Resources for E-learning Students and Don’t Forget to Thank Your Library - Zionsville Monthly Magazine

forget.indah.link

5 / 5 ( 1 vote )

July 2020

Now that the Zionsville Community Schools has released its 2020–21 school plan, there are many parents and students out there wondering what kind of resources are available to the percentage of the student body that has opted to learn from home and participate in remote learning this school year.

Understandably, parents are concerned about what kind of supplemental programs and resources are available to their students as we navigate another unprecedented school year.

I reached out to the remarkable staff at the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library (HMMPL) and HMMPL Foundation to learn more about what they have done to pivot and provide even more engaging and purposeful programs and resources for their patrons—children and adults alike.

Free Resources for At-Home Learning and Career Development

A HMMPL cardholder has access to a myriad of FREE resources and access to a powerful database.

“We have been pivoting to provide as many resources as possible on our website,” Virginia Hilbert, HMMPL marketing director, shared. “I understand some of the things that parents are experiencing right now when trying to help students learn online. It’s a bit of a challenge, but the library can really help them with all of the resources that we have, including Tutor.com.”

Hilbert went on to share that some of the online programs include Tutor.com, a free program for cardholders that provides live help from a tutor using an online chat feature. This program is available for students of all ages, elementary to adult. Subjects include math, science, social studies, English and more. Students can also take free practice college entrance exams, access video lessons for AP exams and so much more.

LearningExpress Library for elementary students to adults is a database that assists students with college admission testing by providing practice tests and self-guided courses as well as practice exams for military, cosmetology, CDL and more. Skill-building exercises and practices are also available for elementary, middle and high school students as well as college students for math, English, science and technology. Similar skills are available for adults, and some materials are available in Spanish.

For high school students and adults wanting online professional development and personal enrichment, instructor-led courses called Gale Courses offer sessions that start monthly with a six-week format and interactive learning environment. And for anyone who is tasked with a research assignment, HMMPL offers INSPIRE Databases—a research site with full-text magazine and journal articles, websites, pamphlets, images, almanacs, full-text historical newspapers, multimedia, library catalogs and much more. INSPIRE is a free resource available to all Indiana residents who have internet access.

Are you stumped and need assistance from a librarian? “Chat with a Librarian” is available to all cardholders, but it should be noted, they are happy to help aid with research and other available online resources for homework assignments but are not there to do your homework for you.

These incredible resources and many more may be found on the library’s Digital Branch web page: http://bit.ly/HMMPLdigital.

The library also provides hotspots at the physical library for people who don’t have Wi-Fi at home. And don’t forget, the library has gone “Fine-Free” to help those who may have been financially impacted by COVID-19.

“We’ve also removed the legacy fines or overdue fines on accounts,” Hilbert added. “If somebody hasn’t been using the library because they may have had too many overdue fines, they can come back to the library without worrying about [the fines].”

Please note, if you visit any other Evergreen Indiana library, you may be charged overdue fines by that library. This new Fine-Free benefit is only for items checked out at HMMPL in Zionsville. Also, HMMPL’s Fine-Free policy only applies to overdue fines charged by HMMPL and does not apply to lost or damaged items.

Strong Start Community Grant

The library was recently awarded a Strong Start Community Grant and is in the planning phases about how to implement training and activities for families, students and teachers to help everyone transition back to school. Kelli Brooks, Youth Services Department head at HMMPL, explained what the purpose of the grant is and how it will help young children and families transition into the school system more easily.

“The [Strong Start Community Grant] is primarily focused on children that are about to start preschool and kindergarten,” Brooks said. “Our library has a wide reach of those age groups, so it’s logical for us to help support the children and their families with this grant. We’re exploring different avenues and thinking outside of the box while being creative about it.”

Brooks continued, “I feel like I’m in library school again, and my assignment is to imagine a world where people can’t physically go and see one another or enter the library and find ways to reach them anyway. It’s kind of like a live experiment here, but we feel very proud of the efforts that we’re making and the success that we’re having since the shutdown in March.”

Found In A Book Campaign

As many of us know, the HMMPL is able to provide such incredible and necessary programs and services thanks to the generosity of its donors and fundraisers. What many might not realize is that many of these programs, such as Tutor.com, were on budgets set prior to the onset of the pandemic. In short, the library’s budget will be affected by the increased programs and services and most certainly by the inability to host its annual fundraisers due to COVID-19.

How can the community help? There are a few ways, and one of the campaigns, Found In A Book, was spearheaded by Tracy Phillips, CFRE chief development officer for the HMMPL Foundation.

“Found In A Book is a thankfulness campaign,” Phillips expressed. “If it’s just a patron taking a bookmark [provided in the Found In A Book brochure at the library] and putting it in a library book they’ve checked out, saying, ‘I really appreciate curbside pickup,’ for example, or a thank-you note or a picture drawn by your child for the library staff, [Found In A Book] is a way for patrons as well as the community as a whole to intentionally recognize the pivots and efforts that the library has done over the last several weeks. It is a creative way for our community to show their appreciation.”

Use the space in the bookmark, provided in the Found In A Book brochure, to send a note or a picture or share with the library staff what you found in a book—now through Labor Day.

