The Power of Reading When Powerless

So in case you haven't heard, Superstorm Sandy came through on Monday evening and stuck around for a few days leaving power outages, downed power lines, and lots and lots of very wet snow. It was pretty at first. Then, when I realized the snow wasn't going to stop it got a little scary. Then the lights went out.

Without electricity for four full days I had a lot of time on my hands to consider the hardships of our pioneer ancestors who came to West Virginia to find a little patch of land to call their own. Left without electronic devices of TV or Internet, I began to read.

Someone had recommended the book "Follow the River" by John Alexander Thom. This historical fiction tells the story of Mary Draper Ingles (1732-1815) who was kidnapped by the Shawnee Indians from early western Virginia. Ingles later escapes and travels hundreds of miles to find her way home. I had trouble with the detailed violence in this book and could only make my way through about 50 pages before I abandoned this book to move onto something a little more peaceful. (If you are braver than I and want to check this book out we do have it at the library.)

A book I have been meaning to recommend that I read recently is "The Midwife of Hope River" by Patricia Harman. Set somewhere in West Virginia during The Great Depression, I found this book to be real, warm, and very believable. The titular midwife is Patience Murphy, a new midwife with a checkered past practicing baby birthing in Appalachia. The way Harman has structured the chapters is such that we read the story of a birth and then read the journal entry that Patience records for each new delivery. There is not a lot of conflict in this book, but the various people that Patience encounters along her midwife duties are fascinating and realistic. And yes, Patricia Harman lives in West Virginia and has an extensive background as a midwife.

I moved onto "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern. (Nothing pioneer-like here, it is pure turn-of-the-last-century fantasy.) This book held my attention for two days and 528 pages. It is about a lovely and mysterious circus that opens only at night and without notice. The imagery in this book is amazing. All black and white with punctuations of red. My only complaint is that the conflict set up by the premise is never really fully realized. What is wonderful about The Night Circus is the imagined world of this magical circus that is populated by delicious treats, trained kittens, mysterious circus planners, and an exotic contortionist. Nothing super deep, but a fun ride none the less.

I am so grateful to have had such great books to read while we were without electricity. The power of reading allowed me to escape from the oppressive feeling (especially at night) brought on by the extreme change in our daily routines. And reading about Patience Murphy reminded me that even without electricity I had way more resources available to me than our pioneer ancestors did.

I am hoping that you all weathered the storm fairly well. We measured a full 2-1/2-feet of snow at our place just outside Glenmore near Elkins. There are countless trees down, power lines down, and also folks who are still without electricity. I am truly grateful to the power line workers who came from all over the country to help us out in the wake of this freakish storm.

West Virginia: A History by John Alexander Williams

OK, back to some history of West Virginia today.

I am almost finished reading a most excellent book "West Virginia: A History" by John Alexander Williams. This history book is well written and fascinating for a number of reasons.

Williams discusses the colonial nature of West Virginia that has abided since its earliest days as the western frontier of old Virginia. Colonialism is the idea of land, property, and businesses being owned by absentee landlords who take the money out of state. Many in old Virginia grabbed up as much western Virginia land as they could. Even George Washington claimed the best bottom land for himself.

Williams makes much mention of the idea that West Virginia was predicted to be one of the wealthiest states in the colonies because of its rich natural resources and natural beauty. But in reality, this was not to be. West Virginia remains one of the poorest states in the US.

"That such a country so full of the varied treasures of the forest and the mine...should lack inhabitants, or the hum of industry, or the show of wealth is an absurdity in the present and an impossibility in the future." This quote from J. H. Diss Debar shows how wrong he and many others were about the Mountain State.

The challenge of West Virginia geography has made road building here very expensive. The Department of Highways estimates that it takes $1 million dollars per mile of road to create new highways here. The great ridges of the Allegheny Mountains have always served as a natural barrier to business and wealth in WV.

Then there is the idea of the company store. In coal mining and log camp days, workers were indentured servants who had no choice but to spend their pay scrip at the company store. Prices were outrageously inflated and the workers had to pay rent on shacks and shanties owned by the company.

There are suggestions in this book that West Virginia continues to be impoverished by generations of West Virginians waiting for an employer to give them better wages and benefits. Entrepreneurialism is lacking here, and perhaps in the country overall. Instead of relying on a company or wealthy out-of-state patron, West Virginia needs to build its own capital and wealth at home.

