DECEMBER 2024 OHPL NEWSLETTER

DECEMBER 2024 Down the rabbit hole That’s what happens when I visit our website. Pull up the catalog once and see what you can access with your library card. Beginning with Ohio Digital Library, where we have thousands of eBooks, magazines, and audiobooks. Did I say all our eBooks? Well, Hoopla also has eBooks and audiobooks. In addition, Hoopla has movies and TV shows available to stream. History buffs might like to read old copies of The Exponent. Want to find out about your family history? Try Ancestory.com, Fold3 (military records) and Heritage Quest. For someone who wants to know about an issue with your vehicle, there’s Chilton.com. Want to remodel your bathroom, there’s Home Imporvement Source, and Hobbies and Craft Source. These are only a fraction of the online research resources available to our library card holders. Check this valuable resource out today. Movie of the Month: Alien Romulus Starring Cailee Spaeny as Rain , David Jonsson as Andy and Isabela Merced as Kay Reviewed By: Alejandro Huizar Alien Romulus (2024) is the seventh film in the Alien horror Franchise but this film takes place between the original Alien (1979) and its sequel Aliens (1986). Even though it is the seventh film in the franchise, this is one of the best films in the series. It has great suspense, some nice action scenes and some great twists along the way. The story isn’t all that new or original (which is why I am not giving it one more star to make it five) Basically you have your team that is basically fodder for the aliens and to show decent kills. The last act of this film is where it begins to falter. It is basically the ending of Alien Resurrection (1997) which is, in my opinion, the worst film in the series, and the more we can forget about that film the better. The movie also relies on some nostalgic moments from the Alien series, some memorable lines are brought up, cameos and kills that have been done before, which is another reason why it is not getting five stars. But in contrast you do have some great characters and character development. One character in particular, Andy, who is an Android and switches between good and bad Android throughout the film. Great use of lighting and framing and a decent story up to the final act. I give Alien Romulus four out of five stars, again it is mostly the third act where the film starts to lose it for me. You can call your local library to reserve a copy.

2 DECEMBER 2024 NEW RELEASES By Robin Vail Coming this month to the Oak Harbor Library are Stuart Wood’s new book Golden Hour and Robin Cook’s newest Bellevue. On a lighter note, we have Kiss me at Christmas by Jenny Bayliss; Flirting with Alaska by Belle Calhoun and Lost in Translation by Joss Wood. A funny story about friendship and finding unexpected love is Eddis Winston is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin. For the younger reader we have Busy Betty and the Perfect Christmas Present by Reese Witherspoon; The Days After Christmas by Maggie Rudd and I am not Santa Claus by T L McBeth. Dolly Parton’s offering is called Billy the Kid Comes Home For Christmas.

3 DECEMBER 2024 SNAPSHOTS

4 DECEMBER 2024 PROGRAMS By JENNIFER WILKINS Join us for our Holiday Open House: December 10th at 5:30. Music provided by OHHS students. Refreshments provided by Friends of the Oak Harbor Public Library. Come in, relax, and get in the Holiday spirit. The Friends of the Oak Harbor Public Library are sponsoring a “Hat and Mitten Tree”. Donations will be given to area schools and shared with children who are in need. For Kids: Storytime: every Wednesday at 11:30 December 2-6: Make a recycled Christmas Ornament. December 16-20: Make a paper chain. For Adults: December 11th from 9:30 to noon— 60+ Clinic with the Ottawa County Health Department. Call 419-7346800 to schedule an appointment. December 17th at 5:30. Ottawa County Genealogical Society. Tai Chi—Tuesdays at 10:00 Watercolor Group—Wednesdays from 12:30 to 4:00. Bring your own supplies. Pinochle—Fridays at 2:00 Computer Classes are Tuesdays at 10:30 and Fridays at 2:00. Call 419898-7001 to schedule an appointment. OPEN HOUSE Tis the Season. . . By Kathy Huffman A blanket of white, a tree laden with festive ornaments, and twinkling lights to warm a long winter’s night signal a season of hearth, friends, and family. This time of year, our thoughts drift to childhood memories and we find ourselves yearning for traditions of days past. As long as I can remember, the streets of Oak Harbor have been aglow with colored lights. The colored globes atop the streetlights, which were first lit on August 8, 1914, have been a Christmas tradition since 1927. To achieve this spectacular display, the globes were first colored with food dye, lasting only 2 days. Then later wrapped in colored cellophane, lasting 2 weeks. Then in 1958, the Village purchased colored globes. To add a festive touch, live trees were tied to each pole beginning in 1947. Then replaced them with artificial trees in 2001. Dotted throughout the Village, during the 1950’s and 60’s, some not so traditional decorations were spotted. Does anyone remember the reindeer on the second-floor balcony on the northeast corner of Water and Maple streets? The reindeer was lit up for the holiday season. Or the reindeer mount with a lighted nose over the garage at 602 Locust Street? Decorations aside, nothing portrays the holiday season like a Christmas tree. The first Village Christmas tree graced Oak Harbor in 1920 when the Oak Harbor Woman’s Civic League placed a tree near the downtown interurban station. Throughout the next couple of decades, Christmas trees popped up here and there, however it was not until 1947 before they became a regular occurrence. The 1947 tree was located on the corner of (con’t on page 5).