A simple thank-you, a story about something found in a book or a picture or drawing can be sent as a thank-you for enjoying a library resource, and a monetary donation, no matter how big or small, can be sent in care of the Hussey Mayfield Memorial Public Library Foundation via check. If you prefer a credit card, please consider making an online donation via a secure link at zionsvillelibrary.org/get-involved/donate/.

And don’t forget to spread the word and post a photo on Instagram at @foundinabook_org or at HMMPLFoundation on Facebook and Twitter.

Writer:

Janelle Morrison

Photography:

Submitted

Tags Found In A Book Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library Hussey-Mayfield Public Library Foundation Kelli Brooks online resources online tutoring online tutors remote learning resources Tracy Phillips Virginia Hilbert Zionsville Community Schools Zionsville library

Zionsville’s Jacob Hurtubise Graduates to MiLB

The Lady Bug Pest and Wildlife Control:

Related Articles

Dr. Scott Robison on the Status of Reopening Zionsville’s Schools

The Link Lonk


August 01, 2020 at 01:26AM
https://zionsvillemonthlymagazine.com/resources-for-e-learning-students/

Resources for E-learning Students and Don’t Forget to Thank Your Library - Zionsville Monthly Magazine

https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Can you really forgive and forget when it was so painful? – Faith & You - cleveland.com

forget.indah.link

CLEVELAND, Ohio – During a jail ministry service, I talked a little about forgiveness.

Afterwards, a middle-aged man named Fred came up to me. He opened the shirt of his orange jump suit.

“See that scar?” he asked.

There was no way to miss it.

The scar was about eight inches long, four inches across. It was old, but you could still see how the skin was damaged and would never fully heal to look as healthy as it once did.

“What happened?” I asked.

“It was my mother,” he said. “I was just a kid.”

This discussion was about 10 years ago, so I don’t recall all the details. But the scar came from his mother taking a hot iron to his chest.

“How do you forgive that?” he asked, his voice quiet and cracking. He wiped a tear from his eye with his sleeve.

How do you forgive that?

Most of us don’t have a huge physical scar near our hearts as he did, but emotional ones are there.

And they linger.

The abusive parent. The neglectful parent. The close friend or spouse who walked out, telling everyone how you are an awful person.

FORGIVE & FORGET?

And when we hear, “Just forgive and forget,” who can do that?

When the offense is serious, the answer is “probably no one.”

Nor does the Bible say anything about forgiving and forgetting, other than God does forget our sins after they are forgiven.

That’s from Hebrews 10:17-18: “Their sins and lawless acts, I will remember no more. And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.”

Some of us have been hurt and we are waiting for the offender to “make up for it.”

The “no sacrifice for sin” part and does apply to us. When our lives are scarred by a major offense, we’re not going to forget it. In those instances, there is really nothing that can “make up for it.”

THE DEAD BODY TORTURE

Do our scars define us?

Some of us are waiting for a person to apologize or somehow “make it up to us” and that person is dead or long gone.

I’ve read several versions of this quote, but I like this best: “Forgiving means giving up the right to get even.”

How could Fred “get even” with his mother? If you have been sexually abused, how do you really “get even” with the other person? Suppose you kill the offender, then what?

Suddenly, we can become emotionally (and maybe even physically) jailed by our violent attempt to break free of unforgiveness.

I once heard Pastor Knute Larson (formerly of The Chapel in Akron) tell a story of long ago torture where a person had a dead body tied to him. He couldn’t shake it free.

The disease and the insects went from the corpse to the man who was attached who was attached to it. He eventually died. Larson said that’s why long-held bitterness and resentment does to us.

WHAT TO DO?

A few key points:

1. Forgiveness is not forgetting.

2. Forgiveness doesn’t mean restoring a relationship with a dangerous person.

3. Reconciliation is the next step after forgiving. It means redefining the relationship. Maybe it’s now only casual where it was once close. Or perhaps we can talk it out.

4. Forgiveness is remembering the times when God has forgiven us, and others have forgiven us.

5. Sometimes people who have a hard time forgiving others don’t believe God has forgiven them. Is that an issue?

I asked Fred, “Does the scar hurt when you touch it?”

He said it had “healed.” It was still ugly, but it no longer hurt...at least not physically.

That’s how forgiveness works when God and prayer are involved. Counseling may also be needed.

It’s not a quick process. We often have to tell ourselves, “I’m not walking around carrying that dead body of bitterness on my back. It’s killing me.”

Eventually through the power of prayer, we can accept the scars as part of our life – but it’s not going to determine how we live.

TERRY PLUTO RECENT FAITH & YOU COLUMNS

Stories of parents, kids, pain and hope

Are you agonizing over your trouble child?

When you go the store, do you see the mask-wearing clerk as a person?

Some amazing prayers answered

The world today has me feeling like Howard The Duck

What do you think when looking at your father’s tombstone?

Father Walt Jenne: 50 years on Faith’s Frontline

What can I say to an African-American friend as anger arises?

You want me to change?

Hey graduates, let’s talk relationships!

Patient? What do you mean, I’m not patient? I’ll tell you who needs to be patient!

The battle to keep focused on the big picture

Surviving The Shadow of Valley of Death

Dealing with isolation and a scary economy

Feeling trapped in a tomb during Easter.

