Welcome everybody to Midday magazine for this Monday, December 30th, 2024.
Have your host James J. Mailoff here with you.
And we're welcoming into the studio, our guard friend, Katherine Eckhart.
She is the director of McMillan Memorial Library, Katherine.
Great to have you with us.
Thanks for being here.
Oh, of course.
Always happy to join you in the studio.
We have got a ton of fun things to talk about with McMillan Library, but we do want to
start off the show wishing you a wishing you well because you were going to be departing
our area.
Yes, James, this is very bittersweet for me because McMillan is a really wonderful place.
I think we both know that it's really unique to this community and the community has really
supported McMillan so well.
So that's kind of how it's become the wonderful place it is.
But yes, I have recently accepted a new job where I will be a library system director.
So that means instead of being in one specific library, I'll be more working on things at
the state level.
So able to kind of pursue some more statewide accessibility issues and breaking down barriers.
And that's something I'm obviously really passionate about and I'll be able to do that
at a larger scale at Northern Waters.
Well I imagine it wasn't an easy decision.
I could not be happier for you and your family and certainly getting to know you a little
bit over the last year or so and the passion that you speak of.
You're able to do something with that on a bigger level on a larger scale.
And who can shy away from that?
I imagine that opportunity comes around and any of us would take that.
It's tough to leave an area when you put so much into it and you care about it so much.
You and your family have invested a lot in this area emotionally and as well as professionally.
So to do something like this, it's noteworthy to show, okay, doing this for a reason.
And I imagine too, not only not taking anything from the people that have done the job previously,
but you're going to excel at this.
Not just knowing you a little bit in the kind of person you are, but having the experiences
you've gained the last year or so and everything to be able to take into that job.
So yeah, I'll be overseeing eight counties up north kind of by Lake Superior, yeah.
My 30 libraries, so I'll be kind of able to go into those libraries and help them deal
with issues, basically being like a librarian for librarians and working with other, the
other system directors around kind of system-wide issues.
As someone who's a big librarian, this feels like a dream come true.
But yeah, I'm going to miss my peeps.
We're going to miss you around here too, but we're going to keep an eye on you and your career
and look forward to seeing you excel at this and wishing you the greatest the best to you and yours.
We really do appreciate having you in the area and the impact has been felt.
You've done a great job here too.
I appreciate it James.
We got so many fun things to dive into.
Let's go ahead and go right into it.
I mean, this week alone, it's going to be such a fun week at the library.
Tomorrow, we're having a noon year's eve, which is such a cute idea.
It's basically like a new year's celebration except at noon.
So you can bring your kiddos and do that whole thing.
There's a balloon drop.
I'm obviously going to be wearing sequins.
Oh, yes, what else do you wear to a balloon drop?
So you can kind of have the fun of that and then the kiddos don't feel left out later in the
the day. I know James, you love a blood drive.
That's we're going to be closed on the first obviously, but back on the second and the blood
drive is on the second.
Yeah, so make sure you get your your blood pump and muscle.
Yes, we appreciate all you heroes out there donating blood when you can.
And they really appreciate McMillan being able to host these.
It really speaks to something you and I have touched on quite a bit about McMillan being our
community hub and and where we can go to have fun and do things.
And I don't want to skate too far past the New Year celebration.
Oh, no, because I want to just go back to it for a second.
For one, to all you adults out there, this is a great way to get a pregame.
Yeah, oh, so smart.
Is it the chance you know, I've done New Year's in a year.
How do I how do I do this again?
Oh, yeah, yeah, I mean, you want your New Year's reaction to be on point.
Come on.
Here's the test run.
You know, are you going to be excited?
Are you going to be a little bit or sweet?
Is there some tears?
All of this you could experience.
Exactly.
My sister and I loved New Year's.
Love New Year's.
And it was one of those times where my parents were like, you guys can stay up.
But what I didn't know is they knew we'd never be able to make it.
They knew we'd never be able to make it to noon.
So sneaky.
And how could you?
Here's an opportunity for you to get to celebrate it with your kids.
And maybe even starting a new tradition with your kids.
I think that's a really, really fun idea in the balloon drop.
That's such a good idea.
I know.
Yeah, apparently one of our staffers has like balloon drop experience.
Oh, cool.
Which is something you should put on your resume because the minute I found that,
I was like, why aren't we having more balloon drops?
