By Ray Tincher | For The Times-Post

I have received compliments from several people about my recent columns, as well as a request for help: Conni Baker wanted to gather information on her grandfather, Leroy Adams, who lived in Lapel years ago.

We are so lucky to have Julie Sparks as a local librarian. Julie helped me find information regarding Conni’s grandfather.

Here is what we learned from Julie’s research:

“On January 8, 1958, Leroy Adams lived on Raible Avenue, in Anderson. He was stricken with a sudden illness and died en route to St. John’s Hospital. Mr. Adams was a farmer and also retired from Delco-Remy Division, where he was employed for 23 years. He was a son of John and Martha Adams and a member of the First Pilgrim Holiness Church. Surviving are the widow Bessie, to whom he was married in 1906. They had four sons, Loral, Gerald and Donald, all of Anderson, and Preston in Alexandria; One daughter Mrs. Thelma Maguire of Anderson; eight grandchildren; one great-grandchild; one sister Minnie McDole, Lapel; one brother, Ward Adams of Indianapolis. The body was removed to the Fisher Brothers Funeral Home in Lapel. Reverend James Baker conducted the services and Leroy was buried in (R34/F) Brookside Cemetery, in Lapel.”

While so much is available online these days, there is still so much you can find out about a person at your library, especially with the help of the people there.
If you are interested in looking back for your ancestors or genealogy, the Indiana Room of the Main Library (Anderson) is dedicated to a variety of research collections for genealogists, such as census and vital records indexes, access to leading online genealogy websites, newspapers on microfilm, and volumes on other counties, states and countries.
Other things offered in your library, in addition to the 19,483 books (no, I didn’t count them), are DVDs. Lapel has a present inventory of 2,861 DVDs. If you don’t like to read, check out an audiobook. You can listen to the audiobook at your own pace. Some like to listen to the audiobooks in their car. Julie mentioned truck drivers regularly check out audiobooks. Other items you may be interested in are current magazines and newspapers, including this newspaper.
What if you need a copy of something? Your Lapel library has a copier and scanner. Maybe you need to get a document to somewhere ASAP? The library is able to help you send them. These are services we sometimes forget, and are available at your tax-supported library. You are paying for the services, so why not use them?
One special area I enjoy is the yearbook section. Oh, how they can bring back such memories.
The Lapel library has Lapel High School yearbooks from 1909 to present. It is easy to forget classmates and teachers. The memories all come rushing back when I look at the yearbooks. You can remind yourself, or learn for the first time, how the basketball team did in a certain year. Do you remember who were your high school class officers? It is really fun to look back at those times!
Once COVID passes, your Lapel library will get back into organizing children’s times at the library. Several things have been cut because of the virus. However, the library also has a meeting room that can be reserved. Also, don’t forget about the computer services offered.
I have saved one special thing about the Lapel library for last. Once you have a library card, you can go to and.lib.in.us and enter another world of information. You can search through thousands of books and reserve them; the library will send you an email on when the book is available for pickup at the library. This is a great service I have used many times.
See you at the library and yes, you still need your mask!

Ray Tincher attended Ball State University and retired from Indiana Department of Correction in 1997. He worked at IDOC for 30 years, serving in a variety of roles, from correctional officer to warden. At retirement, he received the Sagamore of the Wabash Award from Gov. Frank O’Bannon. He wrote several training manuals as part of his employment and is a published author: “Inmate #13225 John Herbert Dillinger (2007).” He and his wife, Marilyn, live in Lapel.