Library's Cornerstone.

The Carthage Public Library’s cornerstone turns 100 years old this week. The corner stone is located on the southwest corner of the building with the year 1904 on both the south and the west side of the corner stone. There is a copper box, sealed in March 1904, and placed in the center of the corner stone. The construction of the wall then continued above and over the hole the box was placed in.

According to several newspaper articles from that time, the box contains library records and souvenirs. Among the items were a copy of the Carthage Press; Carthage Weekly Press; Morning Democrat; a Press souvenir booklet; a Centennial edition of the Carthage Weekly from July 6th, 1876 that contains a history of Carthage; and a copy of the first Republican paper published in Jasper County. There were many more items placed in the box along with a signed statement from the library board for any future library board who may have a chance to see it.

The first Carthage library was founded in 1870 and the Carnegie library, still in use today, was formally opened in 1905.

Mornin'

The small town where I grew up didn’t have a library. We had ta go to the "City" some sixteen miles away to check out a book.

‘Course the schools had libraries that the students used on a fairly regular basis, but nothin’ like the Carnegie in the city.

Back then ya had to learn how ta use the Dewey Decimal System if ya wanted to locate anything in the library. I suppose computer search is the method of choice now.

There’s been lots a talk about the "paperless society" of the future, but I’m guessin’ it will be at lease another hunderd years ‘fore that makes much impact. There is still somethin’ unique about sittin’ in a quiet library and browsin’ through a thick reference book. Hearin’ pages bein’ turned and an occasional cough or chuckle from the folks across the table are part of the experience.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing

THIS IS A HAMMER

By Samantha Mazzotta

There’s still snow on the ground, and spring is a good while away, but believe it or not it’s time to start planning your spring gardening. Even if your yard consists of grass and a few shrubs, you can get the most out of it this year by planning ahead.

For a healthy yard or garden, fertilizer can be your best friend. However, you’ll need to know what type of fertilizer is best for lawns, gardens, shrubs or trees. The U.S. Dept of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service provides free soil analysis to home gardeners. Find the local chapter in your phone book (usually listed in the government pages). Collect a small soil sample from each location that you’d like to plant in, put them in separate, well-labeled plastic bags, and send in the samples. Doing this now will speed up the service’s response, since demand is pretty light during the winter months. When the results of the analysis come in, take them to a professional, who can help you interpret them.

If you don’t want to do the soil test, just keep a few fertilizer basics in mind, courtesy of Jack Maguire and True Value Hardware:

"Most lawns and plants benefit from a fertilizer that provides nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in a ratio of 3-1-2 (for example, a common package description is 21-7-14). In areas where the soil already contains enough phosphorus, choose a fertilizer without any, since the excess will run off and pollute lakes and streams."