That's fantastic.
And it's going to be really fun.
But we'll be talking about it on the morning show.
Make sure you get a bunch of kids for that one.
Yes, so fun.
And something else we always mentioned on the morning show as well.
You mentioned that blood drive just one more time.
Yes, so that's going to be on Thursday, January 2nd,
from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thank you.
And you can always schedule your appointment at the Red Cross website.
Got so many other cool, fun things going on over the library.
Let's go right to the next one.
I want to talk about so every Wednesday we are working with mid-state
and they are coming to the library and providing tech help for anybody that needs it.
So basically this is kind of like, you know, if you're struggling with your computer,
if you need help walking through, you know, say you got a Kindle for Christmas
and you just need some help setting that up,
then come and join us at the library every Wednesday from 9 to 11.
And it's just been really great.
And if you have something even more like tricky,
say the team that's there on Wednesdays can't help,
that's when we bring in the big guns, aka Colin.
Yes, Colin, giant computer nerd.
And that's when you like, that's who I go to all my tech questions,
because I'm fairly tech savvy, but sometimes.
Sometimes librarians need librarians, and so then that if you need additional help,
we can always schedule a tech appointment with Colin as well.
Everything is going so into this field and into the tech universe,
and we don't want anybody left behind on this one.
And with isolation being what it is and so many other things,
this is a wonderful resource for all of our seniors out there
to be able to get into on this, especially those that may not know.
And I promise you, and I don't say that lightly,
there's so many things like sending emails or direct messaging,
that once you get the habit and learn it,
it'll be night and day, it'll be so easy for you.
Yeah, it's not scary.
Yeah, I think about this a lot, James, like the digital divide,
and specifically in our area, how we can work together to kind of,
I mean, because say dollar general, those you to apply for a job,
you have to do it online.
Yeah.
And that is intimidating to a lot of people.
So kind of practicing those skills, setting up an email,
having it that you can check, you know, like it can be really intimidating
for those that aren't kind of doing it every day.
And that's what we're here to help with.
It can be also intimidating asking for help.
It can be, you know, can mess with the pride a little bit sometimes.
Don't let pride get in the way of you being there with your loved ones
or reaching out to friends or being more in the know of so many things.
And just as a note, when I'm talking about individuals, it's me too.
I am pretty tech savvy, like you and stuff,
and working in an industry like this, you have to be.
And then I get a new update on my phone.
And my 18-year-old, one of my 18-year-old students
was helping me through the update and everything.
And I'm 47, I mean, I'm not that high up there.
I'm out there, but I ain't that high up there.
It's something that we all need a hand with every once in a while and everything.
And you are going to, you ask these questions,
and not only are you going to feel better from it,
but to me, the smartest people I've ever known
have no shyness asking questions.
Go ahead and ask and find out.
How also are you going to know?
And I mean, again, you're not alone.
Many humans, most humans, need help navigating kind of daily lives.
And that's what the librarians are here for.
And remember, we're giant nerds.
Yes.
Did you hear how excited I was about the balloon drop?
So again, we're here to help.
And what I really like is when someone comes in and stumps me
because then I get to learn things too.
And that happens all the time.
So, you know what?
Never be kind of worried about asking a question at the library.
And also keep in mind, especially if this helps to get you over the finish line and everything.
You're, it's a mutual beneficial thing.
You're getting a lot of information too, but these mid-state kids,
they're getting a vital people skills and the ability to work with others
and working in real time on a subject.
That is really, that's only going to help them as they go forward.
No, we're really fortunate about this partnership.
It's really, it's very cool.
Shout out to mid-state and the library for that.
Yeah, we love mid-state.
All right, what else should we talk about today?
Yeah, there's so much on the Lego Club.
It's pretty cool.
Lego Club is so cool.
So yes, if you're interested in Legos,
and then we are also going to have like a Lego build for teens.
Cool.
I think that's coming up in February.
But yes, every the first Thursday of the month,
so January 2nd coming right up.
We do Legos, upstairs in the kids area.
It's so fun.
There's themes, so you can be challenged a little.
I think this month's theme is,
what can you build in all one color?
Ooh.
Yeah.
Oh, I like that, right?
It's almost Rubik's cube like it's almost all over.
Very, very artistic, various.
So yes, so that's going to be four to six this, this Thursday.
January 2nd, and kids can build.
We have Legos.
