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Winter reading program

Lifestyle Columns

Happy New Year! As the winter winds of January roll in and the temperature drops, it’s time for our annual winter reading program for adults. The program began this week and runs through the end of February. To participate in the program, you just need to stop by the circulation desk to register and pick up your tracking sheet. If you’ve never participated in our winter reading program, you might be wondering what it’s all about. Well pull up a comfy seat, wrap yourself in a nice warm blanket, and grab your next read as I explain. Just like the summer reading program for ...

An explanation for a shaving baby on a calendar

Lifestyle Columns

Baby New Year can grow up fast! The baby pictured here is already shaving. Well, it’s probably not supposed to be Baby New Year, but being surrounded by a calendar, it’s an easy association to make. This baby was the mascot for Gillette’s safety razors, perhaps suggesting that they were both safe enough and easy enough for a baby to use, with the promise of baby-smooth skin, too. Inventor King C. Gillette was not the first to create a safety razor, but he came up with the disposable blade, and his company popularized them in the early 1900s. Note that the calendar is for 1909 -- ...

Fun for winter! The New Ulm Public Library’s Library of Things

Lifestyle Columns

Looking for fun activities this winter? The Library of Things (LOT) is an excellent starting point. Whether you want your children to continue learning while on a break from school, or are looking to boost family physical activity, many LOT items—available to checkout with your library card—can help you achieve your goals. Check out a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activity to strengthen logical thought processes and problem-solving skills or try a board game from the library’s extensive collection to stimulate the brain areas responsible for memory and complex ...

Combining classic techniques with modern sensibilities

Lifestyle Columns

Glass can be extremely difficult to identify and date. Fortunately for collectors, the vase pictured here is signed and dated: Lundberg Studios, 1977. Lundberg Studios, founded in 1970 and still active, makes iridescent glass with shapes and patterns reminiscent of famous art glass makers like Tiffany. They are not copies or reproductions but contemporary pieces taking inspiration from older styles. When it comes to contemporary glass (which Kovels defines as glass made after about 1970), the highest prices usually go to sculptural, avant-garde pieces made with unconventional ...

2024 in photos

Lifestyle Feature

In 2024, Journal staff took thousands of photos cover a wide range of unique stories; from the NUMAS Haus purchase of the former First United Methodist church building and the moving of the house at 320 N. Broadway to the partial failure of the Rapidan Dam and the demolition of George’s ...