I hope you’re enjoying reading this column in the Delaware Gazette. I have been contributing it since 1988, and it is still fun for me to write it. Over those last 27 years, significant changes have occurred in the way the Delaware County District Library communicates with you.
The introduction of social media has added several new tools to our communication toolbox, as well as an enhanced dimension to reaching out to the public. Library staff frequently posts events and information to our Facebook page, as well as sends out tweets through Twitter to keep you up to date on happenings and activities at DCDL.
The library also maintains a YouTube page where we post great videos of the unusual and lively goings-on, such as the collaborative drumming program presented at the Ostrander branch by the Central Ohio Symphony, or the Book Cart Brigade that performed during the Memorial Day parade. Lots of fun to watch!
You can also chat with a librarian any time of the day or night to get questions answered, or sign up for email newsletters to keep informed of new books, DVDs and upcoming programs at the library.
I hope you continue reading “Glad You Asked” in The Gazette, and I hope you take advantage of all the other ways we send out information to you. Simply click on “Connect” on the library’s home page, www.delawarelibrary.org, to sign up for newsletters, become a Facebook friends or follow us on Twitter. The Delaware County District Library is energizing and innovative, and an important part of our community, so please keep in touch!
Are Stonewall Jackson and Andrew Jackson the same person?
No, they are not. Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson (Jan. 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the Civil War. His military career includes the Valley Campaign of 1862 and his service as a corps commander in the Army of Northern Virginia under Lee. Confederate pickets accidentally shot him at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863. The general survived with the loss of an arm to amputation, but died of complications from pneumonia eight days later. Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States (1829–1837). During the Revolutionary War, Jackson, whose family supported the revolutionary cause, acted as a courier. He was captured, at age 13, and mistreated by his British captors. He later became a lawyer, and in 1796 he was in Nashville and helped found the state of Tennessee. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and then to the U.S. Senate. Jackson gained national fame through his role in the War of 1812, most famously when he won a decisive victory over the main British invasion army at the Battle of New Orleans. The World Book is always a good, authoritative source for these types of questions.
Why is Miller High Life is called the “champagne of beers?”
I used the library’s database, “Reference USA” to get to the bottom of this. Miller High Life was put on the market in 1903 and is Miller Brewing’s oldest brand. The prevailing slogan on current packaging is “The Champagne of Beers,” an adaptation of its long standing slogan “The Champagne of Bottle Beers.” Accordingly, this beer is noted for its high level of carbonation, making it a very bubble-filled beverage, like champagne.
Did Michelangelo design the uniforms for the guards at the Vatican?
According to Inside the Vatican, the official dress uniform of the Swiss Guard is blue, red, orange and yellow with a distinctly Renaissance appearance. Commandant Jules Repond (1910–1921) created the current uniforms in 1914. While both Michelangelo and a Raphael painting of the Pontifical Swiss Guard bearing Pope Julius II on a litter are often cited as inspiration for the Pontifical Swiss Guard uniform, the actual uniforms worn by those soldiers included a flaring skirt, a common feature in male clothing during the Renaissance. Swiss Guards are the Swiss soldiers who have served as guards at foreign European courts since the late 15th century. The Swiss were famous mercenaries for hundreds of year and were considered the most powerful troops of the 15th century. The Papal Swiss Guard (now located in Vatican City) was founded in 1506 and is the only existing Swiss Guard.