You can just hang out with other families that are into Legos
because what is some Legos?
Yeah.
I mean, you know, and the teen one is unique in itself too,
because at that age, and I think as adults,
we forget more and more about this.
You're playing with toys.
You're playing with toys and then you'll hit an age.
You can't play with toys anymore.
Yeah.
Like, well, wait a minute.
There's still a lot of kids in those age ranges
that are still like, wait a minute.
I'm not done playing with that toy.
Well, and what I love about Legos
is like they really have been leaning into the more fan,
like I don't even, like the fancy Corona sets.
Yes.
You know, like those flowers.
Have you seen those flowers?
So cool.
Yeah.
Those are cool.
My sister and I for a couple of years there,
almost every Christmas, we would either I would or she would buy a set
and we put together like, we put together the Sears Tower
and the Hancock.
So they have a lot of those kind of things that are really fun projects.
Yes.
I think that this in some ways is replacing the sailboat
in the jar kind of thing.
Oh my gosh.
You're seeing them.
Like the model trains.
Yes.
Yes.
Yeah.
A lot of our adults are getting into these things.
Yeah.
I mean, kind of just, yeah.
Because again, I know a lot of us,
especially it's New Year's Eve,
want to kind of step back a little bit
of being on our phone so much and, you know,
connect with the people around us.
And what better way?
Yeah.
Making something out of one color.
Yes.
I mean, your imagination will be stretched.
There is also another opportunity for the for our people out there,
especially adults to release.
You're looking for a way to unwind.
Yeah.
The adult coloring club is coming up also.
Cool.
Cool colors.
Yeah, this is so fun.
So I'm lucky.
I work on Thursday mornings on the reference desk.
So I get to see these cool colors in action.
So this is every Thursday.
And you can just, you don't have to bring in new supplies.
Just bring yourself.
And it's upstairs in that beautiful meeting training room.
Yeah.
And we put on some nice music.
And there's different kind of coloring utensils, equipment.
And lots of coloring pages.
And it's just a really nice every week.
It's kind of like a different group.
And it's really nice.
Keep in mind as well that there are meeting rooms to rent out.
Over at the library, if you're looking for a, especially just kind
of a neutral ground, you know, that is a great place for nonprofits
or any other businesses out there to meet and to discuss business
or whatever it is that you're needing them room for.
Yeah, we really think that's kind of a service for the community
because we have small study spaces.
So if you have a meeting or you just need to study buddy
or just some quiet time, you can sign up for our study rooms online
or give us a call to library.
And then we do have kind of more elaborate meeting rooms,
you know, that you can rent out the fine arts theater.
You can have the all purpose room, which is fairly large.
The meeting training room is like for 20-ish people.
But it has, you know, all the tech stuff
if you need to have a Zoom meeting.
It's pretty slick.
And I think it's nice to have it at the library
because hopefully people feel welcome.
Yeah.
We're speaking with Catherine for director McMillan Memorial Library.
One more time, we're talking over there.
And again, I should mention again, the adult coloring book club.
10 to 11 Thursday, January 2nd.
Be sure to check this out.
It'll be at the meeting and training room.
That Catherine was just talking about.
And did you have anything else you wanted to touch on with the coming up for a moment?
I want to remind everybody about our Monday movies.
Yeah.
People love these movies.
Yeah, they do.
And I think they really need, again, every Monday we show a movie twice,
once at 130 and once at 6 with captions.
So if you have struggles hearing or you can't hear,
you can still enjoy the movies.
And it's every week.
It's very popular.
I highly recommend it.
Who doesn't want to see a movie?
Yeah.
And we were, I actually, the last time I went to a movie,
I heard before the movie, somebody touching on this.
And I thought it was really unique.
We're losing more and more opportunities
to just sit somewhere with a bunch of strangers and laugh
and just experience something.
How often in life do we laugh with others?
And then laugh with strangers nonetheless.
But movies are what do this for us?
And being able to do that on this level,
it's a lot cheaper to be honest.
And it's also a really fun thing to be able to do with your community.
And the movies, there's always great movies over there too.
I got to give you a credit on this one.
That's not easy to do.
Every one of these are great movies.
And very family-friendly, like, hey, come one, come all kind of things.
Yeah, so today, because school is out,
it is more geared towards kids inside out too.
Nice, that's a fun one.
Yeah, that's a fun one.
