Did You Know?

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WE STILL CANNOT FULLY EXPLAIN HOW SNOWFLAKES ARE FORMED.
The Snowflake: Winter’s Secret Beauty / By Kenneth George Libbrecht and Patricia Rasmussen. Stillwater, Minn.: Voyageur Press: 2003. [Call No. 030770]
Physicist Libbrecht details the creation of snowflakes and photographer Rasumussen provides amazing photographs. You will never look at snowflakes in the same way.


THE WORST GREAT LAKES STORM ON RECORD OCCURED ON NOVEMBER 7, 1913.
White Hurricane: A Great Lakes November Gale and America’s Deadliest Maritime Disaster / By David G. Brown. Camden, Maine: International Marine and McGraw-Hill: 2002. [Call No. 030762]
The White Hurricane of November 7, 1913 became the worst Great Lakes storm on record: twelve ships sank, and thirty-one more were stranded on rocks and beaches. In this account, nautical writer Brown uses firsthand accounts and contemporary newspaper reports to re-create the desperate struggles of man vs. the lakes.


THE SILURIAN ROCKS IN THE MILWAUKEE AREA CONTAIN THE FIRST ANCIENT REEFS RECOGNIZED IN NORTH AMERICA.
Roadside Geology of Wisconsin / By Robert H. Dott and John W. Attig. Missoula, Mont: Mountain Press Pub.: 2004. [Call No. 061394]
The first comprehensive guide to Wisconsin geology contains thirty-five road guides that interpret the geology visible from highways and parks around the state. This books offers a fascinating look at our geologic history and should be kept in the car or backpack for quick reference as you travel the state.


THE GREAT LAKES ARE FULL OF GHOST SHIPS, RESTLESS SPIRITS AND MYSTERIOUS LIGHTS!
Haunted Lakes: Great Lakes Ghost Stories, Superstitions and Sea Serpents / By Frederick Stonehouse. Duluth, Minn.: Lake Superior Port Cities, Inc.: 1997. [Call No. 071067]
Stonehouse’s book is a not-so-serious investigation of truly believed superstitions and stories that have become a part of the lore of the Great Lakes from the 1700s to today. The stories range from ghosts on ships and in lighthouses to sea serpents and underwater spirits.

Haunted Lakes II: More Great Lakes Ghost Stories / By Frederick Stonehouse. Duluth, Minn: Lake Superior Port Cities: 2000. [Call No. 071068]
The companion to Stonehouse’s first collection offers more ghost tales from the Great Lakes region. Like the first volume, it is not a scholarly treatment of the subject, but a light, enjoyable read.


THERE ARE 35,000 ISLANDS IN THE GREAT LAKES.
Islands: Great Lakes’ Stories / By Gerry Volgenau. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Ann Arbor Media Group: 2005. [Call No. 071152]
Most people are stunned to learn that there are some 35,000 islands in the Great Lakes, ranging from a large stone with its top above water level to the world’s largest freshwater island, Manitoulin. Islands: Great Lakes’ Stories focuses on 18 of these islands with their histories and personalities.


WOMEN WERE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS, TOO.
The Women’s Great Lakes Reader / By Victoria Brehm. Tustin, Mich.: Ladyslipper Press: 2000. [Call No. 071109]
More than three dozen selections of autobiography, fiction, letters, newspaper accounts, and poetry are included in this anthology devoted to women who lived along or traveled the Great Lakes from 1789 to the present. The collection includes writings by women pioneers, travelers, fur traders and lighthouse keepers as well as American Indian myths. You are sure to learn something you didn’t know while being entertained by these often courageous women.


EVERGLADES NATIONAL PART IS ONLY 20% OF THE ORIGINAL WETLAND WILDERNESS.
Water Wars: Drought, Flood, Folly, and the Politics of Thirst / By Diane Raines Ward. New York: Riverhead Books: 2002. [Call No. 130520]
In this thorough and thoughtful book, the author explores some of the most difficult questions regarding water on our planet by talking with the people who are working to answer them. Her analysis is engaging and insightful.


GREAT LAKE CAR FERRIES ARE WORLD FAMOUS FOR THE ICE-BREAKING ABILITIES.
The Great Lakes Car Ferries / By George Woodman Hilton. Berkeley, Calif.: Howell-North: 1962. [Call No. 191091]
Though published four decades ago, this is still considered to be the definitive work on the history of car ferries designed to transport railroad cars across the lakes in the days before tunnels and bridges had been built for this purpose. Highly readable and informative.


WATER GARDENING IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING AREAS OF THE GARDENING INDUSTRY IN THE MIDWEST.
The Master Book of the Water Garden: The Ultimate Guide to Designing and Maintaining Water Gardens / By Philip Swindells. Boston: Bullfinch Press: 2002. [Call No. 240537]
This indispensable book helps minimize the problems faced in building and maintaining a water feature with its wealth of practical ideas and tips for both the amateur and experienced gardener.


MORE INDIAN MOUNDS WERE BUILT IN WISCONSIN THAN ANY OTHER REGION IN NORTH AMERICA.
Indian Mounds of Wisconsin / By Robert A. Birmingham and Leslie E. Eisenberg. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press: 2000. [Call No. 271314]
Indian mounds are a part of the Wisconsin landscape and this book seeks to answer questions about their creation and significance. Complete with maps and directions to the mounds that are open to the public.


WISCONSIN WATER LIBRARY HAS A GREAT COOKBOOK IN ITS COLLECTION.
One Fish, Two Fish, Crawfish, Bluefish: The Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood Cookbook / By Carole C. Baldwin and Julie H. Mounts. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books: 2003. [Call No. 281315]
Creative and savory recipes complement important information about the health and safety of our oceans and the creatures in them. Enjoy the flavors and health benefits of seafood while making these ocean-friendly dishes.


BY THE YEAR 2020, NEARLY 50 NATIONS WILL SUFFER SEVERE WATER SHORTAGES.
Water: The Drop of Life / By Peter Swanson. Minnetonka, Minn.: NorthWord Press: 2001. [Call No. 130507]
The companion book to the PBS series, Water: The Drop of Life, looks at the problem of global water supply. Millions of people worldwide face severe water shortages.


MADELINE ISLAND IN LAKE SUPERIOR IS THE SPIRITUAL CENTER OF THE OJIBWE NATION.
Indian Nations of Wisconsin: Histories of Endurance and Renewal / By Patty Loew. Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press: 2001. [Call No. 271289]
With a focus on oral traditions and primary sources, this collection explores Wisconsin history from a Native American perspective. Includes tribal histories and photographs of the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, Oneida, Menominee, Mohican, Ho-Chunk, and Brothertown Indians.


BELUGA WHALES ARE CALLED “SEA CANARIES” BECAUSE OF THE VARIETY OF SOUNDS THEY MAKE.
Beluga Days: Tracking A White Whale’s Truths / By Nancy Lord. New York: Counterpoint: 2004. [Call No. 281275]
A search for the endangered beluga whales of Cook Inlet, Alaska, becomes a personal journey and an expose of the forces arrayed against this fascinating–and troubled–species.


BEAVERS CAN BUILD A WINTER LODGE IN ONLY TWO NIGHTS.
The Beaver: Natural History of a Wetlands Engineer / By Dietland Muller-Schwarze and Lixing Sun. Ithaca, N.Y: Comstock Pub. Associates: 2003. [Call No. 281403]
Anyone who has witnessed the work of a beaver first hand has seen how quickly this animal can dramatically shape the landscape and how humans can react to these changes. This book combines natural and social history to examine the significance of beavers and answer questions about their fascinating behavior.