Madison Brown -- Great TV Action Character (Could Be)

Scowl-Face continues the Library's centennial celebratory blog by talking about what went down from 1916 through 1937 at MPL.  Well, he is just cherry-picking highlights, not blabbering about every little detail, like he usually does.  Boy, are you lucky.  We have to listen to him non-stop.

Key to the Library's historical tale is the partnership between residents of Brown and Madison Townships, in Morgan County, Indiana, between 1920-1928 in their support of my Library.  That kind of cooperation would make a good TV drama.  "Madison and Brown -- They're cops!"  Or how about an action character?  "Madison Brown -- By day, mild-mannered librarian; by night, she's Persephone, who strikes fear into the hearts of evil-doing dudes everywhere."  Wait, that's too much like Batgirl.  Okay, how about Madison Brown, that quirky, lovable everygal who is trying to make it on her own in the big city.  No, that's the Mary Tyler Moore Show and That Girl! all mixed together.  Maybe "Madison Brown" could be an ex-jewel thief who helps the authorities catch crooks . . .  Well, it's not To Catch a Thief or It Takes a Thief.  No Cary Grant or Robert Wagner.  Well, maybe it is, for girls.  Perhaps "Madison, Brown & Associates:  They're CPAs who see dead people."  Ghost Whisperer recycled.  Can't anything original appear on television anymore?

I suppose I'll have to stick with historical reality, which is hardly any fun to blog about.  But it is interesting, informative, and educational.  I get three cans of tuna-in-oil whenever I say such things about Scowl-Face's blog.  Sweet deal, I'm telling you.

Maybe Scowl-Face Should Give Green Stamps to Encourage More Readers to Follow His Blog,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Library History News Beat

P.S.  I've deliberately not hyperlinked several old pop culture references, some that go as far back as the 1960s.  (Okay, Persephone is ancient Greek mythology, but the rest is American television pop culture.)  Why no links this time?  You should hone your Googling skills.  Of course, my senior people readers will remember all that stuff.  They rotted their brains on television.

P.P.S.  Anybody remember Cagney & Lacey, the TV police drama (1981-1988) that featured two hard-nosed female police officers?  That was ground-breaking for prime time network television 30 years ago.  Here's the series intro from its first season.

Breaking Library News, a Century Ago

Scowl-Face has put together a dandy historical snapshot of library news from October, 1911 through January, 1912, as part of my Library's 100th anniversary celebration this year.  Want to read it?  You're brave souls indeed.  You know where to click.

Be sure to put a pillow near where your head will fall when you nod off.  This is Scowl-Face's writing we're talking about, remember.  There's no better insomniac aid on the market.

Celebrating a Century of Library Service,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Library Anniversary News Beat

P.S.  Last time we talked about our 100th anniversary celebration, I closed with a fan's video interpretation of "I Never Thought I'd Live To Be a Hundred," by the Moody Blues, which appeared on the album To Our Children's Children's Children (1969).  This time, the video above shows the band members  against the soundtrack of the song and its reprise, "I Never Thought I'd Live to Be a Million," which also appeared on the same album.  The photos appear to be mostly from the late 1960s/early 1970s, at least during the first video segment; during the second segment, the photos are much more recent (last decade or so?), because the group is, frankly, much older, too.  Ask the Lady With the Red Hair sometime about her experience seeing the Moody Blues live in concert at Purdue University back in the 1980s.  Trust moi, it's worth it.

A Century of Library Services

This year (2012) marks the 100th anniversary of the citizens (and government) of the Town of Mooresville, Indiana, organizing a library board and authorizing a tax levy toward construction of a new public library.  There had been intermittent library service during the 19th century, with a local lending library first established in 1855.  But the first municipal effort toward establishing a permanent, ongoing public library began in May, 1912, with passage of the levy and creation of the library board.

Mooresville citizens began to rally for a public library in October, 1911, but it took several months of meetings and displays of public support to entice the Board of Town Trustees to institute fundraising through taxation.  Taxes were no more popular a hundred years ago than now, and so it took some effort to garner widespread support from Mooresville residents.

My Library will be celebrating throughout 2012, and our patrons, of course, will be invited to participate. We have enjoyed a century of library service to our community, and we look forward to another century.

Explore the history of MPL by clicking that hyperlink back there.  Oops!  Missed it.  Start again!

Watch For More 100th Anniversary Blogs Here,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

MPL Centennial News Beat

P.S.  Since we've "come to see where [our] beginnings have gone," it's appropriate to include "Looking Into You," by Jackson Browne, from his self-titled debut album (1972), which has also been called Saturate Before Using, because of the words printed atop the album cover.  "Looking Into You" is Scowl-Face's favorite Jackson Browne song (from his favorite JB album).  He has his reasons.

P.P.S.  My favorite Jackson Browne song is "Rock Me on the Water," also from his self-titled debut album (1972).  I have my reasons, too.  This was the second single from the LP, which reached #48 on Billboard's Hot 100 pop charts.  The other single, "Doctor My Eyes," reached #8.