It originated in Ireland and has roots in the Celtic pagan festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints. It is largely a secular celebration, but some have expressed strong feelings about perceived religious overtones. Irish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America during Ireland's Great Famine of the 1840s.

An Unexpected Love     Tracie Peterson & Judith Miller
The Missing                       Beverly Lewis
Lonestar Secrets                Colleen Coble
Lonestar Sanctuary           Colleen Coble
The Believer                      Ann H. Cabhart
A Widow's Hope             Mary Ellis
Take Two (Above the Line Series) Karen Kingsbury
A Surrendered Heart             Tracie Peterson & Judith Miller
206 Bones                             Kathy Reichs
Dying for Mercy                 Mary Jane Clark
Storm Cycle                         Roy Johansen
Second Sight                         George D. Shuman
The Devil’s Punchbowl         Greg Iles
Fear the Worst                     Linwood Barclay
Justice Denied                       J.A. Jance
Any Minute                         Joyce Meyer & Deborah Bedford
Twelve Sharp                         Janet Evanovich
Still Life                                 Joy Fielding
The Last Song                     Nicholas Sparks
Blindman’s Bluff                 Faye Kellerman
The Knight                         Steven James
The Rook                           Steven James
Alex Cross’s Trial              James Patterson
Vanished                           Joseph Finder
 92 Pacific Boulevard     Debbie Macomber

Adult Nonfiction

For more than 25 years, October has been celebrated as National Popcorn Poppin’ Month; however, it became "official" in 1999, when then Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman proclaimed October as National Popcorn Poppin’ Month.

While every day is a great day for celebrating popcorn, we chose the month of October because of the popcorn harvest which takes place each fall in the Midwest. Each year when the new crop is harvested, it reminds us popcorn will always be the naturally fun snack for the entire family. Popcorn Poppin' Month is the perfect time to celebrate popcorn.
Corny Facts

• Americans consume some 16 billion quarts of this whole grain, good-for-you treat. That’s 54 quarts per man, woman, and child.
• Compared to most snack foods, popcorn is low in calories. Air-popped popcorn has only 31 calories per cup. Oil-popped is only 55 per cup.
• Most U.S. popcorn is grown in the Midwest, primarily in Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky and Missouri.
• Many people believe the acres of corn they see in the Midwest during growing season could be picked and eaten for dinner, or dried and popped. In fact, those acres are typically field corn, which is used largely for livestock feed, and differs from both sweet corn and popcorn.
• The peak period for popcorn sales for home consumption is in the fall.
• Most popcorn comes in two basic shapes when it's popped: snowflake and mushroom. Snowflake is used in movie theaters and ballparks because it looks and pops bigger. Mushroom is used for candy confections because it doesn't crumble.
• Popping popcorn is one of the number one uses for microwave ovens. Most microwave ovens have a “popcorn” control button.
• “Popability” is popcorn lingo that refers to the percentage of kernels that pop.
• There is no such thing as “hull-less” popcorn. All popcorn needs a hull in order to pop. Some varieties of popcorn have been bred so the hull shatters upon popping, making it appear to be hull-less.
• How high popcorn kernels can pop? Up to 3 feet in the air.
• On September 29, 2006 a new record was set for the World's Largest Popcorn Ball, as measured by the Guinness Book of World Records.  Eight feet in diameter and nearly 24.5 feet in circumference, this gargantuan confectionary creation weighed in at a whopping 3,423 pounds.  It took two days for employees of The Popcorn Factory to create the ball.
• If you made a trail of popcorn from New York City to Los Angeles, you would need more than 352,028,160 popped kernels!
  
  Yet when all is said and done, popcorn is simply a great tasting food.  Surprise your family and friends with a popcorn treat today in honor of National Popcorn Poppin’ Month.  For tasty recipes, fun facts, popcorn trivia and more, visit www.popcorn.org.
  
