Farmers Markets

Summer is finally here! Summer is a great time to head out and visit the farmer's markets for fresh local produce and products. The United States Department of Agriculture (2011), Farms, Land in Farms, the and Livestock Operations 2010 Summary stated that Ohio has 74,700 farms. Being environmentally friendly is a big issue these days. Many Americans recycle, use public transportation, and shop local to go green. But shopping local can also mean shopping at farmer's markets.

According to Sustainable Table, "a typical carrot has to travel 1,838 miles to reach your dinner table." That is a lot of traveling for a carrot. Maybe convenience isn't so convenient after all... when you factor in the cost of fuel. There is nothing like fresh summer produce. Luckily, we have a number of good farmer's markets right on our area.

To find more information about local farms, farmer's markets, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) check out Local Harvest and America's Farmland Trust.

Local Farmer's Markets

Massillon Farmer's Market Saturdays, July 9 to October 8 (8:00 AM - 12:00 PM) located at the Massillon Parks & Recreation Department 505 Erie St North, Massillon, OH 44646

Canton Farmers' Market Saturdays, June 18 to October 15 (8:00 AM - 11:30 AM) located Cleveland Ave. N between 4th & 5th streets in NW Canton, OH 44702

Jackson Township Farmers' Market Thursdays, June 30 to September 29 (3:00 PM - 6:00 PM) located in North Park, 7660 Fulton Drive NW, Jackson, OH 44718

Canal Fulton Lion's Club Farmer's Market Thursdays July 7 to September 8 (4:00 PM - 7:00 PM) located St. Helena Heritage Park

Bumbleberry pie is a delicious way to use fresh berries from the farmer's market.

Bumbleberry Pie

Ingredients 2 c. Granny Smith Apples peeled, cored, and chopped
1 c. blackberries (fresh or frozen)
1 c. sliced strawberries
1 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen) 1 c. raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 c. granulated sugar or Splenda Sugar Blend
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon tapioca
1/2 beaten egg
1 tablespoon milk 1 sprinkle of sugar * for pie crust
1 package refrigerated pie crust * un-roll and bake

* If using frozen berries let them thaw out in the refrigerator before using.

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine apples, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and lemon juice. Mix gently. Add sugar, flour, tapioca to the fruit and mix gently.
3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside the mixture for 20 minutes to help dissolve tapioca.
4. Press pie crust in a 9 inch pie plate. Then add the fruit mixture. Top fruit mixture with pie crust. Trim and crimp the edges of pie crust together. Cut a few slits into the top of the crust to allow the steam to vent. Brush the top of the pie with a little milk and sprinkle with sugar.
5. Bake pie in pre-heated oven for 50 - 60 minutes, or until pie is bubbly in center and golden brown.

Serves 8

Underground River in Massillon, Ohio

Let's face it, the world is a unique place. For example, there is an underground river about 200 feet below the Tuscarawas River, in Massillon, Ohio. Yes, there is such a thing. It is the pre-glacial and inter-glacial remnants of the ancient Dover River.

Stout's (1943) Map of the Teays River Stage features the Dover River (p. 50).

An unidentified newspaper article titled, "There's water under Tuscarawas River, but it moves quite slowly" explained that the underground river is a result from "pre-glacial and inter-glacial water movement that eroded a channel into the bedrock (1966). In fact, the Dover River was also responsible for carving out the Cuyahoga Valley (Harris, 2004, 181). The river flowed from Cuyahoga County where it branched out into parts of Summit, Portage, Stark, Carroll, Medina, Tuscarawas, Harrison, Columbiana, and Belmont counties (Stout, 1943, 71).

Over time, the ancient river channel now below the Tuscarawas River became filled with silt, gravel, and sand. These layers of silt, gravel, and sand filling the channel are also known as an "aquifer," which causes the river to move only a "few feet per day" (1966). When the Dover River experiences periods of drought or water pumping from nearby industries the direction of the river could reverse (1966). The river came to an end during the time of the Pleistocene glaciation or Pleistocene Epoch about (2 million - 10,000 years ago) (Stevens, 19991, 15).

To learn more about the Dover River check out these resources.

References

(1966). "There's water under Tuscarawas River, but it moves quite slowly." Massillon Public Library Vertical File: Massillon Water Supply.

Harris, A. G. Tuttle, E., & Tuttle, S. D. (2004). Geology of national parks. (6th Ed). (Vol. 1). USA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co. Retrieved June 21, 2011, from Google Books.