Looking of the ‘Little Miracles’

What to say when you don’t know what to say

The Link Lonk


July 31, 2020 at 06:15PM
https://www.cleveland.com/news/2020/07/can-you-really-forgive-and-forget-when-it-was-so-painful-faith-you.html

Can you really forgive and forget when it was so painful? – Faith & You - cleveland.com

https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Preparing for Isaias; don’t forget the small things - Jacksonville Daily News

forget.indah.link

The National Weather Service in Newport released the first on their Friday briefings at 6 a.m. which they announced that Tropcial Storm Isaias has now been bumped up to hurricane status.

Now, the possibility Hurricane Isaias could potentially impact Eastern North Carolina is increasing, meteorologists are still unsure about where the impact will occur and the intensity of the storm. Tropical storm conditions could begin as early as Sunday night into Monday morning.

Meteorolgist are predicting maximum sustained winds in between 60 and 75 mph. Residents in Craven County should expect around 66 mph winds, 55 mph in Onslow and 70+ mph in Carteret and along the coast of ENC.

The next briefing for the NWS is scheduled to be Friday at 6:30 p.m.

According to the NWS, now is the time residents in ENC should be preparing their hurricane emergency kits. Here are some tips that will help keep you and your home safe.

Emergency plan essentials:

Phone numbers of a pre-assigned contact person for family members to call
List of where to find information on shelters
How to be safe if you stay in your home during an emergency
What to do with your pets
Thoughts about any older adults or those with functional needs in the home

Hurricane kit necessities:

Water. 1 gallon per person, per day, prepare for a minimum of three days.
Battery-operated television or radio
Extra batteries
Manual can opener
Local maps
Flashlights and waterproof matches
Cellphone with chargers, inverter or solar charger
Toilet paper
Baby supplies
Cash (ATMs may not work after the storm)
Rain gear (including a hat)
Bleach or water purification tablets
Soap and detergent
Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
Charcoal/lighter fluid or portable camping stove
Disposable plates, glasses and utensils
Ice chest and ice
Valuable papers -- insurance information, passports, Social Security cards, bank account and credit card numbers, wills, deeds, etc. -- or copies, in a waterproof bag
Prescription and other necessary medicines
Blankets, tarp and masking tape
Dust mask to filter contaminated air, plastic sheeting and duct tape
Three days’ worth of clothing, sleeping bags
First aid kit, aspirin or pain reliever, anti-diarrhea medication, scissors, tweezers, bug spray
Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items
Fire extinguisher -- ABC type
Extra pair of eyeglasses
Extra house, car keys
Tools: Shut-off wrench, pliers
Needles, thread
Whistle
Signal flare
Games,books for entertainment
Petcare: leashes, pet carriers, food
Sunscreen and sunglasses

Food for your hurricane kit:

Baby food, baby formula, powdered milk
Canned meats (Spam, chicken, ham)
Canned fish (tuna, sardines)
Canned meals: spaghetti, soup, stew, chili
Canned fruits and vegetables
Cereal, crackers and cookies
Instant coffee, tea bags, sodas, juice
Granola bars, nuts, trail mix
Peanut butter and jelly
Sugar, salt, pepper

Home preparations if the storm will hit:

Gather important paperwork, including copies of insurance policies, medical records, prescriptions, etc. Bring copies with you if you need to leave your home.
If severe storms are coming, protect your property by covering windows with storm shutters, siding or plywood. Move vehicles into garages, or park them near your home and away from trees.
Bring bulky or heavy objects such as lawn furniture, grills, garbage cans, tools, potted plants, etc. inside. Tie down anything you cannot bring indoors.
Fill bathtubs, sinks and jugs with clean water in case regular supplies are dirty. Clean these containers by first rinsing them with bleach.
Put sandbags or other protection in place, based on predicted flood depths. Keep sandbags away from the outside walls of your house to prevent floodwaters from reaching your house.
Move valuable papers, jewelry and other contents to upper floors or higher levels to keep them from flood water.
If time permits, turn off services at the main power switch and close the main gas valve. In case of flooding, do not touch any electrical equipment. Only touch it is in a dry area or you are standing on a dry piece of wood while wearing rubber-soled shoes or boots and rubber gloves.
If you’re caught in the house by suddenly rising waters, move to the second floor or the roof. Take warm clothing, a flashlight and portable radio with you. Call 911 and wait for help. Rescue teams will look for you.

Sources: Ready NC; American Red Cross; FESMA; N.C. Emergency Management

The Link Lonk


July 31, 2020 at 09:57PM
https://www.jdnews.com/news/20200731/preparing-for-isaias-donrsquot-forget-small-things

Preparing for Isaias; don’t forget the small things - Jacksonville Daily News

https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Forget gold and Bitcoin, I'd buy gold mining stocks for wealth preservation instead - Yahoo Finance UK

forget.indah.link

Gold bullion on a chart

In these tough times, investors have been turning to gold. It’s a centuries-old haven for preserving value, so that’s really not surprising. And the price of the shiny yellow stuff has reached record levels as a result. At the time of writing, an ounce is selling for $1,970, significantly ahead of the peak reached in late 2011. Bitcoin has been on a run too, but nowhere near as impressively as gold.