5 DECEMBER 2024 LAST WORD Con’t from Page 4 Water and Church Streets. The Village tree remained downtown, at various locations, until 2002 when a large fir was decorated in Flat Iron Park. Then in 2005, a pine tree located in Kraemer (Log Cabin) Park was chosen and lit for the first time and has remained the Village tree ever since. Did you know historians speculate that the earliest known Christmas tree dates to the early 1500’s when Germans brought evergreen conifers such as spruce, pine, or fir into their homes. They would decorate these trees with roses made of colored paper, tinsel, apples, wafers, and sweets. Drawing on a childhood memory, nothing was more exciting than shopping for Christmas presents when you were a kid. Eyes big and (con’t on page 5) wide at the sight of stores brimming with new toys, shiny trinkets for mom, and the perfect gift for dad. Kids, on their best behavior, spent all afternoon browsing the toys in either Felhaber’s or Pitman/WR Thomas dime store. For dad, the place to shop was either the Oak Harbor Hardware, Graves Hardware, or the Portage Store. The ideal gift for mom awaited at either the Portage Store, Mylander Jewelry, or the Modernette. The Modernette opened on Saturday, April 6th, 1935, and was run by Katherine Dubler. If one was picking out a gift for their mother, Mrs. Dubler allowed you to shop by yourself. In January of 1976, the store was sold and renamed as The Modernette Gift & Music Shoppe. The season is not complete without a visit from the jolly old elf himself, Santa. A busy man this time of the year, Santa has been spotted in various locations about town since even before Oak Harbor was Oak Harbor. In the 1840’s, it was rumored Santa would stop by the Kraemer household for a visit. In the 1960’s Santa had a small house located in front of the Police Station on Water Street. Records show from 1974 to roughly 1984, Santa’s helper, played by Pete Macko, could be found enjoying a visit at the Griest Motor Sales showroom. Then from 1997 to 2005 one could always find Santa in a little house at the Town Hall (Kraemer) park, near the Church Street sidewalk. When Mrs. Claus wanted to do a little shopping herself, they would make an appearance at Lene’s Web just outside of town. Since 2007 Santa and Mrs. Claus have made regular visits to the Log Cabin where he can still be found today. Did you know that Santa has always preferred to arrive in Oak Harbor not by his trusty sleigh and team of reindeer but by firetruck. This year is no different. Santa will be traveling through the Village on December 6 beginning at 5pm. Then Santa and Mrs. Claus will stop by the Log Cabin for a visit and light the Village Christmas tree. This holiday season, slow down and take a moment to remember those childhood memories and traditions and allow them to fill you with a sense of holiday cheer. Happy Holidays.

6 DECEMBER 2024 OAK HARBOR PUBLIC LIBRARY 147 W. MAIN ST OAK HARBOR OH 43449 419-898-7001 Oakharborpubliclibrary.org ohpl@seolibraries.org CLOSE AT 5:00

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