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The Children's Blizzard is 2023 OBOC Selection The morning of January 12, 1888, was unusually mild, following a long cold spell, warm enough for the homesteaders of the Dakota territory to send their children to school without their heavy coats -- leaving them unprepared when disaster struck. At just the hour when most prairie schools were letting out for the day, a terrifying, fast-moving blizzard struck without warning. Schoolteachers as young as 16 were suddenly faced with life and death decisions. Based on actual oral histories of survivors, Melanie Benjamin's The Children's Blizzard follows the stories of Raina and Gerda Olsen, two sisters, both schoolteachers--one who becomes a hero of the storm, and one who finds herself ostracized in the aftermath. Full of human drama and a bit of history, the 2023 One Book One Community selection is one that will strike up lots of discussion during the three programs leading up to the author’s visit.
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Meet The AuthorMelanie Benjamin is the author of the USA Today and New York Times bestselling historical novels The Swans of Fifth Avenue, about Truman Capote and his society swans, The Aviator’s Wife, a novel about Anne Morrow Lindbergh, and Mistress of the Ritz, based on the true story of the American woman who ran the Ritz during World War II, catering to the Nazi occupiers by day while working for the Resistance by night. Benjamin’s previous historical novels include the national bestseller Alice I Have Been, about Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland; The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb, the story of 32-inch-tall Lavinia Warren Stratton, a star during the Gilded Age; and The Girls in the Picture, about the friendship and creative partnership between two of Hollywood’s earliest female legends—screenwriter Frances Marion and superstar Mary Pickford. A native of the Midwest, she grew up in Indianapolis where she pursued her first love — theater. After raising her two sons, Benjamin, a life-long reader (including being the proud winner, two years in a row, of her hometown library’s summer reading program), decided to pursue a writing career. After writing her own parenting column for a local magazine, and winning a short story contest, Benjamin published two contemporary novels under her real name, Melanie Hauser, before turning to historical fiction. Benjamin lives in Chicago with her husband. In addition to writing, she puts her theatrical training to good use by being a member of the Authors Unbound speakers bureau. When she isn’t writing or speaking, she’s reading. And always looking for new stories to tell.
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Local Scouts will discuss fire starting, shelter building, cooking, and winter camping preparation.
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Robb Hyde, president of the Alliance Area Preservation Society, will talk about education in the Alliance area in the late 1800s.
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The Children's Blizzard and Modern Weather Prediction Saturday, March 11, 2 p.m. Rodman Public Library Eric Wilhelm, chief meteorologist at WFMJ (Channel 21) in Youngstown, will talk about the evolution of weather forecasting since the 1888 storm and the challenges of being a meteorologist in Northeast Ohio.
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(1843 S. Union Avenue, Alliance, OH) No Registration Required Benjamin expects a cozy night of discussion of The Children's Blizzard, her writing process, her other works, and her upcoming book. She will answer questions from the audience and sign books after her remarks.
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