This is with a stop in Jackson! Do NOT drive by! This is an original Carnegie library and it is…read morestunning! The staff were amazing and in every room they shared some history of this incredible national gem. The marble and architecture is beautiful. Thank you for showing our group such kindness!

Jennifer at the local post office has been so helpful every time I have to go overseas for work. I…read moreappreciate her always wanting to work with me with holding mail for extended periods.

I became very angry this past week when I dropped off 2 packages at the Manchester Post Office. I…read morewas treated very badly with passive aggressive behavior from a male postal worker in customer service. If you have a choice of where to ship your mail and packages, I would avoid going to this post office, if you want to have a pleasant experience!

They have really fast computers and enough to serve the community. Although some of the patrons are…read morevery talkative and loud, I was able to get some work done.

There movies are great for renting out, except the fact they don't clean them and I ended up having…read moreto clean them and take better care of them then they do. I understand many people Rent out these dvds, and they get used a lot. What this means is Clean them better and care for them better. Change out old dvds for new ones, so that people can enjoy the movie without it pausing many times, so stopping mid show and not continuing on.

I thought "Free Museum Day" at Ella Sharp would be a nice treat. What a joke. First, I stopped by…read morethe gift shop to buy a little trinket for my grandbaby, but they don't even take cash. What kind of museum doesn't accept cash? Are we living in the future or something? The real disaster was trying to see the actual Ella Sharp house. There was a woman standing guard at the door who looked like she'd lost a fight with a highlighter her hair was the color of stale piss. She was clearly having a terrible day and decided to take it out on anyone with a baby. When I approached with my stroller, she huffed and puffed and snapped, "We're trying to limit strollers, so you can leave it with me." Excuse me? Leave my grandbaby with you? I don't even know you, lady, and based on your attitude, I wouldn't trust you to water a plant. Calm down, Stephanie Swift, you're a museum guide, not a prison warden. I wasn't asking to bring in a pack of wild dogs, just my sleeping grandchild. The whole experience left me wishing I'd just stayed home and saved myself the aggravation.

What a cool place to spend a couple of hours. On a whim we stopped to check out the the Sharp…read morefamily farm and view the art gallery they had on the property. The tour of the house was guided and it was just two of us and the guide. The guide had a wealth of knowledge and we appreciated what she had to say about the house and the Sharp family. One interesting and impressive fact, their well was inside the house. This way they didn't have to go out in Michigan winters to get their water. My daughter is a big fan of old homes especially Victorian style homes. While it's a Victorian style house it also had Italian influences in the structure. The art gallery had a World War I exhibit (100 year anniversary), sculptures and a quilt exhibit.

Jackson County in many ways is an enigmatic community. Economically, they have not been in the best…read moreof positions for many years. The population actually peaked in 2010 and has fallen slightly by about 0.3% since then estimated at just under 160,000. The county has been slow to grow in recent times as it has not experienced double digit growth over the course of a decade since the 1950s. It does not seem to attract large business as the six largest employers are various government functions (state corrections, local governments and schools), utilities and medical care. The unemployment rate in the county is slightly above state average, the average income is slightly below state average and the housing prices are largely flat relative to 2000. There are three (one public, two private) post-secondary institutions classified as colleges or universities. The number of persons holding a bachelor's degree or higher among eligible adults is more than 1/4 less than the national percentage. The county seat is Jackson which is a small city of about 33,000, or slightly more than 20% of the county population. Jackson has standard commercial offerings with a small mall. There are a few parks highlighted by Ella Sharp Park which features an annual balloon race. The claim to fame is that it is the birthplace of the Republican Party. The county is largely rural and is very laid back. There is plenty of open space and many back roads to drive in relative solitude. The Amtrak Wolverine Line runs through the City of Jackson on its route between Chicago and Detroit. The train station is actually very nostalgic and lovely. There is an airport west of the City of Jackson that had commercial service until 1984. It has since served only as a General Aviation Facility. Generally speaking, this is a relatively uninteresting place to visit unless you like to observe Midwest and Michigan cultural life. There are no marquis sites to see although there is a new Prison Museum that opened a little over a year ago that might have some promise to allow Jackson County to claim a noteworthy site for visitors. It would be a slow-and-easy place to live, however. The average commute time to work is about 18 minutes and the home prices are very reasonable though you won't see much increase in your investment. It is one of those counties in the US that easily gets overlooked.

Though it's small, it has everything in a compact space: lounge area, private tables, free DVDs to…read moreborrow, graphic novels, public computers, etc. Everything was arranged in a nice, clean, organized layout that works and doesn't feel crowded but utilizes the space and area effectively. It was hard to find at first but they do have restrooms, small but clean. They also had activities and calendar of events showing that it is an active library. The people working here were very friendly and accommodating, ready to help. I've come here to study and this small library has much to offer. Great for families and people of all ages.

Over an hour here, though I did have to plug in my headphones. The library is an after-school…read moredestination for a few of the local kiddies and they like to play video games. They don't quite have "library voices" but it wasn't too bad and they are, after all, kids. So some noise and talking is excused. The library is quite large with workstations, study carrels, lots of comfy seating and a number of stacks loaded with fiction, non-fiction, periodicals and reference. Wifi worked very well. Oh, and a bathroom that was clean. [Review 11089 overall, 862 of 2019.]

The library is just amazing. I go weekly, for books and take my granddaughter for the play area and…read moremany activities. They have something for everyone. The play activities are so well planned she begs to go. I have taken Tai Chi and also heard talks by local TV personalities there. The tech support staff are life savers. I have been to both open sessions and private help, with every form of technology. They sponsor classes for technology also that has helped me become proficient with iPads, Macs, PCs and more. It is such a resource for the community and the staff are the nicest.

If you're a business owner in Jackson it is imperative that you have a relationship with the…read moreChamber. They offer "a lot for a little" in terms of networking, brand visibility, and marketing solutions among other services.