News

03 10, 2019

Discover the American Revolution

By admin|2019-03-10T06:00:15-04:00March 10, 2019|

Learn about the origin of the American Revolution during a special talk on March 21 at Mentor Public Library.

The American Revolution was the defining moment in American history. But how did it come about?

Our resident historian Dr. John Foster will discuss the ideas and interests that sparked the American Revolution during a special talk at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, at our Main Branch.

This program is the first in a 4-part series about the Revolutionary War.

In addition to being a reference librarian, Foster has a doctorate degree in history. He has taught history at both high school and college levels. Previously, he has led series on the Battles of World War II and US Presidents of the 20th Century.

This special program is free and open to all. You can register to attend online or by calling us at (440) 255-8811 ext. 247.

Finally, if you’re interested, most of Foster’s previous historical talks can be viewed in their entirety on our YouTube channel.

02 21, 2019

The Coming of the French Revolution

By admin|2019-02-21T06:00:51-05:00February 21, 2019|

Our resident historian Dr. John Foster discussed the origin of the French Revolution during a lecture earlier this week.

We’ve posted the talk online in its entirety for this unable to attend. (By the way, sorry for the technical glitches. We hope you enjoy the video anyhow.)

Foster explains:

how France’s enormous debt precipitated the Revolution
how the Third Estate (that is, everyone but nobility and clergy) wrested power from the nobility and clergy
how public perception of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette is, in some ways, unfairly skewed
what ultimately doomed King Louis XVI
the relationship between the American and French revolutions.

Speaking of which, each year Foster gives a series of lectures about American history. His previous topics include the Battles of World War II and US Presidents of the 20th Century. This year, he’ll discuss the American Revolution.

The series begins at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, at our Main Branch. The topic is the origins of the Revolution.

Finally, if you’re interested, most of Foster’s previous historical talks can be viewed in their entirety on our YouTube channel.

02 20, 2019

Lake Branch expanding thanks to generous donation

By admin|2019-02-20T17:26:18-05:00February 20, 2019|

Mentor Public Library Executive Director Cheryl Kuonen (left) and Board of Trustees President Diane Wantz thank Charles N. Higgins Jr., the trustee of the

Mentor Public Library Executive Director Cheryl Kuonen (left) and Board of Trustees President Diane Wantz (right) thank Charles N. Higgins Jr., a trustee of The Francis M. Paulson Irrevocable Trust of 1990, for the trust’s support of the library.

Mentor Public Library’s Lake Branch will receive a substantial upgrade and expansion this year – in large part thanks to the generosity of Francis “Bud” Paulson.

The Francis M. Paulson Irrevocable Trust of 1990 provides for the creation of the Beryl B. Paulson Memorial Endowment Fund, and the fund is donating $250,000 toward the project.

Lake Branch’s expansion will include the construction of another meeting room. This addition will be permanently known as The Beryl P. Paulson Annex and Meeting Room in honor of Paulson’s wife.

The new meeting room will make it possible for the Lake Branch to host more and bigger programs.

Beryl Paulson and Francis “Bud” Paulson passed away in 2005 and 2017, respectively. They actively used and supported Mentor Public Library throughout their lives.

Francis Paulson served on the library’s Board of Trustees from 1958 to 1966. His tenure included several important events for Mentor Public Library, including:

The expansion of the library’s Main Branch on Mentor Avenue
The establishment of the first branch in Mentor-on-the-Lake
The acquisition of the Headlands Branch from the Fairport Harbor Public Library
The separation of Mentor Public Library from the school system.

“The Paulsons’ gift is overwhelming in its generosity,” Mentor Public Library Executive Director Cheryl Kuonen said. “Every library is a reflection of its community, and extraordinary gifts like the Paulsons help the library accomplish extraordinary things.”

02 19, 2019

Life & Legacy of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

By admin|2019-02-19T06:00:03-05:00February 19, 2019|

Our Civil War series continues with the hero of Little Round Top – well, certainly one of the heroes – Brevet Major-General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.

Many of us know about the heroics of the 20th Maine at Gettysburg. But what about the injury that nearly killed him during the Siege of Petersburg? His tenure as governor? His troubled marriage?

Learn all about the life and legacy of Chamberlain from the experts at James A. Garfield National Historic Site.

By the way, Chamberlain was a prolific author in his own right, and you can borrow his Passing of the Armies from our library. You can also borrow The Killer Angels, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that renewed Chamberlain’s celebrity and inspired Gettysburg.

Our Civil War series continues at noon on Wednesday, March 13, at our Main Branch. We’ll learn about Cleveland’s Civil War Soldiers & Sailors Monument. As always, the talk is free and open to all.

By the way, if you’re interested in Civil War history, several talks in our Civil War series can be viewed online in their entirety, including:

02 14, 2019

5 fascinating facts about League Park

By admin|2019-02-14T06:00:58-05:00February 14, 2019|

Ken Krsolovic and Bryan Fritz talk about the legendary League Park in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Mentor Public Library.

Local authors and sports fans Ken Krsolovic and Bryan Fritz visited us earlier this week to talk about League Park – the legendary home of the Cleveland Indians for decades.

Here are five fascinating facts that we learned from listening to Krsolovic and Fritz.

1. One of the best pitchers the game has ever seen pitched for the Cleveland Spiders on League Park’s first Opening Day in 1891 – none other than Cy Young.

He’d pitch several more opening day games there before his retirement (and he’d win all but one of them.)

The authors brought artifacts with them, including a piece of League Park’s Great Wall.

2. Nap Lajoie was such a big star that when he came to Cleveland they renamed the team for him. However, when he joined the Cleveland Bronchos in 1902, he was in the midst of a legal kerfuffle with his previous team, the Phillies.

Due to an existing contract with the Phillies, a judge declared that Lajoie could only play baseball for them. However, an enterprising lawyer discovered that the injunction could only be enforced in Pennsylvania.

Consequently, when the Bronchos/Naps played the Athletics in 1902 and most of 1903, Lajoie would visit Atlantic City, instead. Peace wasn’t made between the National and American Leagues until 1903 with an agreement that also created the World Series.

3. League Park was initially constructed entirely of wood. But, by 1909, wood was no good.

More modern stadiums were made of steel and concrete. They could fit more seats, which meant more fans and more money.

For its upgrade, the Cleveland team relied on the legendary Osborn Engineering firm, which also designed Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park and Comiskey Park.

Most importantly, Osborn was then and still is headquartered in Cleveland.

4. League Park was the site of the Cleveland Indians first World Series victory in 1920. The Indians beat the Brooklyn Robins 5-2, which looks like a typo unless you know that from 1919 to 1921 the World Series was best of nine.

While the Indians won, no Robin had a worse series than Cleveland native Rube Marquard. Not only did his team lose, but he was convicted of ticket scalping (his punishment: $1 fine and $2.80 in court costs) and his wife divorced him the same week.

Marquard got something like the last laugh, seeing as he’s since been inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame.

5. League Park was also the scene of Joe DiMaggio’s 56th and final game in his legendary hitting streak.

The streak ended July 17, 1941 against the Indians in Cleveland Stadium. (The Indians would play weekday or afternoon games in League Park, which they owned. But they’d play weekend games, especially against more popular opponents, at the larger Cleveland Stadium.)

For more fun stories from League Park history, read Krsolovic and Fritz’s League Park: Historic Home of Cleveland Baseball, 1891-1946. You can borrow one of our copies

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