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Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Do you have the guts, creativity, and skills to join the ranks of America’s small business owners? If so, great; you’ve come to the right place!

According to the Small Business Association, half of all small businesses fail within the first ten years. That’s a scary statistic, but you can increase your chances of success with a plan built with the right information, the information available in the Grand Rapids Public Library Small Business Resource Center. In addition to a great collection of business information resources, both print and digital, we also offer a curriculum of small business classes in everything from market research to social media! Our next class ‘Using Facebook to Promote Your Business,’ will be held on February 23rd from 1:00 to 3:00, followed by our Market Research Series held in partnership with the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center beginning March 6th.

Further, are you planning on being a social entrepreneur, looking to instigate change? As a Cooperating Collection of the Foundation Center, we also support non-profit entrepreneurs with extensive resources, and classes too! Come attend our next class, ‘Intro to Finding Funders,’ on February 9th.

Contact the Business Librarian today to see how the Grand Rapids Public Library SBRC can make your entrepreneurial dreams a reality!

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Salvation Army Group

Recently a patron called asking if we could identify the location of where a picture was taken. She found a photo on our website that she said was strikingly similar to a photo of her grandparents’ wedding. The people in our photo were not in her photo but the trellis and decorations were all the same. She assumed that our photo was taken at the same church or hall. She never knew where her grandparents were married but she knew they were involved in the Salvation Army. She was convinced that it was at the same place as seen in this photo.

I decided to look at the original photo to see if there was any information written on the back identifying its location but there was none. The original photo belongs to the Robinson Studio Collection and so I checked to see if there were any other Salvation Army photos in the collection. I found one box filled with negatives of Salvation Army photographs. As you can see in the upper corner of this photo there appears to be words painted on the wall. I looked at several of the negatives and they showed scenes in a hall with a stage and above the stage were the words “Holiness Unto The Lord.” The lettering matched what is barely visible in this photo. But I still did not know if this was in a church or other hall. Finally I came upon one negative showing the hall that was kept in a folder labelled “Salvation Army 227 Pearl”.

Salvation Army Citadel, 1960

Next I went to the city directory for that time and it showed the Salvation Army Citadel and Headquarters at 227 Pearl St. NW. I then entered the address into Bing Maps and it put me at the valet parking entrance to the Amway Grand Hotel. It appeared the building no longer stood. It then occurred to me that we might have a photo of the building in our Real Estate Listing Cards. There I found a photo of what the building looked like from the outside near the time of its demolition in 1960. I also found a newspaper article from the Grand Rapids Press on July 1, 1960 with the headline “Citadel Gives Way to Modern Need–Parking”. After my discovery I called the patron back and let her know what I’d found. She was thrilled to learn where her grandparents were married and to learn a little bit more about her own photo. Now we just need some help identifying who the people are in our photo–anyone?

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If one compares death statistics, we’re much more likely to die from a small microbe than a large disaster, which is perhaps a good argument for more money going into medical research. Because while  no one lives forever, there is no need to hasten the journey. So it can’t hurt to find out more about our nemeses, and new ways of dealing with them. I didn’t realize how many harmful bugs have crossed over from a variety of animal hosts to– hmm, well, yes, a different animal host (people–us– that is). There are a lot of interesting books in the “infectious disease” section, and we also have lots of other intriguing books on influenza, especially the great influenza pandemic of 1918.

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Anew display at the Main Library features WWII letters

Sometimes objects are believed to resonate with the emotional record of the time that they were created. Actual letters can have a disturbing power to reach out from the past and move us. Art Johnson’s letter to his wife turned up at an estate sale, and our Local History Dept. solved the mystery of what ultimately happened… There is a display with Art’s letter at the Main Library, and some excerpts of it follow:

April 29, 1944

My one and only sweetheart,

Will write a few lines to let you know I am ok…

Yes, I am with a combat outfit and gitting my advanced training on the front lines, but there isn’t anything to worry about….

****

Now Darling I may not be able to write for a little while so don’t worry if you don’t git a letter for a week or so but I will write again as soon as I possibly can…
Well honey I must close now, & yes you asked how long I would be here. I don’t know a bit more about that than you…

****

The Jerry planes came over the other night and made a little error and bombed their own lines which I got a big kick out of, then the Germans threw up flairs to stop them and that gave our artilary a chance and they laid a big barrage in on them. The other night a German opened up on me with a burp gun and that got my temper up so I laid in on him with the machine gun and gave him a few bursts and I didn’t hear any more from him. I am close enough to them now that if I’m not careful they will be reading this over my shoulder.

****

I believe in you and always will no matter what happens. Well honey tell Butch to be a good boy and dady will be home someday to take care of him and you…

Your loveing husband and dady, Art

Art joined up in Sept. 1942, and 9 months later he was killed and buried in Italy. His 179^th Infantry Regiment was part of the celebrated 45^th Thunderbird Division, who fought in Italy, transferred to Southern France, and continued to fight through Germany, where it was one of the 1^st units to liberate Dachau concentration camp.

He was one of the roughly 405,399 U.S. Military deaths of World War II.

