The Battle of Lake Erie and the Wheeling Cartoons

LUNCH WITH BOOKS, Tuesday, Sept. 3 at noon— Oliver Hazard Perry

John Kniesner will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, September 3 at noon to present "Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry: the Hero of the Battle of Lake Erie." Th

e program will honor the 200th anniversary of the famous maritime battle of the War of 1812, which took place on September 10th, 1813 and pitted Perry against British warships near Put-in-Bay, South Bass Island on Lake Erie. During the battle Perry commanded a ship called the Lawrence, which suffered many casualties and was badly damaged. After giving command of the Lawrence to Wheeling born John Joliffe Yarnall, Perry rowed to another ship, the Niagara, where he took command and continued the battle. The British surrendered. Perry sent a message to General William Henry Harrison, which read, “We have met the enemy, and they are ours.”

John Kniesner grew up in Cleveland, Ohio near Lake Erie. He has a Master’s degree in Library Science from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and was a Librarian at the main library of the Columbus Metropolitan Library for 13 years. Then he became the Director of the Bellaire Public Library where he served for 24 years before retiring. John has had a long time interest in Oliver Hazard Perry. He has visited Put-in-Bay, Ohio and Presque Isle, Pennsylvania, and the Niagara ship in Erie, Pennsylvania. He has done original manuscript research about Perry at the William Clements Library on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and has spent time at the Research Library of the Buffalo History Museum in Buffalo, New York.  Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

Tuesday, September 3 at 7 PM: 
People's University: The Wheeling Cartoons

The new People’s University at the Ohio County Public Library, A Cartoon History of the United States, is exploring the power and artistry of political cartoons from the founding period through the present, each Tuesday evening through September 24. Class 2 on Tuesday, September 3 at 7 PM, will feature cartoons from the Wheeling newspapers and an analysis of what they say about local history.  Instructor Hal Gorby, who has encountered many of these cartoons in his doctoral research on the Progressive Era in Wheeling. People's University programs are free and open to the public. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.