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The magic behind the Peacock sciopticon

Lifestyle Columns

According to science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Look at magic lanterns, which even have “magic” in their name. They were used in Europe by the 1650s. Traveling showmen used them to apparently conjure ghosts and demons out of thin air to the shock and amusement of their audiences. Of course, these apparitions were projected by candlelight through the lantern’s lens. Audiences loved these devices, and over time, they received improvements and became more accessible. Oil and gas lamps replaced the ...

New Ulm FSG presents “Skating to Infinity and Beyond”

Lifestyle Feature

NEW ULM — The New Ulm Figure Skating Club will be presenting its 36th annual ice skating show on Saturday, March 2 and Sunday, March 3 at the New Ulm Civic Center. The show is titled “Skating to Infinity and Beyond,” themed after “Toy Story” and the importance of friendship told by ...

It’s teatime with this Scandinavian tea trolley

Lifestyle Columns

It’s probably no surprise that the tea trolley emerged in Victorian England. Just the words “tea trolley” can conjure up an image of a delicate cart laden with floral china and shining silver plate (probably resting on crocheted lace doilies), pushed by a primly uniformed servant into an ornately furnished room where aristocratic women perch on uncomfortably carved mahogany chairs. Like many upper-class English fashions, the tea trolley spread to the United States, where it received a new spin in the 20th century: With Prohibition ending in the 1930s, the tea trolley was ...

A list for readers who have read everything

Lifestyle Columns

Delivering library books to New Ulm Assisted Living Facilities is one less-known but super important service library staff offers to the community. Interacting with residents and helping them find books in the collection we haul to the facilities are services I love delivering. During these outreach visits, residents get help identifying and obtaining books not only from the New Ulm Public Library, but also from the Traverse de Sioux Regional Library System (TDS) and library systems throughout Minnesota. Many residents are voracious readers so I’m given the opportunity to ...

Hold your place with a Heinz pickle-shaped bookmark

Lifestyle Columns

Avid readers, do you find yourselves in a pickle when you lose your place in a book? All right, maybe that’s a little labored. Still, a brightly colored pickle-shaped bookmark can get your attention no matter what you say about it. And that’s exactly what the Heinz brand counted on with advertising premiums like these die-cut cardstock bookmarks. This set of nine was sold by Morford’s Antique Advertising Auctions for $130. On one side, you have a bright green cucumber with a smiling child or chef holding a Heinz product. On the reverse, there’s a reminder of how “Pure, Clean, ...

Tax season is upon us

Lifestyle Columns

Here we are at the end of February and tax season is here. The library has resources to help you complete this yearly task! If you choose to file your taxes yourself, we have the 1040/1040SR forms in English and Spanish, and the English instruction booklets. The Spanish instruction booklets are on order but haven’t arrived yet. The tax forms and booklets are located in the hallway near the Children’s Room; you are welcome to come in and help yourself. If you need additional forms, stop at the Service Desk and we can print them out for you for $.25 per side (double sided forms are ...