West Virginia has also been victimized by wealthy companies that use our labor and export the wealth back to their own home states. During and after prohibition, entrepreneurial moonshiners were shut down by the government. Even today one of the complaints of the wind turbine industry is that our natural resources are being used to create electricity that is being exported to other states.

Reading this book, for me, was very enlightening. As a flatlander and transplant from Maryland, our culture and history is much different from that of West Virginia. "West Virginia: A History" is a must-read for anyone who wants to have a better understanding of where WV came from and where it might go in the future. I also have to say that the writing of Williams is fabulously rich and woven with wonderfully long paragraphs of elucidation. I found myself re-reading whole sentences that I thought were well-crafted and insightful. Consider this wonderful piece about the late, great Senator Byrd:

"Byrd's critics, especially those in the metropolitan Washington area, denounce him as a 'prince of pork' and note the frequency with which his name is chiseled onto the buildings that his largesse makes possible. But it is just as reasonable --given West Virginia's long history of exploitation by non-resident energy corporations and its failure to gain much from the federal defense and aerospace budgets of the Cold War years--to regard Byrd's efforts as reparations, not pork barrel."

Source: Williams, "West Virginia: A History." First published in 1976 by W. W. Norton, this is now reprinted by West Virginia University Press in Morgantown, WV.

Stop Scamming Libraries

Update: July 25, 2017: African American Publications is now Scholars In Print. If you get an unsolicited box of books do not open the box and do not accept it. Just send it back to the Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania address.

It all started in 2009.

The previous Pioneer Memorial Public Library director received a phone call asking if we would accept a donation of a box of books from African American Publications. Since we are a small library with a tiny budget for buying books, we accepted what seemed to be a generous offer.

That's when the phonecalls started. Since 2009, the library has received almost weekly phonecalls demanding over $450 in payment for books that were eventually returned at the library's expense.

And it seems that when AAP heard there was a new library director the phonecalls have begun again as have letters from a fraudulent debt collection company named "R. R. Beach Associates."

So here's what I have done to make sure that African American Publications and R.R. Beach Associates never, ever get to play this con under these existing names.

I contacted the Attorney General of Pennsylvania to file a formal complaint against AAP, as this is where they are allegedly located. Then I contacted the Attorney General of West Virginia since this is where AAP is playing their con game.

In addition, I contacted the Attorney General of Delaware, where the fake debt collection company is allegedly located. For good measure, I contacted the Federal Trade Commission.

But wait, there's more. I researched the domain host of African American Publications as GoDaddy.com, and sent them an email letting them know that the domain they host is primarily engaged in illegal activities.

I am especially disgusted with AAP because I feel they are preying on institutions large and small and leveraging guilt to extort payment. Also, by keeping the money amount under $500, some libraries may break down and pay just to make the phonecalls cease. The under $500 may also relieve them of larger charges if and when they are formally charged with crimes.

It did not take a lot of time to fill out forms and send them in. Now I am waiting for the phonecalls to stop.

I am hoping that by posting this that other small institutions and libraries may learn from my cautionary tale. The bottom line is that during a weak economy even the crooks and the con artists step up their game. But the other side of that is that we all have legal recourse available to us. I hope that if you or someone you know of has been the victim of fraud, conning, or other consumer abuse that you will go out of your way to report them to the proper authorities.

Update: 2/11/15 - Received a phone call from a Dr. Derrick Jones from African American Publications in Philadelphia. This is the same scam company and "Dr. Jones" got an earful from me. I am amazed this scam is still going on.

Selling Books Online

You never realize how much stuff you own until you move. When I first moved to West Virginia in 1999 I noticed that I had a LOT of books and CDs. In order to create some more room in my house and to get some extra cash, I started reselling books online.

Pretty soon, my hobby became somewhat profitable but it took lots of time and error to get it right. Most books have no resale value and the trick is to look for the books that do retain value even with age. In general, when I look for books to resell I look for nonfiction and I look for books of some age. Books from academic publishers can also be a safe bet because of their small press runs. Books about trains, planes, fishing, and automobiles also may have resale value.

I started going through books at Pioneer Memorial Public Library in the past few weeks and set up an account on Amazon.com. When I list the book for sale I have to find a record that is very similar or that has the same book cover. I am careful to examine the book and make sure it is not written in or damaged. Many books have the name of the previous owner on the inside and that is OK. Books that have underlining or highlighting in them automatically lose resale value.

