Smoking is outre, but smoking paraphernalia is collectible

January 14, 2023

Some collectibles aren’t what they seem at first glance. This green enameled piece that sold for $252 at Morphy Auctions looks like a covered jar. A closer look at the finial, shaped like a seated cherub or putto playing a stringed instrument, suggests its true purpose. It’s really a music box that plays two tunes. That’s not all it is: Wind it up and the panels open, revealing a silver toned pocket behind each panel. The pockets were originally meant to hold cigarettes. It’s a music box and a cigarette dispenser! It’s well-known that smoking was much more common in the ...

New year, new books!

January 14, 2023

Happy New Year! Here are some great new books that will be coming soon to the Children’s Room. “Very Good Hats” by Emma Staub is a story about, you guessed it, hats! Hats can be made in fine shops and be very expensive. But we all know hats that are made of the tops of acorns, raspberries on your thumb, and a pudding cups that make a dashing hats for a teddy bears. Children will love to see that their suspicion that anything can be a hat is true. I was sad to read that Steven Jenkins passed away last year at this time. I thought we had seen our last book by this award-winning ...

Senior Meals

January 14, 2023

MONDAY Martin Luther King Day - Closed TUESDAY Chicken a’la king, peas & carrots, pineapple chunks, brown rice, Jell-O w/whipped topping, milk. WEDNESDAY Goulash, mixed green salad w/dressing, tropical fruit, bread, dessert, milk THURSDAY Pork loin, candied yams, california-normandy vegetables, dinner roll, bar, milk. FRIDAY Lemon pepper fish, baked potato w/sour cream, coleslaw, bead, apple brown betty, milk. The New Ulm Community Center is OPEN for in person dining. Call 359-2243 for Delivery, or to reserve a meal for in person dining, or for pick-up. Meal Price ...

Victorians loved their taxidermy

January 7, 2023

What comes to mind when you think of Victorian antiques? Silver-plated tableware, delicate porcelain dinner services, early photographs and daguerreotypes, and souvenirs commemorating Queen Victoria herself? How about taxidermy? Decorating with preserved animals became fashionable in England by the 1850s and caught on in America in the following decades. This taxidermy bird diorama was made about 1870. It sold for $3,410, more than twice its high estimate. If you are interested in buying or selling antique taxidermy, check your Department of Wildlife or Fish and Game for regulations. ...

Make the library part of your new year

January 7, 2023

A very happy New Year from New Ulm Public Library to you all! People often look at demarcations in time for mental encouragement in making a change. A new year, a new season, a birthday, an important date in your life – all of these can cause us to reflect on the past and present to consider the future. There is something about transitions that naturally invites us to think about change. Sometimes we wish things wouldn’t change. Other times we hope every day that they will. For some people, the image of a library is a monolithic unchanging thing. Shushing, bespectacled old ladies ...

Senior Meals

January 7, 2023

MONDAY Egg bake w/sausage, oven baked potatoes, carrots, applesauce, coffee cake, milk. TUESDAY Meatloaf, baked potato w/sour cream, pears, bread, bar, milk. WEDNESDAY Pasta in meat sauce, romaine salad w/dressing, pineapple chunks, bread stick, dessert, milk. THURSDAY Roast turkey w/gravy, mashed potatoes, California normandy vegetables, bread, cookie, milk. FRIDAY Baked ham w/sauce, scalloped potatoes, peas and carrots, dinner roll, pudding, milk. The New Ulm Community Center is OPEN for in person dining. Call 359-2243 for Delivery, or to reserve a meal for in ...