Library to host comedian, historian next month

FORT MADISON - Laughter and railroad history will be the topics of two programs coming to the library at the end of September. 
On Friday, Sept. 20, middle school science teacher and comedian Bill Douglas will be at the library beginning at 5 pm for an hour of comedy.  On Friday, Sept. 27, Cindy Wilson, author of “The Beautiful Snow” will be at the library at 3 pm to talk about the impact that weather during the winter of 1880-1881 had on trains getting supplies to settlers in the Dakota territories.
By day, Bill Douglas is a middle school science teacher.  At night…he’s still a middle school science teacher.   But he travels the country, from New England to San Francisco, performing comedy.   Bill has opened for Steve Bjork, Mitch Stinson, Andy Beningo, and Paul D’Angelo.  For more than 35 years, 12-years-olds have prepared him for people NOT laughing at his jokes.  If you’re heading out to the downtown Fort Madison musical fest, Porchstock, on September 20, stop by the library for some comedy first.
The following week, we’re getting a jump on the River and Rails weekend with Cindy Wilson, author of “The Beautiful Snow”.  Cindy’s book talks about the weather conditions in the winter of 1880-1881, that led to the events Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about in her book “The Long Winter”.  Cindy’s talk is titled “The Big Cut West of Tracy” and is about a half hour presentation focusing on the railroad blockades that kept food and fuel from reaching the newly-formed towns in southwestern Minnesota and southeastern Dakota Territory during the hard winter of 1880-81.  Cindy uses newspaper records, historic photographs, railroad maps, drone photography and video, to introduce the factors that caused the tracks to clog with snow, preventing the trains from running.
After delving into the weather that was so difficult that winter, we will then go through the struggle to fight the drifts that blocked the trains.  This talk will primarily focus on the history of the winter and not as much on Wilder’s novel.
If you need more information or have questions, contact Sarah Clendineng, (319) 372-5721, SarahClen@fortmadison.lib.ia.us.