Digitized Tornado Photos

1958 Colfax Tornado

As part of a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Colfax Public Library has digitized the collection of the 1958 tornado photographs taken my professional photographer, Ron A. Blakeley. These items are now part of the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections’ (UWDC) State of Wisconsin Collection and are freely available online. The ability to keyword search the text and images is a great new tool for local history research. In addition, having digital copies of the 1958 Colfax tornado pictures preserves it for future generations.


The Colfax 1958 tornado photographs are part of a larger regional collection entitled Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, St. Croix, and Rusk Counties: Local History Collections. This collection showcases selections from the local history collections of the Baldwin Public Library, Chippewa Falls Public Library, L.E. Phillips Memorial Library in Eau Claire, Rusk County Community Library in Ladysmith, Pepin Public Library, Somerset Public Library, Menomonie Public Library, Colfax Public Library, Durand Community Library, Woodville Community Library, and Carleton A. Friday Memorial Library in New Richmond. These libraries, and several other Indianhead Federated Library System members, serve as repositories for important local history documents. The Indianhead Federated Library System is comprised of 53 member public libraries in West-Central and Northwestern Wisconsin.

The Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, St. Croix, and Rusk Counties: Local History Collection was funded, in part, through a 2010 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant. These grants provide financial support for public libraries to digitize and make available online, their local library resources. For more information about LSTA grants in Wisconsin, contact the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning or visit the LSTA grant Web site at http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dltcl/pld/lsta.html.

To access the 1958 Colfax tornado photographs, go to http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.IndianheadLocHist. There are many other valuable Wisconsin resources on the UWDC site. If you need assistance, please call the Colfax Public Library @ 715-962-4334, or stop by for more information.

Teen Movie Night

Teens are welcome to attend teen movie night, Tuesday November 9th at 5:00pm - 8:00pm.

Free pizza and pop will be served.

We will be showing The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring.

Media Review: The House of Eliott

A friend suggested I might like to watch The House of Eliott series put out by the BBC. I enjoyed it very much and thought I would leave a short review about this 3 season series.

The House of Eliott is the name of a fashion house in London in the early 1900's. Two sheltered sisters find themselves alone in the world with little or no skills accept the dressmaking abilities they acquired by making their own clothes. Their Father's passing left a load of debts and a few skeletons in the closet.

The elder sister starts work as a photographers assistant and wealthy clients start to notice her well designed clothes. With the help of her younger sister Evangeline, Miss Eliott starts producing clothing designs for London's upper crust. Love interests wane and bloom but the sister's commitment to their new found business will not be overshadowed.

Despite an unscrupulous cousin who is managing their money, the two sisters forage through a forest of obstacles to forge a business of their own and a name for themselves in The House of Eliott.

I have really enjoyed watching this production and recommend it to those who are interested in the fashion industry and the working woman.

You will not find this series offered in the MORE consortium but you can search WISCAT, our inter-library loaning system. Click on the season you want and print out the sheet. Bring it to your local MORE Library and a librarian will be happy to reserve a copy for you through WISCAT. If you have any troubles searching WISCAT for this series of shows, just ask a librarian at your library and I am sure they will assist you in finding it.

Happy Viewing!

Jenny