If cryptocurrencies provided as dependable a hedge against tangible asset volatility as the enthusiasts claim, we’d surely have seen better progress. At a little over $11,000 per coin, Bitcoin hasn’t even regained the levels it was at a year ago. And it’s still some way below its highest ever price of close to $20,000. I have to admit today’s price is higher than I’d ever thought it would reach again – but like everyone else, I wasn’t expecting a pandemic-led stock market crash either.

Safe havens

So yes, I think it’s undeniable that Bitcoin has provided something of a relatively safe haven against the Covid-19 crisis. But it’s been far less desirable than gold. When it comes to short-term worries, it seems investors turn to assets that have been tried and tested for generations. New upstart alternatives appear to attract a lot less confidence.

I can see the Bitcoin surge declining a lot quicker too. Gold could well remain high for a relatively long time yet, especially if we end up with a double-dip stock market crash. And the more time goes on, the more I see that as likely. I just don’t think most investors yet understand the full horror of the economic crisis that’s unfolding.

Gold or Bitcoin?

Would I invest in gold or Bitcoin as a hedge against hard times? I’d buy neither. I’d avoid Bitcoin because it’s over-hyped nonsense. For shunning gold, I have a number of reasons. There’s no way to put any kind of fundamental valuation on gold, when the price is decided purely on psychological considerations. It’s not like stock market shares, where we can relate prices to the profits made by companies. Gold also doesn’t actually generate any wealth, unlike companies which are steadily creating new wealth year in, year out.

Stocks instead

But I see gold mining stocks in a different light. While people are prepared to buy the gold, gold miners can create wealth for their shareholders and pay real cash dividends. A gold miner’s share price will vary as the gold price goes up and down. But unlike the metal itself, a miner will still typically make profits when the price is falling. What you need is a decent buffer between the market price of gold and the company’s costs of producing the stuff, and you should be laughing. I wouldn’t buy Bitcoin miners, though.

The post Forget gold and Bitcoin, I’d buy gold mining stocks for wealth preservation instead appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

More reading

Views expressed in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

Motley Fool UK 2020

The Link Lonk


July 31, 2020 at 10:28PM
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/forget-gold-bitcoin-d-buy-152840740.html

Forget gold and Bitcoin, I'd buy gold mining stocks for wealth preservation instead - Yahoo Finance UK

https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Remembering Bertrand Island Park–a getaway that helped New Jersey forget another pandemic - Morristown Green

forget.indah.link

By Jeffrey V. Moy, North Jersey History and Genealogy Center

For several decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Bertrand Island’s cool waters and natural resources created an attractive summer refuge for affluent and middle class residents seeking to escape from New York and New Jersey’s hot, muggy, loud and smoky cities. 

Robinson’s Atlas of Morris County New Jersey. Compiled From Official Records Private Plans & Actual Surveys Under the Direction of E. Robinson. E. Robinson, Publisher, 1887. North Jersey History & Genealogy Center (NJHGC) collections.

Inhabited for approximately 12,000 years by the Lenape tribe, which valued the abundant hunting game and fish provided by Hopatcong’s two glacial lakes, Lenape settlers also mined iron from large outcroppings that jutted from mountains along northwestern New Jersey. Deposits were particularly rich near Rockaway. 

European settlers acquired this information during the early 1700s upon occupying and purchasing land in what is now Morris County, and the region quickly became an important iron mining center.

Designers of the Morris Canal created the current Lake Hopatcong in 1831 by damming and flooding the two glacial ponds, which fed the canal system and formed New Jersey’s largest freshwater lake.  

Detail of Robinson’s Atlas of Morris County New Jersey showing Bertrand Island. Compiled From Official Records Private Plans & Actual Surveys Under the Direction of E. Robinson. E. Robinson, Publisher, 1887. NJHGC collections.

Separated from the rest of the mainland by a narrow body of water, Charles Bertrand purchased the island that became his namesake along with a large swath of land in Lake Hopatcong during the 1860s.

Intending to raise his family here, Bertrand constructed an impressive estate. Following his sudden death in 1870, however, the home subsequently was destroyed by fire and the family abandoned the site.

South Point, Raccoon Island, Lake Hopatcong, N.J., Detroit Publishing Company photo, ca.1900. Library of Congress collections.

A private men’s hunting and fishing club purchased the island in the 1880s to take advantage of its wildlife and game fish.

The Bertrand Island Club built its clubhouse on the footprint of the estate’s old foundation, which offered a secluded spot for members to drink and play cards, as well as host families on alternating weekends. The clubhouse remained busy for more than a decade until it too fell victim to fire, and the property sat vacant.

New Breslin Hotel situated in the Mt. Arlington section of Lake Hopatcong, W.J. Harris photo, ca.1913. Library of Congress collections.

By the early 1880s, train service greatly increased the number of visitors to Lake Hopatcong, and by 1900 several grand hotels and modest rooming houses welcomed thousands of vacationers.

The Morris County Traction Company was chartered in 1899, and by 1908 it made the journey by trolley available to the surrounding towns of Dover and Morristown and as far away as the prosperous cities of Elizabeth and Newark, which in the early 1900s employed one quarter of the state’s residents, many of whom manufactured products sold around the world.

For residents of brownstones and old ring suburban houses, the trolley to Lake Hopatcong provided an affordable escape from the summer heat. 