Great class actress in Iowa.
Oh gosh, so good.
I love inside.
And so, and then, yeah, we do take suggestions from patrons.
But it's a really great way, I mean,
to see a movie that you didn't see.
And maybe stretch your muscles a little bit,
because it's not going to const you anything.
And you can always say, you know what?
This movie isn't for me, you can say Catherine hated that movie.
And I'll say, that's OK, because someone else loved it.
And what's so wonderful about the library?
Yes, yeah.
And I wanted to make sure we mentioned before wrap up the couple of Union Jam.
Oh my gosh.
One of the things that I'm so proud of of our local library
is the way that it supports local.
And does it on a different level than I think most ever have?
And giving an opportunity for artists to come there
and put their work up from high school on up,
it's something that I got to experience as a kid around here.
And I know others that have, and how much it means
to be able to have some of these rooms,
and they have to fill with art projects and things.
That's second to none.
Nobody is doing anything like that for our community.
And to the same note, giving a venue
to so many of our local music acts,
like Cowboy Union Jam, which had been entertaining us for decades
and just incredible group of people.
Yeah, I mean, if you're coming to the Cowboy Union Jam,
even as an employee, I forget, because the parking lots are full.
It's incredible.
Every month, I mean, I love it because my office is right above the theater.
So I get a free show, and it's just like best seat in the house kind of.
But yeah, we're really fortunate.
And we love supporting our local humans,
because that's really what makes the library great.
If you haven't heard, I mean, check them out, the Cowboy Union Jam.
They play a repertoire of traditional country, bluegrass gospel.
They are really great at interacting with the audience.
And it's a very, well, intimate, a very fun set.
They enjoy this.
They have a lot of fun with this one.
You can always tell with artists when they're enjoying what they do.
And a very adamant about this with my fellow actors or anything like that,
like you, when you're on that stage, there is no bad days.
Yeah, you are out there.
You are having a good time.
You are enjoying yourself because the audience picks up on that stuff.
Yeah, exactly.
And these guys do it right.
They really do.
They're a hoot.
Be sure to check them out that Wednesday, January, 8th,
from one to three, by local support local.
That includes the arts, everybody.
And it includes our nonprofits and our local library.
When you are looking at ways to impact your community,
volunteering at the library is one of the greater ways I think you can do that.
There are so many always opportunities for you over there to be able to help out.
Yeah.
Encourage you to look into that.
And we'll be keeping an eye on things over there as we look who,
who the big shoe is that somebody's going to be filling with Kathleen.
We appreciate that you so much being in this area.
Yeah.
And thank you again for the time today.
As we wrap up, and I know you're not leaving tomorrow.
No.
You're going to be around for a little bit.
I'm, yep, I'm going to be around for a while.
My new role starts from only.
So I'll be, you'll probably see me at the library now.
Right on.
Because I need to pick up my books for the first time in my life.
If you do see her, thank her, appreciate her, wish her well.
Kathleen is, we're letting you go here.
If people do have follow-up questions or one of them more, how can they reach you?
Oh, they can always find me at the library.
My email is K. L. Kurt, but it's also on the website.
So you never have to worry about that.
Probably the easiest way is just call the library and say, hey,
I want to talk to Catherine.
And then someone will track me down.
Because I love chatting with people.
Yeah.
And please do reach out to her, everybody.
And you can find out more at milllibrary.org.
milllibrary.org.
Catherine, it's been great hanging out with you.
Great getting to know you.
Thank you so much for everything you put into the community
and hanging out with us.
I appreciate it.
Happy new years.
Happy new years to you and yours in wishing you the best.
And a note on our schedule this week with Midday Magazine,
we will have no show for you on Tuesday and Wednesday.
This week we'll have Wisconsin Women's Basketball on Tuesday 310
as they take on Minnesota.
And then on Wednesday, of course, holiday alternate programming.
But we'll be back on Thursday in part one
with Scouting America.
Kevin and Sam will be joining us.
And then in part two on Thursday,
UW-Madison Extension Wood County.
On Friday, we have Wisconsin State Representative Scott
Crew joining us in part one.
And in part two, we will speak with our friends again
from Miss Northern Lights that is a replay from our episode
from a week ago.
Looking forward to it, being with you here Monday through Friday,
four to five on Midday Magazine here at WFHR,
we are locally grown radio.
