quilts and other memorabilia.

Eddie Dirks, a Menard County historian, and his wife, Dorothy Jane (Allison), will display and sell copies of "The Menard County Schools." Dirks and his wife were instrumental in the book project.

Bill and Phyllis Bryson, representatives of the Logan County Genealogical and Historical Society, will have displays, along with copies of the newly published book on Logan County veterans, which will be for sale.

At the conclusion of the supper there will be a 50-50 drawing. Donations are $1 each or six for $5. Donors need not be present to win.

The turkey supper is a benefit for the Knapp Library/Museum, "a dream come true." The library-museum at 101 S. Clinton St. in Middletown is housed in the oldest commercial brick building in Logan County. The structure was built around 1840, according to Judge Lawrence Stringer's "History of Logan County" (1911), and was "an architectural gem on the prairie."

Proceeds of the benefit will help provide a copy machine, cases for newspapers and maps, a television set and other necessities for a modern library. Patrons of the library may borrow books and other materials free.

[News release]

Life Sentence, No Parole

If we tried to invent the cruelest punishment for dogs, we probably couldn't come up with anything worse than "solitary confinement" on a chain or in a kennel.

Dogs are pack animals who crave the companionship of others.  Scratches behind the ears, games of fetch, or even just walks around the block mean the world to them.  Curling up at your feet while you watch TV is their idea of heaven.

Many dogs left to fend for themselves at the end of a chain fall prey to attacks by other animals or cruel people, and many others are injured or hanged or choke as a result of getting entangled or caught in their tether.

If you have a backyard dog, please, bring him or her inside.  They don't want much--just you.

A public service announcement from Lincoln Daily News and helpinganimals.com