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Summer Is Fun at the Library!

Lifestyle Columns

When you are looking for summer fun, your first stop should be the library! We have a variety of activities, borrowable items, and more to keep you busy and entertained. During 2024, we added Recreation Center passes. We have two single and two family (up to four people) passes that can be borrowed for seven days at a time. They grant you access to our wonderful New Ulm Recreation Center, where you can swim, play on the indoor playground, use exercise equipment, walk on the indoor track, and more. We’re so pleased to have added three Minnesota State Park passes to our collection ...

‘Music Man’ strikes contemporary note

Lifestyle Feature

Getting an all age cast of 35 in perfect harmony, musically and theatrically, when everyone’s got ideas of their own is no small feat. Yet, director Landon Hudson achieved this and more, bringing fresh eyes to Meredith Willson’s The Music Man, blending that old movie feel with ...

Lamps provide a new artists’ medium

Lifestyle Columns

The invention of the electric light bulb didn’t just introduce an improved, more convenient, safer light source. It gave designers new inspiration. As the use of electric lights spread during the late 19th to early 20th centuries, lamps with colorful opaque glass shades became popular. They made beautiful decorations, whether on or off, and the intense electric light shining through the glass often gave the design a whole new look. Tiffany, Handel, and Pairpoint made the most famous lamps of the time. They have stunning, high-quality shades made with complex techniques, and the bases ...

Plenty to show at Rec on the Go

Life

NEW ULM — For those seeking alternative opportunities to get out and have fun while experiencing many of New Ulm’s different parks, Rec on the Go has been an answer since its inception in 2018. Whether that answer be in the form of arts and crafts or games and activities, Rec on the Go ...

The Dog Days of Summer

Lifestyle Columns

By Kathryn Tatnall Youth Services Librarian Did you know the term “Dog Days” refers to the heat and humidity of the mid-summer months of July and August here in the Northern Hemisphere? Most sources agree that Dog Days occur in mid-to-late summer, but the exact dates can vary from source to source because they are tied to the dawn rising of the star Sirius, also known as the Dog star, and they change over time. The Old Farmer’s Almanac considers the Dog Days to begin on July 3 and end on August 11, which is typically the worst of the summer’s heat. I always picture a dog lying ...

The name ‘Duncan Phyfe’ becomes synonymous with style

Lifestyle Columns

By Terry and Kim Kovel Some designers become so popular that their name becomes synonymous with their style. This can make matters confusing for collectors. Duncan Phyfe furniture is one of the most famous examples. Cabinetmaker Duncan Phyfe (1768-1854) came to America in 1784, served in an apprenticeship in Albany, New York, and had his own workshop by 1792. He made furniture in many styles popular in the late 18th to early 19th centuries, including Sheraton, Empire, Regency, and Rococo Revival. By the 20th century, however, “Duncan Phyfe” referred to a reproduction of Empire ...