When I sell a book on Amazon, I am careful to ship it as quickly as possible via Library Rate using the United States Postal Service. (If you are a private seller not affiliated with a library, send your books or CDs via Media Mail. It is the cheapest way to ship.) I also like to ship my books out in a protected bubble mailer so the book is not damaged in transit. I include a copy of the order slip with the book as a receipt for the customer. I also like to write a quick Thank You on the order slip.

OK, so what books generally have no resale value? Best sellers like Danielle Steele, James Patterson, or Stephen King have no resale value unless they are signed first editions. There are millions of these books printed making their resale value nil. Most textbooks have no resale value unless they are within the current year or two. College textbooks are notorious for publishing new editions every year so they can keep their content current and the need for the new (& pricey) book continues to keep them selling books. The reality is that most books that are bought new lose much of their value as soon as they are purchased and leave the store.

So how do I select books to resell at the library? I go through donations from patrons to see if our library owns the book. If we already own it, then I scan Amazon to see if the book has resale value. If it does, I will list it quickly. Today I ran into a bit of a quandary when I found a book that had resale value. The book is "Heading Out to Wonderful" by Robert Goolrick and was published in 2012. I could sell it online and make about $10 or I could add it to our collection. Considering that the book is new, has great reviews, and takes place in Virginia, I will add it to our collection. Though the book bottom feeder in me winces at not making $10, this book is more valuable to our collection and to our patrons.

Amazon is not the only place to resell books, DVDs, and CDs online. I have also sold via Half.com. While you will retain more profit from items sold on Half.com, you sell more items on Amazon because it is the biggest place where people shop online.

So within the first month of setting up an Amazon shop for Pioneer Memorial Library, we sold about 11 books and made a couple of hundred dollars. It's not a lot of money, but when you have a small, nonprofit library every penny counts.

The bottom line is that selling books is kind of like a treasure hunt. You have to go through a lot of books sometimes to find one or two that have resale value but if you have patience and keep at it, you might just find that you too enjoy being a book reseller.

Free Art Books For Libraries

As a small library with limited resources, it's always good to check out the opportunities for free or reduced-cost books online. While researching such opportunities I found the Distribution to Underserved Communities Library Program - Art Resources Transfer in Brooklyn, New York City.

This is an amazing program that distributes new books about contemporary art and culture for free. It took me an hour or so to peruse through the dozens of available book titles and to choose books that I thought would be a good fit for the Pioneer Memorial Public Library. Some of the books included the artwork of Chuck Close, Frank Stella, Cindy Sherman, and many more.

I placed my order for free art books, crossed my fingers, and waited patiently. I received an electronic receipt for my order immediately. Because DUC can only ship to a physical address I gave them my own home address as the library has a Post Office box address. It took less than 30 days and I received a notification of shipment from Fed Ex. I received two large boxes of books at my home shortly after the Fed Ex notification.

I lugged my boxes of art books into the library and opened them excitedly. We received approximately two dozen beautiful new art books that are now available for our library patrons. The shipping alone (which was free for the library) must have cost a pretty penny. Some of the titles include:

Art For Yale: A History of the Yale University Art Gallery

The Surreal Calder

Andy Warhol Enterprises

An American Century of Photography

I sent a thank you to DUC almost immediately and let them know that as an isolated and underserved region of the US, the nearest art museum is in Pittsburgh, PA, nearly three hours away. Locally we have little access to contemporary art and these books help to connect us to current ideas and culture in the art world. We are so grateful for this shipment of free and beautiful art books.

The only limitation to the DUC Art Resources Transfer is that only one order may be fulfilled per year. Also, I didn't get all the books that I requested. There are limited copies of these books of contemporary art so our library received what was available when I placed the order. Also, the website reminds you to be patient: it takes time to gather up the books, box them and ship them.

A Present Day Sketch of Harman, WV

No history today. Just a little sketch of current day Harman, WV, population around 100 or so. Located about 2,360 feet up in the Dry Fork Valley of Randolph County, West Virginia, many may see Harman as a sleepy town that is on the way to Canaan Valley, Seneca Rocks, Timberline, or Snowshoe. And we do get quite a few tourists passing through.