Little Coney, circa 1900, Lake Hopatcong, NJ. NJHGC postcard collection.

Many longtime visitors fondly remember Bertrand Island’s beach but it was not a natural feature. In 1905, a group of businessmen sought to develop land around the island, and in order to attract investors they created an artificial beach along its shore and proposed relocating the casino from the 1904 St. Louis Exposition, as well as connecting the island to train and steamship service.

None of these schemes occurred with the exception of the beach, known among locals as “Little Coney.”

In 1908, Newark schoolteacher Louis Kraus and his wife Elsie recognized Lake Hopatcong’s unparalleled popularity as a destination resort but also noticed that its rowdy hotels primarily catered to affluent clientele.

Sensing a profitable opportunity, Louis and Elsie established Camp Village in the Prospect Point section in 1908, where for $6 per week working families could rent canvas tents featuring wooden roofs and porches with lake view windows, and fully equipped with sleeping cots, stoves, lanterns, and cooking implements — all conveniently within walking distance of the camp store. 

Trolley carrying Morristown residents on an outing to Lake Hopatcong, August 4, 1926. Frederick Curtiss photo. NJHGC collection.

Trolley service connected Morristown directly to Bertrand Island in 1910, and the leisurely two-hour ride cost 35 cents. The ensuing rush of tourists to the island retreat provided opportunities for entrepreneurs to establish food stands, games and amusements, a carousel, water slides, a shooting range, and moonlight boat excursions.

By the time automobiles displaced trolleys in the mid 1920s, the Bertrand Island Transportation Company operated a large fleet of boats that shuttled passengers to all points around Lake Hopatcong. Destinations included elegant hotel restaurants, small campsites, and numerous amusements set up alongside Bertrand Island’s bustling midway.

New Breslin Hotel and grounds, Mt. Arlington, N.J. on Lake Hopatcong, W.J. Harris photo, ca.1913. Library of Congress collections.

By 1919, Louis Kraus recognized the growing demand for, and value of, hotel lodging in Hopatcong and retired from teaching to complete construction of the California Lodge. The 40-room hotel included a large dance hall with live music and provided recreational activities to guests for $16 per week. It was located opposite of what later became the entrance to Bertrand Island Park. 

Morristown children line up for a trip to Lake Hopatcong, August 4, 1926. Frederick Curtiss Photo. NJHGC collection.

Entering the 1920s, Americans had survived the total mobilization of its citizen soldiers and civilian population towards winning the Great War. And they had suffered nearly two years of illness, death, and economic loss from the 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic.

Seeking an escape and reaffirmation of life, America threw a decade-long party. 

Boardwalk at Bertrand Island Park, circa 1920, Lake Hopatcong, NJ. NJHGC postcard collection.

The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 sparked the golden age of American amusement parks, which numbered over 1,500 by 1920, and it was during this decade that the Krauses shifted their business towards amusements.

Louis Kraus partnered with Charles Schleicher in 1921 to purchase Bertrand Island and capitalize on its signature beach to attract visitors with a new wooden boardwalk and midway that featured games, shops, food vendors, and other amusements for decades to come.

Basket Pavillion at Bertrand Island Park, Interior, circa 1920. Fresh air was one of many widely touted preventive measures during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic (including face coverings, sunlight, and isolating the sick) and providing constant sources of fresh air and light became important architectural features during the 1920s. NJHGC postcard collection.

Independent contractors operated the many concession stands and games, and in 1923 Kraus and Schleicher constructed the June Rose Ballroom, consisting of a steel frame and stucco building with a 100-by-50 foot dance floor with large windows to encourage cross breezes on warm summer nights.

The following year they built a 1,000-car parking lot, as well as the iconic Basket Pavillion — an open air cafeteria that gave visitors the option to purchase meals onsite or pack a picnic lunch. 

Basket Pavillion exterior at Bertrand’s Island showing a portion of the rollercoaster at right, ca.1920. NJHGC postcard collection.

Early attractions included a hand-carved carousel, carnival games, Skee-Ball (a New Jersey invention), canoes and sight seeing boats, and a shooting gallery, in addition to dances and special events.

But Bertrand Island Park’s crowning achievement was its iconic wooden roller coaster, erected by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1925. The towering structure consisted of 280,000 feet of lumber, was three quarters of a mile long, and featured nine dips and a 50-foot diameter loop. It overshadowed the park for nearly 60 years.

Groups frequently traveled to Lake Hopatcong by bus from New York, Connecticut, and all parts of North Jersey, and were a profitable segment of Bertrand’s Island clientele. Morristown officials at an outing, Aug. 16, 1916, Lake Hopatcong. NJHGC collection.

Kraus and Schleicher created additional rides for the 1925 season, including the Whip and the Aeroplane swing. Later, they opened the tunnel of love-style Old Mill ride, along with bumper cars, electric scooters, and more.

The park survived the long lean years of the Great Depression by remaining an attractive economical getaway for both New Jersey residents and people from the tri-state region.

Owners marketed Bertrand Island to church groups from the region, and to New York corporate- and motion picture studio employees and large Newark businesses looking to reward hard-working employees. 

“One Fun Park Will be Around,” 1969. NJHGC vertical file collection.

