Arlington Public Library

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Don’t Let Old Yearbooks Clutter Your Closets…

Sandra Bullock and Shirley MacLaine were both cheerleaders, and Warren Beatty played football at Washington-Lee.

Katie Couric was a cheerleader at Yorktown.

Want to see their high school photos? The Virginia Room’s archive contains copies of many Arlington high school yearbooks–but not all of them.

Help us complete our archive – if you have an Arlington high school yearbook from any year between 1951 and 2010, consider donating it to the Virginia Room.

We’re looking for yearbooks in good condition (no mold or mildew please), but we don’t care if they include inscriptions. We also accept duplicates.

Walk-in donations are happily accepted. For more information, call 703-228-5965 or email staff.

Winter in the Vegetable Garden

Don Weber and Puwen Lee have been busy getting the Central Library vegetable garden ready for winter.

Two weeks ago, they transplanted the mixed lettuce seedlings (originally planted as seeds in the raised bed garden in August), both inside and outside of the two cold frames. The weather was still mild and rainy, so they were able to leave the glass up until this week, when the temperatures dropped. Check out the rest of the December 2011 vegetable garden photos on our flickr page.

Lettuce inside and outside the cold frames

Compost bins (free from the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services) have also been set up. Now we can recycle our garden waste, instead of dumping it in the trash!

All of the produce harvested from our vegetable garden goes to the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC).  Learn more about AFAC in this video, from VOA News:

Mightier and Cheaper Than the Sword

Public libraries are known for collecting the words of others. But our staff sometimes have to write their own–and in the old-fashioned way, with pen and paper.

Thank you to our friends at ARLnow.com, for giving us a big box of brand-new blue ballpoints, orphaned in a promotional sense because of a logo mix-up.

We’re fine with the aesthetics. And who doesn’t like to read or write the words “recycling” and “savings”?

What is the Arlington Employment Center?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHm4quFcrNM[/youtube]

 

The Arlington Employment Center has served  job seekers looking for employment and exploring new careers since 1989.

Arlington Employment Center is located at:
2100 Washington Boulevard, 1st Floor
Arlington, Virginia 22204

Hours:
Monday – Thursday: 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.*
Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.*
* First time visitors should arrive before 3:00 p.m.

703-228-1400
jobseeker@arlingtonva.us

An Adventuress in Arlington

 

The story of Princess Agnes Salm-Salm mixes myth and fact. Agnes Elizabeth Winona Leclerc Joy was born in Franklin, Vermont, on December 25, 1844, the daughter of General William Leclerc Joy. Agnes is described as a beautiful red-haired Indian woman, who worked in a circus as an equestrienne and an actress in Cuba, rode with her husband and nursed troops during the Civil War, and helped found the Red Cross in Europe.

In 1861 Agnes came to visit her sister who was living in Washington, D.C., where her beauty and riding style drew attention and she became part of Washington society. In a visit to Fort Blenker, (renamed Fort Reynolds) which was located near Fairlington, she met monocoled Prussian Prince Felix Salm-Salm. Captain Louis Blenker’s 8th N.Y. Volunteer Infantry Regiment, made up of Germans, Hungarians, Poles and other Europeans, and known for their colorful uniforms, lavish entertainment and neat campsites, had been previously stationed at Camp Hunter’s Chapel located near Arlington United Methodist Church on South Glebe Road. Although Agnes spoke no German and the Prince spoke no English, they were immediately attracted to each other and married in July 1862.

Prince Salm-Salm participated with the 8th N.Y. Infantry in General Ambrose Burnside’s Mud March, in the Fredericksburg campaign, in January, 1863. Princess Agnes Salm-Salm greeted President Lincoln with a kiss when he came to visit the troops. Prince Felix and Col. Otto von Corvin tried to interest President Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in recruiting 20,000 German troops to come fight for the Union, but this idea was rejected because of logistics, expense and predictable public reactions to employing mercenary soldiers, as the British employed the Hessian soldiers during the American Revolution. When the Prince’s appointment as an officer to the 8th N.Y. expired in April 1863, Princess Agnes used her influence to have her husband appointed to 28th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment in July 1864, where he served in Tennessee and Georgia.

In January 1866, Prince Felix and Princess Agnes went to Mexico, where Prince Felix served under Prince Maximillian’s French forces. The night before Maximillian’s execution Princess Agnes kneeled before Mexican President Benito Juárez and pleaded in vain to spare Maximillian’s life, a scene painted by Mexican painter Manuel Ocaranza.

In 1868 Prince Felix and Princess Agnes went to Europe. Prince Felix served in the Prussian Army was killed on August 18, 1870, in the Battle of Gravotte. Princess Agnes remained in Europe and died Germany on December 21, 1912. The image above of Princess Agnes is from the Library of Congress.

Bibliography:
Coffey, David. Soldier Princess: the Life and Legend of Agnes Salm-Salm in North America, 1861-1867. 2002.
Salm-Salm, Agnes Elizabeth W. Ten Years of My Life, 1876.

What about you? Do you know of interesting people or events in Civil War Arlington? The Virginia Room wants to know.

Anonymous Donor Visits the Book Sale

A Library regular turned into an Anonymous Donor at the Shirlington Branch Library’s book sale this week.

After observing another customer meticulously selecting books from the Friends of the Library Book Sale, she approached Library staff and asked to pay the other patron’s entire Booksale bill – anonymously!

Having been impressed by recent news stories of anonymous angels paying other people’s toy bills and layaway costs, we’re delighted that someone decided to do this at the Library!

Westover Raised $125 for Wells Memorial Library!

Over the past two months, Arlington Public Library locations have been collecting change to contribute toward replacing the children’s book collection at the Wells Memorial Library in Upper Jay, N.Y. The entire picture book collection was lost due to flooding as a result of Hurricane Irene.

The Westover Branch Library staff send thanks to patrons who contributed over $125 in change.

Collections in the library have come to an end, however, there are still ways you can help. See author Kate Messner’s blog for information.

Meet Jack, Outstanding Volunteer at Cherrydale

Jack Chellman, a sophomore at The Bullis School, has volunteered practically every Saturday at the Cherrydale Branch Library since October 2009.

Jack has always loved reading, so when he saw the request for volunteers, he immediately responded with his in-person support.

Jack enjoys working on finding items on the holds list, and if he finishes early, he’ll always plunge into shelving whatever most needs to be shelved.

Staff members at Cherrydale are always cheered by his smile and willingness to help!

 

Learn more about Volunteer Opportunities at the Arlington Public Library.

 



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