Spring Friendship Flea Market

Mossy Feet Books at the Friendship Flea Market
June 13 - 21, 2020
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM Daily
Some shots from the flea market last September

Sample Chapter - Indiana's Counties - Dearborn County

Sample Chapter 
Indiana's Counties 
Dearborn County 

County Facts
County Seat - Dearborn County 
Area - 307.42 square miles
Population - 49,331 (2016 estimate)
Founded - March 7, 1803
Named for- Dr. Henry Dearborn

County Government
Administration Offices
165 Mary St
Lawrenceburg, IN 47025
(812) 537-1040


Tourism Information
Dearborn County Visitor Center
320 Walnut Street
Lawrenceburg, IN 47025
812-537-0814
800-322-8198

Thumbnail History
Settlers began filtering into the region that would become Dearborn County in the 1790's, mostly clinging to lands along the Ohio River. When the Federal Land Office opened in Cincinatti on April 6, 1801 there were numerous purchases of land along the Ohio River and in several of the creek valleys leading up to the river.
Indiana Territorial Governor created Dearborn County by decree on March 7, 1803, naming it in honor of Dr. Henry Dearborn. The original Dearborn County boundary lines included an area defined by the Ohio/Indiana Territory border on the east, up to the point where the Greenville Treaty line intersected the Indiana/Ohio border. The county line followed the Greenville Treaty line southwest to the bounds of Clark County on the southwest. The county included all of current Ohio County, most of Switzerland county. Portions of several other Southeastern Indiana Counties were later carved from parts of Dearborn county. Lawrenceburg was chosen as the county seat. Because of a political struggle with nearby Rising Sun, the county seat moved on September 26, 1836 to Wilmington where it remained until April 1, 1844, when Lawrenceburg again became the County Seat through an act of the Legislature on January 3, 1844. The Court House currently in use was built during the years of 1870 and 1871.
First Court September 1803
One fo the first offenders was found guilty of striking a judge with a clap board. Punished by confinement in a pen of logs and rails with head placed between two rails.
First Dearborn County jail was constructed in 1804.

Court House History
Still unfinished

Henry Dearborn (Feb. 23, 1751-June 6, 1829)
The son of Simon Dearborn and his wife Sarah Marston, Henry was a native of Hampton, Massachusetts. After attending local schools, Dearborn studied medicine under Dr. Hall Jackson of Portsmouth. After his apprenticeship to Dr. Hall completed he opened a medical practice in 1772.
Revolutionary War
After hostilities broke out in 1776, he recruited a company of militia and served as its captain. He and his company traveled to Bunker Hill and took part in the fight there. His company next participated in the 1775 Quebec campaign with Benedict Arnold, during which the British captured him. They exchanged him in March 1777. Later that year he fought at the Battle of Freeman Farm, the Battle of Saratoga and the Battle of Saratoga. He gained promotion to lieutenant colonel and endured the winter of 177 - 1778 at Valley Forge. Other actions included the 1778 Battle of Monmouth 1779 Sullivan Expedition that fought against the Iroquois in northern New York. In 1781 General George Washington appointed him as deputy quartermaster general on his staff with the rank of colonel. In June 1783 he received his discharge and migrated to Gardiner, Maine to serve as U. S. Marshal for the District of Maine, which was still part of Massachusetts.
Secretary of War
President Thomas Jefferson appointed him Secretary of War at the beginning of his term in 1801. He served the entirety of Jefferson's term in that capacity. During his term he planned the Amerindian removal from the east to areas beyond the Mississippi River.
War of 1812
During the War of 1812 he recieved appointment as a major general in the United States Army in charge of planning the American assault on Montreal, Kingston, Fort Niagara, and Detroit. His tenure proved ineffective leading to his recall from the frontier and reassignment to an administrative post. He received an honorable discharge from the army on June 15, 1815. President James Madison later submitted Dearborn as a candidate for the Secretary of War position, however the Senate did not confirm the nomination.
Later Life 
President James Monroe appointed him as Minister to Portugal, a post he held until 1824, when he requested recall. He died five years later and is interred in Forest Hills Cemetery, which is near Boston.

2020 FARM Club Antique Machinery Show

FARM Club Antique Machinery Show
June 25 - 27, 2020
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
I will have my full display of books set up at the show.
Some shots from previous years shows are below
This is a great event featuring an extensive display of antique farm equipment, live music, events a
Traders Market and much more. Great fun for the entire family.
Click the link for a brochure that has complete information about the event. 