Stevens, W. (1991). Ground water pollution potential of Stark County, Ohio. (Report 6). Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved June 21, 2011, from DNR.

Stout, W., Ver Steeg, K., & Lamb, G. F. (1943). Geological survery of Ohio: Geology of water in Ohio. (Fourth Series, Bulletin 44). Columbus: F. J. Heer Printing Co.

Thank You! Issue 5 Passes

The Massillon Public Library extends its gratitude to the community for passing Issue 5. Did you know that last year the library system had 1,024,472 circulations and the Reference Department answered 10,266 reference questions. Our dedication to great service doesn't stop there; the library also provides programs, computer access, Genealogy, and much more. Impressive!

It is our pleasure to serve this community.

Thank you!

Keep Them Coming!

Questions that is. The Reference Department helped patrons with quite an array of topics during the last month. Surprisingly, only one inquiry was about the earthquake in Japan. School assignments were at the top of the list and kept us very busy. Occupations seemed to be the main theme behind the assignments, though topics ranged from the Mayan culture to nanotechnology. Our available databases and print collection came quite in handy. Many of our patrons have been very happy to use both of our automotive repair databases: Alldata Online and Chilton Online Auto Repair, both of which can be found at http://www.massillonlibrary.org/research. Typing a few strokes on the keyboard and almost magically you have instructions and illustrations at your fingertips. Online genealogy resources and our local history files are very popular. We were able to find a detailed map of Massillon using our database Sandborn Fire Insurance Maps, http://dmc.ohiolink.edu/oplinmap.htm. Another question came in regarding the history of East Greenville Methodist Church and we were able to find the answers in the Newspaper Archive database, http://access.newspaperarchive.com/Default.aspx. Finding information on the Massillon Women's Club was as easy as looking in our files, complied over the years by our faithful volunteers. We always look forward to interesting questions and challenges, so keep them coming!

March Madness

The Reference Department at the Massillon Public Library continues to be a very interesting place! We have even been called miracle workers by some. We often are approached with small clues about books or movies and set to the task of discovering the title. Most of the time we are successful. Let’s play the game: it’s a movie about an underdog team winning the game and it is fairly new. The answer is Miracle. Let’s try another clue for a book: the topic is addiction, the author’s name starts with the letter ”U” and the book and the author were on the Dr. Phil show. The answer was Healing the Addicted Brain by Dr. Harold Urschel. That answer was found by Googling the Dr. Phil Show. How about a children's book about a baker who ran out of ingredients? Alas, we found Mr. Snitzel's Cookies by Jane Flory, found by using Oplinlist.

Often, we help patrons get connected. A gentleman came in and explained that his elderly sister was in a nursing home and had recorded some of her thoughts in a diary or journal. However, she had written it in shorthand. Discovering a shorthand book on our shelves, we found that it was not very helpful due to variations of the text. Another patron sitting at a table nearby had overheard his request and came over and offered the services of her daughter who had excelled in shorthand when she was in school. Two weeks later we found out that the patron's daughter had contacted her old shorthand teacher and she agreed to help translate the journal.

Sometimes, Massillon history is the hottest topic on our agenda. We have had questions on the architect Herman Albrecht, the jazz musician Bob Wilbur, the MIA soldier Ronald Stanton as well as other Massillonians like James Lathrop. Recently, a retired coach of Chris Speilman requested information for a Columbus radio station so that he could send a note of congratulation to his former student.

Another patron looking for the obituaries of Horace Gillom and his children was helped by the use of Newspaper Archive. This database was also able to answer some questions for another patron inquiring about the murder of two baby girls in the Massillon Hospital in 1947. You can find this database on our web site at http://www.massillonlibrary.org/research.

Because of the economy, more and more of our patrons are trying to fix their cars themselves rather than incurring the cost of a mechanic. To help them in their endeavors, we have two databases: Alldata is a resource that can only be used inside the library and the recently added Chilton Online Auto Repair which can be accessed from home, using a Massillon Public Library card. Again, you can find these databases on our web site at http://www.massillonlibrary.org/research. .

Interesting questions such as the current time in Australia, where would a person find books about growing up poor, or perhaps locations of babysitting classes in Stark County have popped up recently. “Wrong title” searches are very common - we are given a title that is not quite right and it does not show up in our databases. Google is our dear friend in these cases and we set out on the hunt. So, keep your questions coming and we'll keep digging until we can find an answer for you!