When Louis Kraus sold the park in 1948 to longtime concession operators Larry and Ray D’Agostino, the park poised for its second largest expansion, to take advantage of families seeking normalcy after nearly 20 years of economic stagnation and the destruction of World War II.

The D’Agostinos pivoted from dances and events to more rides and amusements, and wisely kept Mr. Kraus on to manage the park until his death in 1955. 

Article from the Daily Record outlining some of the upgrades made to the park in time for the 1969 season. Proprietors Larry and Ray D’Agostino placed decades of hard work into operating the site and ensuring regular visitors always had something new to look forward to. “Bertrand Offers Better Rides for Less Gas,” ca.1975. NJHGC vertical files.

Bertrand Island Park entertained generations of New Jerseyans until 1983. By then, air travel and an efficient interstate highway system offered affordable alternative summer destinations for families, and massive corporate amusement parks like Disney World and Six Flags lured away more visitors.

Many locals continued to patronize the park, especially on evenings and weekends, but by the 1980s land values grew, as did insurance costs, and the growth of year-round residency in Hopatcong made the land more valuable to developers than vacationers. 

Map of Building Sites, on Lake Hopatcong, Sussex County, New Jersey. The Property of the Byram Cove Land Company. Map of lake and properties in Sussex County and Morris County, New Jersey, 1981. NJHGC map collection.

After operating the theme park for several years, its last owner, Gaby Warshawsky, sold Bertrand Island for subdivision into residential property.

Luxury townhomes occupied what was once the midway, situated along the bridge built by Charles Bertrand to connect the island to the mainland. Detached single-family homes filled in the rest of the park.

Bertrand Island’s legacy is expertly documented by the Lake Hopatcong History Museum, through its collections, programs and extraordinary series of historical articles. 

The summer getaway destination may be gone, but looking at old photographs from the late 19th century, you can imagine a cool evening breeze drifting over the lake shore.

Lake Hopatcong, N.J., ca1900 – Detroit Publishing Company photograph, Library of Congress collection.

 Sources:

• Martin and Laura Kane, Greetings from Bertrand Island Amusement Park, Arcadia Publishing; Charleston, SC, 2000.
• North Jersey History & Genealogy Center (NJHGC) photograph, vertical file, and historic map collections.
• Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum, lakehopatconghistory.com 
• “Bertrand Island: One Fun Park Will be Around”, Daily Record, May 21, 1969.
• “Bertrand Offers Better Rides for Less Gas”, Daily Record, ca.1978.
• “How an Iconic New Jersey Carousel Landed at Disney’s Magic Kingdom,” NJ.com, July 20, 2015.

For a behind the scenes look at our collections and additional information on New Jersey history, follow us on Twitter @NJHistoryCenter and find our other MorristownGreen.com articles here.  

The Link Lonk


July 31, 2020 at 06:00PM
https://morristowngreen.com/2020/07/31/remembering-bertrand-island-park-a-getaway-that-helped-new-jersey-forget-another-pandemic/

Remembering Bertrand Island Park–a getaway that helped New Jersey forget another pandemic - Morristown Green

https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Don’t forget the climate crisis, CEOs say - Fortune

forget.indah.link

© 2020 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell My Info | Ad Choices 
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
Quotes delayed at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Interactive Data. ETF and Mutual Fund data provided by Morningstar, Inc. Dow Jones Terms & Conditions: http://www.djindexes.com/mdsidx/html/tandc/indexestandcs.html.
S&P Index data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Terms & Conditions. Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions.

The Link Lonk


July 31, 2020 at 04:44PM
https://fortune.com/2020/07/31/climate-crisis-crowded-out-ceo-daily/

Don’t forget the climate crisis, CEOs say - Fortune

https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Don't forget to vote - cedarspringspost

forget.indah.link

Posted on 30 July 2020.

Voters can vote safely from home or in person

Voters can safely cast their ballots in Michigan’s statewide primary election on Aug. 4 to determine candidates at the local, state and federal levels for the general election on Nov. 3.

The Aug. 4 primary election has a partisan section and voters should only vote in one party section. Voters must choose whether to vote for candidates in either the Democratic Primary or Republican Primary (or neither). If a voter crosses over and votes for candidates in both primary sections, none of those votes will count. Every voter can vote in the nonpartisan and proposal section of the primary ballot.

The Secretary of State encourages voters who already have a ballot at home to fill it out and sign the back of the envelope. Then, with the election a week away, voters should put it in the mail immediately or, to avoid possible U.S. Postal Service delays, deliver it to their local clerk’s secure ballot drop box if they have one, or to the clerk’s office if possible.

In-person voting will be available in every jurisdiction for voters who choose to do so and will be provided in accordance with social distancing and safety protocols to ensure the safety of voters and election workers. Wearing a mask is strongly encouraged.

Applying for an absent voter ballot

Voting from home is a right all Michigan voters have and is a safe way to vote and protect your health, and the process is secure.