Thank you Art…

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 If you’re like me, the recent declaration of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas leaves little relief.  I’m often left with questions of how what is arguably the most sacred spot can become so ramp with conflict and aggression.  When I finally decided to learn about the creation of Israel, I was amazed at its historical significance.  We have plenty of books on this issue, so that you too can shake your head with the weariness of a prodigy and exclaim, “Ah, of course if they’re sharing the same religious text, they’re going to have holy sites only blocks away from each other!”

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Where did Halloween come from anyways?  I’ve always loved looking through “Holiday Symbols and Customs” because it is so extensive.  “...the legend and lore behind the traditions, rituals, foods, games, animals, and other symbols and activities associated with Holidays and Holy Days, Feasts and Fasts, and other celebrations….. (around the world)”.   So much of it evolved out of the Celtic traditions, which included the mysterious Druids.  The festival of Samhain goes back to the days when the coming of winter was a real cause for concern, and one hoped for a bountiful harvest to make it through the cold, short days until the coming of spring again.

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Building an altar is not only a way of honoring your dead, it is also a way of inviting them for a visit. Historically the altars where made to call back loved ones from the other side. This is why we decorate our altars with the things that the deceased once loved. We honer them with their favorite things in life to show the dead that they have not been forgotten.

Traditionally there are a number of items that make up an altar:

Images of the deceased: The image is usually in a nice frame and centrally placed on the top of the altar. Multiple images of the departed doing their favorite activities are appropriate as these illustrate who they were.

Food offerings: It is also customary to place food on the alters as an offering to the spirits. Traditional Mexican dishes such as Mole, Tamales, and Pan de Muertos (bread of the dead) are common. Bread of the dead is decorated sweet bread that is on placed alters or grave sites. Seasonal fresh fruit and more modern favorite foods can also be left as an offering.

Significant objects: Objects may also be displayed to symbolize the activities that the deceased once enjoyed. For example: you might include fishing lures of the individual fished a lot.

Flowers: It is customary to have Marigolds on your altar or at a grave site: the flowers strong smell is said to lead the spirits back to their families. Although Marigolds are customary any strong smelling flower will do.

Sugar Skulls: These skulls are decorated and made out of sugar and Corn syrup. They are then placed on altars or given as gifts to children.

Beverages: It is good to leave water or other beverages on your altar for the spirits so they may quench their thirst.

Papel Picado: These are decorative cut pieces of cray or tissue paper hung around the grave sites or altars.

Other iconic images: It is also traditional to place the images of saints,  other people that the deceased may have held dear, and whimsical skeletal figures.

Candles: There are many meanings for candles during the Day of the Dead celebrations; they represent hope, faith, prayer, mourning, and celebration.

Salt/incense: Salt is used as a purification element and incense is another way to entice the spirits.

Toiletries: Some believe that it is nice to provide the dead with items to wash up such as bars of soap and small towels.

Usually the altar is set up in two levels: the top representing heaven and the bottom earth. The images of the Dead are usually on the top level to represent their decent. All of these things can be a part of an altar but what matters most is how one remembers their loved ones. Each is something unique.

A Cemetery in Mexico on the Day of the Dead:

image credit to: http://www.slrobertso.com/galleriesn/

Alter dedicated to the writer, CARLOS MONSIVAIS:

image credit to: http://www.mingei.org/about/news/1003

Other references:

http://www.celebrate-day-of-the-dead.com/day-of-the-dead-altars.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/altar/

http://www.mexican-folk-art-guide.com/day-of-the-dead-altars.html

http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/1427-los-dias-de-los-muertos-the-days-of-the-dead

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Right now there are 7 digital hubs that are linked to the DPLA initiative. These hubs consist of University or State Libraries who agree to host and help digitize materials around their specific geographic region. (See Minnesota’s Refelctions for a wonderful example of a digital hub) Sadly, none of these hubs are located in Michigan. What these hubs are doing was best explained from the representative of the Knight Foundation, which is granting the DPLA a million dollars to help push this project along.

He stated that “These hubs will create the agreements between participating organizations and coordinate efforts within their states. They will provide direct services too. For example, if a library wants to start digitizing items but lacks the equipment or staff, the hubs will digitize up to 5,000 items for them. They will send a metadata “geek squad” to teach the staff how to code and categorize the digitized materials. No place to store all the new digital data? The hubs will store it for you and provide you with a link to put on your website.”

I left the seminar on both days scratching my head trying to understand how GRPL can add to this initiative? Especially, since we have no direct contact with the DPLA in the form of a digital hub. Questions swirled in my head as to how a hub could be created here in Michigan and thereby link our collection to the DPLA? Do we wait for the hub, or do we become a hub ourselves? What would this require and where would the resources come from? One thing is clear, we need to be part of this initiative. We need to add Grand Rapid’s voice to the DPLA.

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El Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead may sound scary or morbid  but the day is really about celebrating life and remembering loved ones. To learn more about “Day of the Dead” stop in the Main Library from October 31 – November 3, 2012 to see altars, create crafts and celebrate life and death in a joyful and respectful way. Also, check out some of the resources below and many more available at the Grand Rapids Public Library:

The Day of the Dead = El Dia de los Muertos by Antoni Cadafalch

Paper crafts for Day of the Dead by Randel McGee

The skeleton at the feast: the Day of the Dead in Mexico by Elizabeth Carmichael

Day of the Dead by Tony Johnston

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