Sample Chapter - A History of Batesville, Indiana - Batesville Memorial Public Library

Sample Chapter
A History of Batesville, Indiana
Batesville Memorial Public Library
The Batesville Town Board first approached the idea of building a library in Batesville in January 1905. The Board discussed the idea at the January 9 meeting and passed a resolution to approach the Carnegie Foundation for funds to build it on February 27, 1905. The Carnegie Foundation offered ten thousand dollars on condition that the town commits ten percent of that amount annually for the upkeep of the library. This effort failed, as did others later. By 1913, the Carnegie funds in Indiana ran out.
New Life
The effort to establish a new library in Batesville flared into life once again on February 23, 1928. Miss Hazel Warren, representing the Indiana State Library gave a presentation to interested Batesville citizens at the High School. Her talk, "How to Organize a Public Library" outlined different procedures a community may follow in establishing a library. In 1928, Batesville still utilized the Public Library Service, offered by the State Library. Under this system, the Indiana State Library would send a lot of books to a community for the community to use for three months. At the end of that term, the books returned to the State Library, who would then send out another lot of books. Miss Warren stated that Batesville was the largest town in Indiana still using the Public Library Service. She also noted that there were ten townships in Ripley County with no access to a library. Following this meeting, the Parents and Teachers Association began holding meetings during the remainder of 1928. The following year, a group of citizens met at the Memorial Building on April 10, 1929 to discuss plans.
Success
Finally, in 1933, the reading public of Batesville succeeded in establishing a library. The modest beginning of the library consisted of one room at the new grade school building on Mulberry Street. The library would occupy these modest digs until 1938, when room became available in the basement of the Memorial Building on Main Street. Library patrons and staff continued an ongoing campaign to obtain more space for the library. This almost happened in 1945, when three rooms on the top floor of the Memorial Building became available. The new librarian, Haze Andreas, lobbied city officials heavily for the space; however, they gave the space to the Girl Scouts instead. At about this time, Head Librarian Andreas began compiling annual reports to use to try to justify the need for more space. Meanwhile, she made do by having the shop class at the high school build more bookshelves and came up with ingenious ideas to better utilize the space she had. Her first report, in 1945, noted that the library contained 2300 books and 246 cardholders and was open only ten and a half hours per week.
Expansion
The Girl Scouts moved into their new home at the corner of Pearl and Mulberry Street, leaving the top three rooms in the Memorial Building open again in 1948. This time Andreas was successful.  She gained access to these rooms and engineered the move to this more spacious area. Local businesses donated furniture for the expanded library, which would serve the Batesville public until 1974. Mrs. Andreas initiated a number of programs designed to increase library usage. These efforts included a children's story hour, reading clubs and poster contests. The effort succeeded and by the late 1960's the library again needed more space.
Batesville Memorial Public Library
The John A Hillenbrand family donated a tract of land located between Walnut Street, Schrader Street, Elm Street and Hillenbrand Avenue for a new library in 1974. The land had served as the Hillenbrand family home. Hazel Andreas, still serving as head librarian, engineered another move, to the new Batesville Memorial Public Library, which was dedicated on October 20, 1974. Mrs. Andreas retired the following February, after serving as head librarian for thirty years.
George C. and Margaret Hillenbrand Wing
By 1988, the library needed more room, so they constructed an addition that almost doubled the size of the facility. This new George C. and Margaret Hillenbrand Wing was dedicated on October 2, 1988. In 2003, the Library acquired the Cinergy office building on Boehringer Street. They allowed the Batesville Area Historical Society to use the building, now called the Library Annex, as a museum until 2007, when the BAHS moved to its current museum on George Street. The library uses the Annex to host various events and programs. Meeting rooms in the Annex are available for individual or group use. Other services offered by the library include public computers, wireless internet access, meeting rooms and of course, books to read. Visitors will also find DVD's magazines, special collections audio books, ebooks and newspapers. The library also has an extensive genealogy room for local families to use to research their family trees.

