The Snake Pit, by Mary Jane Ward

Our book trailer below features The Snake Pit, by Indiana-born author Mary Jane Ward. Although the book was published in 1946, it is a bluntly truthful and personal narrative exposing the darker practices in mental health care during the middle 20th century. Many of the physical restraints and practices have been replaced by chemical counterparts, but the ultimate effects may be essentially the same.

"Old Settlers" Folk Song

Does your hometown have a theme song? As discussed in one of our earlier blog posts, Mooresville, Indiana received its unofficial "town song" when the Rev. Dr. Frank C. Huston wrote Mooresville in 1935. It is a fine composition, carefully crafted by a masterful composer who earned a worldwide reputation as a writer of gospel and popular tunes.

Janet E. (née Griffin) Buckley is a native of Mooresville, Indiana. She has spent much of her life there, and she was intrigued by the idea of composing a song that encapsulated the history and spirit of the community since its founding in 1824. She played clarinet for the Mooresville High School marching band (not quite as long ago as the town's founding), and, in recent years, she has learned guitar. Her spouse wrote the lyrics, upon which she made significant improvements, and her impromptu singing of the words gave the tune its melody line. Since neither received any music theory training, they "guess-timated" the musical notation using Finale software. They then asked their son, composer Danny Buckley, to write a more complete, musically sophisticated version.  The result, shown here and here, gives a rough approximation of what the song might sound like. If you can sing, give it a try, and see if it sounds good ("If it sounds good, it is good," said Duke Ellington).  Instrumental versions are available:

• Listen to "Old Settlers" (Instrumental Version #1) (audio file)
• Listen to "Old Settlers" (Instrumental Version #2) (audio file)

Following the song's publication, Janet suggested that the refrain lyrics "Left me here to sing you this song" should be changed to "Left me here to sing you their song," since it is the old settlers' songs (i.e., their life stories) that are being commemorated. Make the lyrical substitution and see what you think.

For professional quality musical compositions, the couple directs readers to the works of Danny Buckley, who will be graduating from Millikin University (Decatur, IL) next Sunday. You can hear his compositions by watching the library's videos on its YouTube Channel.

 

Here's a video featuring Old Settlers as its soundtrack:

 

"Old Settlers" (Mooresville, Indiana Folk Song) (MPL Treasure Trove Video 5)

 

Old Settlers Picnic & Festival

The Old Settlers fair, held at the beginning of August in Mooresville, Indiana, began as a town picnic in 1870.

Long-time sponsor, Mooresville Lions Club,

created a decorative tile to commemorate

the 100th Old Settlers picnic

Old Settlers picnic gathering in August, 1885

(photo caption is off by a year)

Self-Guided Walking Tour of Downtown Mooresville, Indiana

Looking to wile away some late spring or summer evening? What better way than to saunter through downtown Mooresville, Indiana and enjoy its historical architecture. Visit Mooresville Public Library's website to download a handout to guide you along.

This handout is not exhaustive, of course; rather, it merely skims the histories of these various buildings and their associated businesses over the past 186 years. A comprehensive history would require hundreds of pages, and that's too much to carry around when you're out for a casual evening stroll.

Can't make it downtown?  We've got a virtual walking tour you can see on your computer or mobile device.  Check it out here.

Mooresville Public Library History

Mooresville Public Library in 1916 and 1963

(click images to enlarge)

Long-time residents fondly recall the "Carnegie library" near the heart of downtown Mooresville, Indiana. There are probably a few residents who were alive when the library opened in 1916. For them, this was the first "true" library in town; however, Mooresville's library history extends back to the middle of the 19th century.

Click here to learn more about Mooresville Public Library's history, or visit the MPL website.  To read the newspaper article commemorating the library's dedication (January 27, 1916), click here.

Groundbreaking ceremony (May 1987) for construction

of the "new" Mooresville Public Library building

at 220 West Harrison Street in Mooresville

(outside view below--January 1988)

Indiana Room

Mooresville Public Library

2005 Addition

January 27, 2006