  

  Popcorn Fixin’s
  Looking to spice up your popcorn? Here are a few topping favorites:

  • Garlic salt
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Thyme
  • Cumin
  • Oregano
  • Dry taco seasoning mix
  • Dry ranch-style seasoning mix
  • Lemon pepper
  • Italian herbs: oregano, basil, marjoram, thyme, and crushed rosemary.
  • French herbs: marjoram, thyme, summer savory, basil, rosemary, sage, and fennel
  • Cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg

The State Library of Iowa has announced that the Melbourne Public Library has met the conditions for state accreditation as outlines in "In Service to Iowa: Public Library Measures of Quality, 4th ed."

We have finished our "Kid's First"(Afterschool program) room in the library.  This was a special project that I have been working on funded by the Martha Ellen Tye Foundation grant that we had received.  I was able to update/remodel our storage room in the library basement to turn into a livable and enjoyable space.  I was able to paint and refinish the cement portion of the floor, I put up curtains to cover the shelves that we use for storage in the basement.  Gary Fricke cut the carpet and tacked it down for us, and my wonderful sister, Lisa painted the beautiful murals on the walls.  Thank you both for your help with this much needed project!     

We will start the afterschool program on Tuesdays, starting September 22.  We will meet from 4:15 - 5:15 p.m.  This is for Kindergartners on up.  We have a snack, stories, games, crafts, and many other activities.  We meet every Tuesday unless there is no school.  We hope that your children will be joining us as we will be putting your "Kids' First." 

Story Hour will also be  held on Tuesdays, starting September 22.  This is for 3, 4, and 5 year olds.  They will meet from 11:30 - 12:30.  We begin the program with book reading, followed by songs, games, crafts, fingerplays, puppets, a snack or other activities.  The children will enjoy all the activities and of course be able to check out books and movies- keeping the 3-day movies for a whole week!- as a bonus for being in Story Hour.  We have a Halloween and Christmas Party and a picnic in May.  Lots of fun for your little one- let your child be the judge!       

Teen Scene is a program for 5th graders on up. We meet for activities, games, crafts, food and fun.   We meet the 3rd Wednesday of the month during the school year.  So we will start on the 16th of September from 7-8 p.m.  We will be celebrating "Back to School" with various activities.   Hope you will join us. 

Calling all knitters & crocheters... Have we got a great way for you to meet others and to learn new ideas and patterns. We will be offering a class for those who want to learn knitting and crocheting. We also offer a wonderful opportunity for those who already knit/crochet to come together to share ideas and conversation with others in our group.  If you would like to learn to knit or crochet have we got the right people for the job.  We have 2 of the most caring & patient teachers, that are so dedicated to helping you learn.  They are Kathy Kelly and Lois Wermager.  Come join them starting Tuesday, September 15 from 7- 8 p.m.  They will meet then after the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month. 

Our Friends group was able to purchase for us a wonderful addition to the library collection from Nest Family.  It is a complete learning system.  For over 15 years, NEST Family has provided the best in inspirational, educational and entertaining videos, audios, books and other items for families, home educators, schools churches and libraries.  As their name suggests, NEST provides an environment that fosters development and nurtures the young. Their engaging stories and music provide inspirational, entertaining, and educational tools that help loved ones share with each other their values, morals and wisdom. 

We have the Animated Hero Classic Series, and with this children will learn to appreciate democratic principles, values, and people from many cultures who contributed to economic and political heritage in world history. Plus, The Animated Hero Classic Series promotes the development of higher level thinking skills such as analyzing, evaluating, sequencing, and more!   We will be using this throughout the school year for the afterschool kids and this is open for anyone to use and check out especially home schoolers.  We do allow the DVD videos to be checked out for a whole week and the educational workbooks are for "In Library Use Only"  but we do offer you the opportunity to copy the necessary pages for $.10 a copy.  Some of the heroes are Joan of Arc, Benjamin Franklin, Harriet Tubman, Helen Keller, The Wright Brothers, and many more.  We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful new addition to our collection. 

The library will be closed on Monday, September 7 for Labor Day.  We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, Sept. 8.  We wish you a very happy and safe Labor Day weekend.  Until next time, Happy Reading!