Reviews of the Accidental Hero in Warroad, April 3, 2011
From the audience in Warroad about "the Accidental Hero" Patrick Dewane:
"I like how he could switch characters so well..." "The German strategy in the Ardene Forest I was unaware...Good show...keep it up!"..."U.S. liberation of So. Czech".."Had no idea about what happened in Czechoslovakia..Wonderful"..."Sharing of a true story otherwise unknown"...."Totally new heart for the freedom of the Czechs and all...we lived in WI surrounded by Czechs..Appreciation of the Czech people here in America"..."The telling of American history"..."Portrayal of actual history-personal family...personal touch about what happened in WW11"....1 person acting and appreciation as a fine art.. "This story needs to be told in every classroom!".."The presentation was just fantastic!..Awesome...Everything was enlightening and new to me!"...Great!!!It was interesting because of being acted out by his own grandson". "Made the WW11 history come to life"...."That there was a human side of the war.."Many of my family and friends are WW11 vets. I am also a vet....great program!"...
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MHS MGG Report from Arrowhead Region: April 12, 2011
Great use of the MGG History Kits:
The mother of one of the homeschooled students of our "Minnesota
History Mornings at the Library" for homeschoolers (using the
Greatest Generation kits) told me that they went and interviewed the little
girl's grandma last week. She said at first her daughter was asking
why she had to do that, and it sounded like a lot of work--but when they
were done, she told her mom, "That was really interesting! I never
knew some of those things about Grandma!" The mom said she learned a lot
as well. They were going to type up the questions and the Grandma's
answers and share them with other family members as well.
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From ECRL: Happy Days are Here Again" April 9, 2011
I know personal stories, not statistics, often speak the loudest to boards and supporters. Here's a great one from our "Happy Days are Here Again" program that we hosted on Saturday. I suggested the program to a 90-year-old couple that visited the library last week. I knew they would enjoy the style of music that would be presented. I know their daughter quite well and asked her to encourage her parents to come. She agreed that it would be a perfect program for them, but didn't think they would come, since she would be out of town and unable to accompany them. Well..........they showed up at the program on Saturday (along with 40 other people!). I was delighted to see them there. During the program, I watched them out of the corner of my eye...and several times during the show, he leaned over to his wife and was singing the words to her =). After the program, he came up to me, and with tears in his eyes (this is normally a pretty "tough customer"), said he couldn't think of the right words to thank us....that the program was so wonderful! He went to thank the performers as well, and one of them told me that the man said that he knew every word to every song! I know this man personally, and believe me, he is not one to gush....but, this program was a blast from the past for him. This is why we do what we do!
From Rhonda Laurie, singer: I know the couple that you are talking about. They were sitting facing me to my left in the last row. They came up to me after the show and told me how much they enjoyed the show. I heard from quite a few of the audience members. One dark haired woman told me that her mother was a "Rosie the Riveter", and this music had a special place in her heart. Another gentleman told me that it is a rare treat to get jazz up in that area and that he so appreciated it. Having a great audience makes it easy to make those "connections". .