Library Happenings

Henning School

Big city folk know their street names well and how long it takes to get somewhere. Us rural folk have a language all our own.  When growing up, it was easy to tell someone who was needing directions how to get to where they needed to go.  

“The Clary farm? Yeah, I know where that is. Take a left at the Dairy Queen onto Round Butte Road. When you get to the big S curves, slow down and watch for the old red tractor that sits in the corner of the spud farm.  

When you see that, take another left and follow the dirt along the creek until you’ve gone past the third culvert. Their farm sits down a long lane that has a green steel gate. If they are home, the gate is open. Watch out for their dog, he’s a blue heeler and he will nip at your heels.” We get so used to our surroundings that we just assume others will know what we are talking about. When we owned our second grocery store we had a wonderful customer named George that lived three blocks away from our store. He was legally blind and could only make out the silhouettes of items. He knew to walk down the street in front of his apartment (2nd Street) until he came to the old abandoned car (on the corner of 2nd Street and C Street). He did this for at least two years, then one day they hauled off that old car and no one told George. He became lost that day.  

When we realized George had not shown up at our store at his normal daily time, we began to worry. We sent out employees to go look for him. When they found George, he was several blocks west and north of where he started out. Once he realized that he must have gone past where the car was located, he was so turned around in his mind that he couldn’t find his way back. Thank goodness for small towns and friendly people. We were able to get George back to his apartment and we put a permanent marker for him to “see” at the corner of the street where he needed to turn to get to the grocery store.  

Our featured book this week is “Turn Left at the Cow” by Lisa Bullard. This story is about a young boy that has been raised without knowing who his father is. He comes to Minnesota with the intention of finding out about his dad and discovers his dad robbed a bank and then disappeared. The main character makes friends with the kids next door and his cousin and they set off on an adventure across Minnesota.  

We hope you will find yourselves up at the Henning Public School library when school begins again. We look forward to helping you pick out a great book that is relatable to Minnesota whether it be content or by a Minnesota author or illustrator.   

The State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society has awarded the Henning Public School Library a grant in the amount of $9,325. This grant will provide over 449 books to the Henning Public School Library.

This  grant helps provide a quality learning experience for our local Minnesotans by providing exemplary library bound (as much as possible) books that feature depictions of various aspects of the State of Minnesota. Students will develop knowledge, skills, and understanding about many areas of Minnesota by reading about Minnesota, its geography, heritage, culture, people, landforms, arts, sports, and more. Books will be purchased for all ages of people who frequent the library. This grant will help represent diverse ethnicities and people as we are purchasing books that feature a wide variety of people who have contributed to Minnesota. 

In addition, because Minnesota history is a vital component of our middle school curriculum, we want a strong selection of books that depict Minnesota history, industries, contemporary Minnesotans, immigration, the contributions of indigenous people, Minnesota authors/illustrators, and state bird/fish/foods, etc