To all of my fellow Tuscarawas County residents :
This is the final week Dover Public Library will be accepting entries for our soon-to-be-published living history book! If you would like to see your story in print and want a chance at the $200 prize, stop in to the library and pick up your entry form at the front desk. Or you can download and print it here: Tapestries of Tuscarawas County
Either way, make sure your entry is returned to Dover Public Library by May 1 for consideration! (Since May 1 happens to be a Sunday, we will accept any sealed envelopes placed in our outside drop box before the library opens at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 2. We will also accept any mail postdated before May 1.)
If you find it difficult to begin, you can review the prompts on the submission form for story ideas. If you find you are still having trouble, read on for clarification of some issues I have addressed throughout the contest:
- This is NOT a history paper. Please don’t send a report detailing the Gnadenhutten Massacre or the building of the Ohio Erie Canal – we’ve heard those stories already! We want to hear a story that is personal to you. Maybe tell us about the first time you went to see Trumpet in the Land performed, or how you remember catching and eating fish from the Tuscarawas River when you were a kid.
- You can incorporate a favorite family story, joke, or legend even if the teller is no longer living. If you think your grandmother had a great story about life in Tuscarawas County but she is no longer around to tell it, you can submit that as your story, as long as you give credit where credit is due.
- Please don’t submit genealogies. While we are always happy to accept any complied histories of local families for our genealogy collection, this is not what we are asking for in this particular case.
That’s it! Simple, right? And if you contribute, not only will you have a chance to win a $200 or $50 cash prize, but you will be contributing to the historical record, something your great-great-grandchildren will be able to appreciate!
For any further questions, please contact Claire Kandle at (330)343-6123 or email localhistory@doverlibrary.org
– Claire Kandle, Local History & Genealogy Librarian