To obtain an absent voter ballot, voters must submit a request to their local clerk in one of the following ways:

• Voters with a Michigan driver’s license or ID may apply online for an absent voter ballot at Michigan.gov/Vote.
• Voters may download and complete an absent voter ballot application at Michigan.gov/Vote, print it and sign it, OR write out a request for an absent voter ballot and sign it.
• ° Signed applications/requests may be mailed to the clerk OR scanned or photographed and emailed to your clerk. Make sure the entire application, including your signature, is readable in the picture.
• ° You can find your clerk’s contact information at Michigan.gov/Vote or by calling your city or township office.
• Accessible absent voter ballot applications are available at Michigan.gov/Vote. Voters with qualifying disabilities may apply for an accessible electronic ballot that can be marked remotely, printed and returned to the clerk.
• Requests to have an absent voter ballot mailed to you must be received by your clerk no later than 5 p.m. the Friday before the election (July 31). However, to avoid possible U.S. Postal Service delays as Election Day nears, voters are encouraged to request their absent voter ballot in person at their clerk’s office.

Voting and returning an absent voter ballot

Once your request is received by the local clerk, your signature on the request will be checked against your voter registration record before a ballot is issued. After receiving your absent voter ballot, you have until 8 p.m. on Election Day to complete the ballot and return it to the clerk’s office. Your ballot will not be counted unless your signature is on the outside of the return envelope and matches your signature on file.

If you’re already registered at your current address, you can request an absent voter ballot in person at your clerk’s office anytime up to 4 p.m. on the day prior to the election.

In-person voting available

Beginning 40 days prior to Election Day, voters have the option of voting early in their clerk’s office until 4 p.m. on the day before the election.

Polling places will be open in every jurisdiction on Election Day for voters who want to vote in person and will follow distancing, hygiene and safety protocols. Voters are encouraged to wear masks and maintain social distance while at the polls.

Each polling location will have at least one voting station adapted to allow a person to vote while seated. In addition, all voters, including voters with disabilities, have access to a Voter Assist Terminal in all polling places. The Voter Assist Terminal helps the voter mark a ballot. It will mark the ballot with the voter’s choices but does not tally the votes. Once the ballot is marked, it is counted in exactly the same fashion as all other ballots.

You can register to vote through Election Day

Citizens who are not yet registered to vote but who wish to do so in the Aug. 4 election may do so at the office of their local clerk up until 8 p.m. on Election Day. You can find your clerk’s information at Michigan.gov/Vote.

Proof of residency must be provided if registering within two weeks of an election. Acceptable documents include a driver’s license, state ID card, current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check or other government document. Documents must have name and current address. Digital copies are acceptable.

Be democracy’s MVP: Sign up to be an election worker today!

Election workers are the Most Valuable Players of our democracy, ensuring free and fair elections for all. And our democracy needs election workers more than ever for the upcoming elections in August and November. Serving as an election worker is a paid position, and all election workers are trained on proper protocols.

During the coronavirus crisis, election workers are needed to assist clerks and count ballots. They will adhere to strict public health guidelines, including exercising social distancing, using sanitary equipment, and maintaining strong hygiene to protect themselves and others from coronavirus transmission.

Interested voters can sign up at Michigan.gov/DemocracyMVP.

Elections are the foundation of our democracy, and the way that all Michiganders can hold their leaders accountable in times of uncertainty.

The Link Lonk


July 31, 2020 at 07:27AM
https://cedarspringspost.com/2020/07/30/dont-forget-to-vote-2/

Don't forget to vote - cedarspringspost

https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Forget Crashing Q2 GDP: Growing Unemployment Filings Are The Real Scare Factor - Forbes

forget.indah.link

Socially distanced sleeping cots are seen at the temporary shelter set up inside the San Diego ... [+] Convention Center in San Diego, California, U.S., on Monday, April 13, 2020. The convention center conversion is dubbed Operation Shelter to Home and includes case workers who will help connect people in the shelter with housing, benefits and employment opportunities to lead them out of homelessness and to self-sufficiency, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Photographer: Bing Guan/Bloomberg

© 2020 Bloomberg Finance LP

This is a day when national economic news and personal finance run into one another with a resounding and sickening crunch.

The first estimate of GDP (gross domestic product, or a measure of the value of all goods and services sold) for the year’s second quarter came out this morning. It was a record: a 9.5% drop from the first quarter. If that pace continued, we’d be seeing an annualized rate of 32.9%.

This wasn’t unexpected. From April through June, large swaths of economic activity, especially in consumer shopping (representing 68% of GDP), came to a halt. Heaven knows how many businesses were shut down. Essential services, like grocery stores, had limited goods available.

A total mess, but a measure of what has already happened. Ugly flood water under the bridge. Countless investment marketers say, time after time, past performance is no guarantee of future results. They may be better. Or worse.

And there’s more worrisome news in unemployment data. That is what the country and its government need to address.

Recommended For You

A GOP plan to cut additional unemployment insurance (UI) payments from the $600 a week down to $200—which, with state payments, would provide an average targeted 45% of what people had made before—already threatens grave economic damage.

At last count (most recent data from the end of May), there were 5.4 unemployed people per open job. The issue has not been millions of individuals deciding to live the life of Riley on overly generous congressional early response to the Covid-19 effects on U.S. economics.

As some Yale economists noted in a recent study:

We find that that the workers who experienced larger increases in UI generosity did not experience larger declines in employment when the benefits expansion went into effect. Additionally, we find that workers facing larger expansions in UI benefits have returned to their previous jobs over time at similar rates as others. We find no evidence that more generous benefits disincentivized work either at the onset of the expansion or as firms looked to return to business over time.