For tourists and locals, the Pioneer Memorial Public Library offers a clean restroom, four public computers with DSL and free wifi. Our collection of about 11,000 books includes traditional books, magazines, DVDs, books on CD, and books on a portable MP3 player called PlayAways. We can also help you with directions. GPS is not very reliable here so we have maps on hand to help bewildered travelers.

Now that school is back in session we get some students from the Harman School (K-12) that come over at lunch or after school to check out the books or use the computer. Later in the school year we will have pre-school and elementary school students that come over for story time and for library lessons. (aka How To Use a Library.) With about 185 students Harman School is probably one of the last schools in the US with a combined K-12 population. Last year the graduating class was less than 20 students.

And believe it or not we have a very active reading community here with a couple of patrons who have almost literally read everything of interest to them in our library. For those folks we offer an Inter-Library Loan service. For about $2.50 we can have a book shipped from the libraries within our consortium of libraries. And as part of that group we loan out books all over the state including other libraries and to the prison system as well.

We have a huge interest in genealogy in our neck of the woods. Last month a regular patron came in and photocopied several copies of a genealogy that we have archived in the library. It took the better part of the day and many reams of paper to make several copies of one family's genealogical record. (And did I mention that our photocopier is an amazing work horse?!) We have a fairly extensive genealogy library of specific family lines that have been generously donated over the years for future generations. We also have will records and marriage records for various years and counties, including Pendleton County, as Randolph County was once part of Pendleton.

The Senior Center is perhaps the community hub of Harman, WV. I went over there for lunch a few weeks back to introduce myself around and to take a new collection of books from the library. Every month or so we try to rotate a group of books into the Senior Center that may appeal to that audience. This month I included "West Virginia Curiosities" by Rick Steelhammer and "If You Ask Me (and; of Course You Won't)" by Betty White.

I have heard that spaghetti day at the Senior Center is so popular that people come from all over the county to have lunch. I look forward to taking a turn visiting with the shut-ins who get a hot lunch delivered to their door every week day by the Senior Center van and a volunteer.

And finally, a physical description of the library: Nestled in the Dry Fork Valley and the nearby Horsecamp Run, our little library is surrounded by the beautiful Allegheny Mountains and pumped full of fresh air. Our tiny parking lot holds about 5 cars, and the library is within walking distance of the post office, the Grant County Bank and Cooper's Country Store, in beautiful downtown Harman, West Virginia.

Captain Snyder and his Twelve of West Virginia

I had wondered why Asa Harman had married the sister of his deceased wife and the section I found in "Captain Snyder and his Twelve of West Virginia" by Carrie Harman Roy explains the marriage. (1977)

"The TOWN of HARMAN, WVa, is situated near the junction of the Dry Fork River and Horse Camp Run. For many years a quiet country village, with the event of the railroad [Central WVa & Southern] which ran from Hendricks to Horton, WVa, the town began to grow and many people moved in.

The two main families at the beginning of this little community were the Harmans and the Snyders. Rev. Asa Harman owned most of the land on the east side of the river and Sampson Snyder owned most of the land on the west side.

Reverend Asa Harman (1834-1902), the son of Solomon Harman, was a traveling German Baptist preacher. He went from place to place and would hold services wherever he could. There were no churches at first, but he would visit in the homes and have services there. here the Harman Church of the Brethren was organized by him in 1859, in the home of Mrs. Jonas Cooper. Her husband had been killed in the war.

When the town of Harman came into being, there was much discussion as to what to name it. Reverend Asa Harman had donated 170 acres of land for the town and it was felt that it should be named after him, and it was.

Reverend Asa Harman, due to a financial need, began to sell off parts of his vast domain. The Coopers bought a goodly portion and soon many people owned parts of it.

Reverend Asa Harman married into the Cooper family. First, he married Elizabeth Cooper and to them were born two boys, Henry Clay Harman, and Job Harman. After Elizabeth's death, he married her sister Barbara because Elizabeth requested it."

This also helps to explain the prevalence of the Cooper name, even today, in Harman, West Virginia.

Speaking of good books, I just finished reading "Wonderful Tonight" by Pattie Boyd who was the wife of guitar gods George Harrison and Eric Clapton respectively. This is a must-read (and a quick read) for anyone who loves the Beatles and the music of Eric Clapton.