Category: History

Posted in Fantasy, Film, Graphic Novels & Memoirs, History, Horror

Here Comes Krampus

Posted on by Zachary

Krampusnacht is coming up this weekend. It’s the night before St. Nick’s Day when people believe Krampus comes to punish children that misbehave. Krampus wasn’t always associated with the Christian holidays. As Smithsonian Magazine explains, “His name originates with the German krampen, which means “claw,” and tradition has it that he is the son of the Norse god of the underworld, Hel.” In Europe, every year for Krampusnacht, there will be parades and festivals where people dress up as Krampus. These festivities are spreading to America as well. There is a Krampusnacht that happens in Milwaukee. If you’re not able to go to a Krampusnacht or want to be cautious with the ongoing pandemic, I’ve made a list of items to get you in the holiday mood. One of the items in this blog is honestly one of my favorite Christmas movies. As with my other recent posts, I’ve included the summary from our catalog about each item.

Krampus (Blu-ray/DVD)

“This darkly festive tale of a yuletide ghoul reveals an irreverently twisted side to the holiday. The horror-comedy tells the story of young Max, who turns his back on Christmas as his dysfunctional family comes together and comically clashes over the holidays. When they accidentally unleash the wrath of Krampus, an ancient entity from European folklore, all hell breaks loose and beloved holiday icons take on a monstrous life of their own.”

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Posted in Film, History, Nonfiction, Science

Nights at the Museum

Posted on by Zachary

One of my favorite things to do is to visit museums. Needless to say, I can’t do that these days while in quarantine. So here are some museums that are doing virtual tours that I paired with a documentary on Hoopla or Kanopy.

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The Louvre (Hoopla/Monarch)

International travel, like late-night Taco Bell or book shopping, is just one of those things we don’t get to do in-person right now. So instead of risking a plane trip, bring the Louvre to you!

I thought it was interesting that, before this documentary, the Louvre had not been filmed.

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Posted in Adult, Genealogy, History

Exploring Your Family History

Posted on by Kelly

Now that you have watched all the cat videos ever created you may have some spare time on your hands. Consider spending some of that time searching for information about your family. Here are some resources to help you get started.

Ancestry Library Edition– This is a great place to get started on your search. You can type in names and locations and Ancestry will search birth, marriage and death records, census records, and military records. Normally you would only be able to access this inside of the library, but Ancestry is temporarily allowing you to use this in your home. You will need to sign in with your Mead Library Card.

Heritage Quest-“Powered by” (but not owned by) Ancestry.com. This partnership has dramatically expanded its half-dozen collections to a sort of “Ancestry.com lite,” including the complete US census, military and immigration records, and city directories. Click Search and scroll all the way to the bottom to unlock more US records as well as selected foreign databases.

Newspaper Archive– From here you can look at Sheboygan Press articles from 1909-1976. Type a name into the search field and then narrow your search to a location. I found out my great-uncle won a marble contest at Mapledale School. You can find more than just the Sheboygan Press. They have papers from all over the United States and the rest of the world. You will need to sign in with your Mead Library Card.

List of Wisconsin Newspapers in Badgerlink– Great place to look for obituaries outside of Sheboygan. You can access more newspapers by going to Mead’s Genealogy page.

UW Digital Collections– Features a large section of digitized books from Sheboygan County, including military records, city histories, and city and county directories from 1875-1920. Go to “Browse Sheboygan County Historical Documents” from this link to see the list of items.

FamilySearch– More than 2,200 online collections (and growing) make this the internet’s largest home to free genealogy data, with recent updates spotlighting Italy, South America and US vital records. You can share and record your finds in family trees and a “Memories Gallery,” and get research help from the wiki.

Perhaps you are saying that you already know about all these resources. Did you know that with your library card you can read Family Tree Magazine online through RBDigital?