There aren’t enough jobs right now to accommodate all the people who need to work and trying to prod people into gainful employment doesn’t change that fundamental.

Given the huge portion of GDP that is consumer spending, it’s a short trip across an open border from having a lot of employed adults to seeing an entire economy tank.

Beyond the clear moral danger of watching people drown when there is a life saver someone could toss to them are the practical implications that should be heeded by people of any political persuasion:

1.      Unemployment rises because of new closings driven by virus spikes.

2.      Cuts in additional UI payments don’t act as a stick to push people into work because there aren’t nearly enough jobs for them.

3.      Inadequate money means, at best, highly reduced spending.

4.      At worst, people get evicted, lack money for food, and become homeless, needing even more support.

5.      With significantly less spending, businesses in highest-hit areas come under additional pressure, with many going out of business.

6.      The number of jobs drops and number of unemployed increases.

7.      The economy falls even further as the mechanism becomes a self-reinforcing vicious circle.

As of July 11, before some big states had to start closing again, there were 30.2 million on some version of UI, or about 18.5% of the labor forceؙ.

Putting it differently, even as some were again talking about a V-shaped recovery and things going back to normal—right before the virus reasserted its ability to spread—close to a fifth of working people had no job.

What kept the second quarter from cratering even more than it did was the flood of aid to people who needed it. Even with this, people are in trouble. The ship of state is heading squarely into an iceberg and there is little time to steer it around.

About 26.5% of surveyed adults either missed their last rent or mortgage payment or have either slight or no confidence they can pay the next one, according to the Census Bureau. More than a third expect someone in their household to lose employment income over the next four weeks, while 51.1% had already seen a loss in employment income.

What happens from here outward will determine the course of the economy, possibly for a decade or even more, if the Great Recession is any predictor.

The Link Lonk


July 31, 2020 at 12:10AM
https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2020/07/30/q2-gdp-growing-unemployment-recession-depression/

Forget Crashing Q2 GDP: Growing Unemployment Filings Are The Real Scare Factor - Forbes

https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Forget Catch of the Day. This Bass Is the Catch of the Year, and Here's Why - WTTW News

forget.indah.link

What’s so special about this fish? It’s all about the little yellow tag. (Metropolitan Water Reclamation District)

Researchers at the Shedd Aquarium and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District recently teamed up on an exhaustive study of the Chicago area waterway system’s fish population, meticulously combing through data gathered over the course of several decades.

Thanks to our sponsors:

But one of the most important discoveries documented in the report happened totally by chance.

This spring, a largemouth bass was fished from the Skokie River, just south of the Skokie Lagoons, and while bass are a common enough haul, this particular fish had a tag on its back that caught the angler’s eye and prompted a call to the MWRD.

As it turned out, MWRD aquatic biologists had attached the tag back in October 2019, after catching and releasing the bass during a fish survey conducted in the North Branch Canal near Goose Island. What made the bass’s 30-mile journey particularly exciting to scientists and conservationists is that it provided proof of the success of a 2018 dam removal on the North Branch. (Anglers who catch a fish with an MWRD tag are asked to document it when possible and email MWRD to report it.)

The 4-foot-tall, 100-year-old dam, located at the confluence of the North Branch and North Shore Channel between Foster Avenue and Argyle Street, had been too great a barrier for fish to overcome, essentially blocking upstream passage. It was replaced, following demolition, by a series of riffle pools, which stairstep fish upstream. 

Discovery of the tagged bass in the Skokie River “suggests remarkable fish mobility and a healthy ecology that has been made possible by our many partnerships interested in river restoration,” MWRD President Kari K. Steele said in a statement. 

A map of the fish's journey. (Austin Happel / Shedd Aquarium)

For environmental advocates, this lone 11-inch fish represented the realization of a dream nearly 20 years in the making.

“Friends of the Chicago River has been imagining fish swimming freely through the river since 2002,” Margaret Frisbie, the organization’s executive director, said in a press release. “This largemouth bass represents good stewardship, tenacity, and proof that if we invest in the Chicago River system, wildlife will respond. We could not be more thrilled.”

Additional results published by the Shedd and the MWRD, show a gradual increase in both the total number of fish and fish species, including native species, in Chicago’s waterways. At the same time, the number of invasive species has declined. 

“Many organizations across the Chicago area have been working hard to help the water that runs through our city rebound after decades of pollution and mistreatment,” said Dr. Austin Happel, research biologist at Shedd Aquarium and lead author of the study. “Now, we have data that shows us that restoration and advocacy efforts are benefitting the Chicago area waterway system and bringing back aquatic species that are essential to healthy ecosystems and thus healthy natural resources.”

Want to contribute to ongoing studies of the Chicago River? Join the Shedd Aquarium for its seasonal Kayak for Conservation program. For details and registration information, visit the Shedd’s website.

Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 |  [email protected]

---

Thanks to our sponsors:

Thanks to our sponsors:

The Link Lonk


July 31, 2020 at 02:42AM
https://news.wttw.com/2020/07/30/forget-catch-day-bass-catch-year-and-here-s-why

Forget Catch of the Day. This Bass Is the Catch of the Year, and Here's Why - WTTW News

https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en