Batesville Memorial Public Library
131 North Walnut Street
Batesville, IN 47006-4897
(812) 934-4706
http://ebatesville.com

Sample Chapter - Gardener's Guide to the Solar Garden - Solar Cell Primer

Sample Chapter 
Gardener's Guide to the Solar Garden 
Solar Cell Primer
Solar electric cells work by converting the sun’s energy to electricity. How a cell does this is using a process called the photovoltaic effect. This process takes advantage of certain materials called semi-conductors ability to convert light energy to electric energy when they are exposed to light. A semi-conductor is a material, either solid or liquid, which has the ability to conduct electricity at room temperature easier than an insulator but less readily than a metal. Currently the best materials for solar photovoltaic cells are crystalline silicone or gallium arsenide.
Photons
All light energy is composed of very small particles called photons. These photons leave the sun at the speed of light, traveling in a straight line to the solar cell in your garden. The photons pass through the semi-conducting material in the solar cell. As they pass through this material, they knock electrons loose from the atoms of the silicon material. These electrons are negatively charged, and as they flow through the material a positive current is also produced which flows in the opposite direction.
Hooking Them Together
Each individual solar cell produces a very small amount of electricity. So the individual solar cells are wired together in modules, which can produce enough electricity to power a small electric device. If more power is needed, the modules are wired together in an array. Arrays can produce quite a lot of power, if they contain enough modules.
Direct Current
The solar cell produces Direct Current. If Alternating Current is needed, the electricity is fed through an inverter, which converts the electricity to AC and can be used as household current.
Simple in Concept
This is a very simplified explanation of how a solar cell works. Quite simple in concept, but very complex both mechanically and scientifically.
First Solar Cell
The first person to discover this photovoltaic effect was a French physicist named Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel in 1839. The term photovoltaic emerged in 1849 by combining the Greek words, phos, which means light, and voltaic, which means electricity. An American inventor named Charles Fritts built the first solar cell in 1883. He constructed it from selenium coated with a thin layer of gold.

Spring Market at the Museum

I will have my books set up at the
Spring Market at the Museum
March 14 - Saturday - 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
March 15 - Sunday - 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Come out, support this great museum and buy a book
For Information about the event, see
https://www.facebook.com/events/577552073026109/

Sample Chapter - 1776 - Thomas Hickey Joins Conspiracy to Kill Washington

Sample Chapter 
An American Revolution Time Line - 1776 
Early June 1776 - Thomas Hickey Joins Conspiracy to Kill Washington
General Washington had arrived at New York on April 13, 1776 to take charge of the defenses of New York against the expected British invasion of the city. Washington occupied a mansion called Richmond Hill, in Manhattan, to use as his headquarters. The approximately 150 man Commander-in-Chief's Guard made camp on the 26 acre estate. Three taverns in the vicinity served as gathering places for these soldiers, Lowrie's Tavern, The Highlander, and Corbie's Tavern.
Wider Plot
Washington had learned earlier of a plot hatched by British Royal Governor William Tryon, holed up in the HMS Halifax in New York Harbor, and New York Mayor David Matthews to recruit regiments to resist rebel forces in the New York area. The plot went much deeper than that, though details are sketchy. Apparently the larger plot involved recruiting members of the Commander-in-Chief's Guard to kidnap, or kill, General George Washington, Israel Putnam and other senior members of Washington's staff on the eve of the British invasion. They were also to spike cannon and blow up ammunition supplies. The plot included the activation of the Loyalist forces and blowing up bridges and other strategic structures. Tryon had also employed an engraver to print counterfeit bank notes to aid in disrupting the rebel effort. Matthews had recruited a local gunsmith, Gilbert Forbes, to supply guns to Tryon's efforts and supply intelligence on rebel troop movements. If successful, the plot would probably have dealt a fatal blow to the Patriot cause.
Members of the Commander-in-Chief's Guard
Several members of the Commander-in-Chief's Guard met sometime in early June at Corbie's Tavern. It was here that a key part of Governor Tryon's plot began to take shape. Five members of the guard, William Green, Thomas Hickey, James Johnson, Matthew Lynch and John Barnes gathered to share a drink or two. Gilbert Forbes also attended the meeting at the tavern. Details are murky, however it is apparent that Forbes recruited the members of Washington’s Guard to either kill or kidnap Washington, paying them 10 shillings apiece for their efforts. He also recruited them to pass some of the counterfeit money.
Thomas Hickey (? - June 28, 1776)
Historians know little about Thomas Hickey other than that he was an Irishman that had come to the colonies as part of the force attached to Major General William Johnson's command during the French and Indian War. Hickey deserted from the British Army. When hostilities erupted between Britain and the colonies, Hickey joined the Patriot cause. He resided in Wethersfield, Connecticut and had enlisted in Knowlton’s Rangers. The commander of that unit had selected Hickey to serve on the Commander-in-Chief's Guard. Washington had met, and liked, Hickey and considered him one of his favorites. At some point he became disillusioned with the Patriot cause and began exploring ways in which he might undermine it.