Mooresville's Founding Feline

Nearly a year ago, Scowl-Face gave a program (motto: At least there was cake served) at the library about Mooresville, Indiana's founder, Samuel Moore, and his wife, Eliza Worthington Moore.  He's also blogged about the couple.  We have a ton of stuff about them on our website.

"Narration" of Samuel Moore at the Old Settlers Picnic (1885),

by Mooresville Public Library

Those who attended Scowl-Face's program will back moi up here ("booorrring!"), so I thought you might be interested in learning more about Mooresville's founding feline, who happened to be an ancestor of yours truly.  His name was Hippolyte, who was Samuel Moore's cat.

Hippolyte (1817-1828) travelled with the Moore family from North Carolina when they migrated to Indiana (in 1819), and (in 1822) Hippolyte accompanied Samuel Moore when he moved to Brown Township in Morgan County.  Mooresville was founded in 1824.

We have no artist renderings of Hippolyte, but we do have a reenactor photo showing my feline pioneer ancestor.

Reenactor photo of Hippolyte, my feline pioneer ancestor, as Hippolyte may have looked on the Moore family's northern migration to and within Indiana (1819-1822)

Hippolyte was a "mouser" who had earned a reputation for clearing rodents from Samuel Moore's trading post and storage cabins where he kept perishable supplies, dry goods, and assorted items for sale to the public.  The trading post was situated atop a hill approximately where today's V.F.W. Post #1111 now stands on South Indiana Street, a few hundred feet east of White Lick Creek.  Moore's storage cabins were also nearby this location.

VFW Post #1111

411 South Indiana Street

Mooresville, IN 46158

(visit their Facebook page)

In 1824, when Samuel built his wood-frame general store in downtown Mooresville (on the northeast corner of Main and Indiana Streets), Hippolyte took up service there. Rattermeeses (sometimes also spelled rattermeeces) go where the food is, so there's always a need for good feline hunters to keep edible merchandise safe for folks to buy.

As a proud descendant of Hippolyte, I am another in a long line of pioneer kitties who have called Mooresville home.  (Take a peek at my feline genealogy to learn more about my family history.)  Our town's humans should hold a parade in our honor sometime.  At least we deserve a float in the annual Old Settlers' parade.  Just saying.

Your (Retired) Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

A Cauli Le Chat Production

Viewers of my library's YouTube Channel  know all about Cauli Le Chat videos.

Yep.  Pretty Much.

My paws are all over those videos my minions make for the library.  Did you know our YouTube videos are approaching a million views?  There's a really nice newspaper article about it, and everything.

The channel has many playlists for different types of videos (book trailers, program/promo trailers, historical videos, music videos, live action, sing-alongs, readalouds, puppet shows, and much more).  Browse our playlists to watch the videos, or just trawl through our video list to pick-and-choose from among our (currently) 730 uploads.

The newspaper article requires a few corrections, however:

• I am a female feline.  Who could not know that?
• Scowl-Face's first name is Bill, not Bob (that's his middle name).
• Broadway Gal's first name is Suzanne, not Susan.
• Our YouTube channel currently averages between 21,000 and 24,000 views per month, not week.
• Scowl-Face is baffled by everything.

I like producing these videos.  I can lounge around inside where it's warm (or cool), depending upon the time of year.  Plus, my supper bowl is always nearby.  Creativity makes moi mighty hungry.

We hope you enjoy our videos.  Remember, they're brought to you by moi.  My minions helped.  A little.

Your (Retired) Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

P.S.  By the way, my production clip at the top was adapted from a share-alike video called Animal Motion Animation, by Megan Goodson (2010).

Last Snowfall of 2016?

Depending upon how you look at it, today was our first accumulating snowfall of the 2016-2017 winter season; or it was (possibly) the last snowfall of 2016 (December still has a ways to go yet, so let's not count our winged dinners early.  Just saying.).  Last sounds better, but then there's all of 2017 to contend with, so we're not out of the proverbial woods yet.

The snow is quite pretty, especially when I'm inside safe and warm (at home; I don't roam around town anymore--hence my retired moniker). Minions, make with the winter wonderland library photos.  As always, click the pictures to bigify.

Want to see the snow actually falling?  Sure you do.

Click (Above) to Play Video

Drive safely out there!  If you're walking, also be careful--sidewalks are slick.  Of course, we felines have our own built-in traction devices--you could call it four-paw drive--so we're pretty sure-footed on snow and ice. Well, sure-pawed, really.

Your (Retired) Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

Kittens First, But Save Otis, Too

Otis the tractor did the right thing, saving first those kittens trapped in a burning barn.  But then Otis needed saving.  Who will step-up?  Our book trailer wonders.

MPL Book Trailer #361

Otis and the Kittens, by Loren Long

This beautifully illustrated children's picture book has a happy ending, so no need to worry, young readers.  It is a remarkable tale of self-sacrifice in the face of danger, of courage to protect those you love, and of working together in a crisis.  Should we be faced with such calamities, I hope we will respond as Otis and his friends did.  Our Evergreen Indiana cardholders may checkout Otis and the Kittens from my Library.  Place a hold here, or visit the Library and grab it from the shelf (call number EASY LON, shelved in the EASY-PICT section of our youth services collections).

Your (Retired) Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

This Deer Reigns, Truly

Silly Safari's Candy Cane Chris returned as part of the Library's 2016 Victorian Christmas celebration with--wait for it--a real, live elkenfroster. (Humans call them reindeer.)  This deer surely reigned today, considering the long lines of excited kids (and grown-ups) waiting for a look-see.  I, of course, stayed outside the library, away from the voluminous crowds. (I didn't want to have the stamp [as in stampede] put on moi.)  But my minions snapped a few photos, which you should click to bigify.

There was also dulcimer music, courtesy of the Central Indiana Folk Music & Mountain Dulcimer Society.

Too bad if you missed it.  There's always next year.

Your (Retired) Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat