President Howard Taft speaks on Main Street Columbus in 1902. Men in fedoras and suits study the rubble of First Columbus National Bank after a devastating fire in March 1919. The 1927 Stephen D. Lee High School state football champions pose on modest wooden bleachers in their dirt-stained uniforms.
These sepia images and many more peek from the past in the Early Images of Columbus 2010 calendar on sale now at the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, 314 Seventh St. N. The fundraiser was devised to help the library with its books and programs budget. A second calendar being sold, filled with colorful images of Mother Goose, will delight young ones. Cost for the calendars is $20 each.
“You”re not buying a calendar, you”re making a donation to the library”s book budget and programs, mostly the summer reading program for children,” said library director Alice Shands.
Costs for the library, as for virtually every business and household, have risen, while the overall budget has endured cuts, Shands explained.
“We were thinking along the lines of a historic calendar, but we realized we also had so many pictures of Mother Goose and thought people would enjoy that, too,” she added.
West Point/Clay County
The Clay County Historical and Genealogical Society is also selling a calendar featuring historic images of West Point and the surrounding area.
Proceeds benefit the Society and will aid pro-jects related to the history and genealogy of Clay County, including providing support for the local history room at Bryan Public Library.
The $10 Clay County calendars are available at Annabelle”s Antique Mall, Hair Design, Bits N Pieces and Windmill Antique Mall in West Point.
For more information about the Columbus and Mother Goose calendars, contact the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library at 662-329-5300. Visit the library Web site at www.lowndes.lib.ms.us/.
For information about the Clay County calendar, contact Beth Calvert at 662-495-2448. To learn more about the genealogical society, visit http://www.rootsweb.com/~msccgs/.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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