Allen County Public Library has several locations, and this address is for the main library. At…read morethis library, visitors may check out books, movies, music, and more. It also has meeting and study rooms as well as programs for children and adults, and its Genealogy Center is the largest public-library family-research center in the United States! Here I attended a genealogy presentation. It cost me nothing, it started on time, and I learned a lot from the knowledgeable presenter. I feel interested in learning more about the Genealogy Center's international collection of physical and digital resources and free access to databases.

I'm in the process of gathering documentation to join the DAR and I made a trip from Indy to the…read moreAllen County Public Library Genealogy area this week (March 17). I was challenged to confirm that an ancestor was the granddaughter of a Rev. War veteran. After weeks of searching, I wasn't having any luck to find acceptable docs and my mentor in the DAR is fantastic but this stumped her too. Census rolls and marriage licenses weren't enough. I met with Jeff Garver, a genealogist at the Allen County Public Library. Before my arrival, he had already done some research and he provided much help, but we still needed definitive proof of the lineage. Then he suggested checking an 1800s "Deed Book" from Monroe County, where my ancestors primarily lived. In the book, Jeff found a deed written by the parents of my 3rd Great-grandmother where they sold property to their daughter. The deed document is witnessed and signed by the magistrate of the time and clearly identifies the parents of my ancestor (of whom both respective fathers fought in the Rev. War) as their daughter. It was like bells went off, and hopefully the final piece of the puzzle for my DAR application. I never would have thought of looking at deeds and now know why the Allen County Public Library and its Genealogy Dept. are so highly regarded. Am so appreciative to have such an excellent research source in Indiana with equally excellent professionals. Everyone in the genealogy section was highly trained and helpful - special kudos to Jeff Garner.

Nice little used book store next to the Dunkin Doughnuts, inside the main library. The prices are…read morefairly reasonable (they don't pay rent or pay volunteers). I bought a used travel book for about $2 the other day. The bookstore is clean, small and well organized. I agree with a few other yelpers... stores like this make you steer away from electronic books like the Kindle. Most of the books I read, I find browsing through book stores. Or even in the library. For the yelp sseach engines. Also called: Twice Sold Tales

I found out while visiting Fort Wayne that an O.G. college buddy from the OC is actually originally…read morefrom Fort Wayne. Small word! He also has a tangential connection to the Fort Wayne Famous Coney Island restaurant. Even smaller world, because I could see this hot dog restaurant from my hotel window! So I popped into the wiener shop to get my friend a souvenir. I wanted him to receive his gift post-haste, and I also wanted the package to have Fort Wayne postage on it. (It's the little details, you know?) So I headed to the nearest post office to send my package. This Fort Wayne post office did the job! Like lots of post offices, it's old and looks like it's from the 1980s. But it had all of the things I needed: a big envelope to mail the gift in, three clerks at the counter (I didn't wait long at all), and even a pen, which I ended up needing, too. They even had a dish of candy! I didn't take any, but that's nice that they offered. I was in and out in less than five minutes. This post office is also open until 6 p.m. on the weekdays, which was nice for me because I didn't feel like I had to rush to get there. You should know: There is one entrance and one exit! This post office is located on a one-way street, and you need to drive by the exit in order to get to the entrance. I didn't know that and entered through the exit, so that's why I'm telling you. Don't be an exit-enterer like me.

After a debacle at a local UPS store, where I found out that for the purposes of that shipper,…read morePuerto Rico is considered a foreign country and requires we fill out customs paperwork among other bonkers requirements, I decided to drive to the tried and true USPS. This is not my local branch, as I live out in Van Wert, OH. I was in the area though, and my branch was closed for the day. So in I came to ship a Christmas gift to my friends in Puerto Rico. This place needs more order. USPS does not have a service to box your stuff for you. They have supplies (you pay for) to box your own items, but they are located in different areas. The boxes are where the lines are, the tape is near the entrance in another room. You of course do not know this and are given no signage to help direct you. The line was enormous, it took almost an hour for me to get to the front of the line to ship the gift. Thankfully, I got it done. The things you do for people you care about..

We went to the Hazelwood USPS to get my son a passport. We had am amazing experience with the…read moreemployee, Missy. She was so friendly and helpful and made our experience so great. This process was so easy and clear and on top of that Missy made it feel like a field trip. She explained everything so thoroughly and made it fun for me and my kids. What a pleasant surprise!! Thank you for taking the time to make our trip special.

Postal officials were fabulous! Very courteous and so helpful! Helped tape packages with a smile!…read moreAlways smiling when I leave!

I recently moved to the outskirts of Huntington and paid for a years access to this library (my…read moretownship doesn't pay into the supporting taxes) and it's well worth it. They have a large book & CD collection, a big genealogy section (even includes some ref's on my home state of NJ), and LOTS of kid areas and activity. The books are relatively new and current. I was originally thinking it'd be mostly a means of getting inter-library loan books, but turns out it's amazing! They even have a "food" area up front so you can bring lunch or celebrate a birthday. Wow ! !

This library is huge! It isn't two-story but it has two different sections to walk throughout. They…read morehave books for everyone and they also have computers and wifi. It's clean and cool inside, they also have a smoking area outside. Tons of art and historical items on the walls! The ladies at the front desk are very nice.

I drove into Decatur, IL for the first time at the end of last year in order to go to its Post…read moreOffice. I needed a new passport, especially since I am going overseas on a cruise in 2024 and my local post office did not provide passport services on weekends. Decatur's post office was the closest to provide weekend services, thus I came. The post office itself is a beautiful old art deco building. I was impressed and wondered how old the building was. I later looked it up and found it was built in 1934, so the building is approaching 100 years. I walked in and was greeted by their friendly staff. I was early to my appointment, but only had to wait for the person who had the earlier appointment to finish. The post office does everything for the passport, including taking your photo. After paying for the service, the shipping and providing all the necessary paperwork with the picture they took, i was done. The process was quick and efficient. I am very glad I came here, especially because it gave me the chance to go around after and explore a town I have never been to but is only 30 min from my hometown. I decided to come back and enjoy some restaurants i discovered on this excursion! If you need a new passport, i would highly recommend coming here!

Went to see The Addams Family last night. The opera house itself was very pretty. The employees or…read morevolunteers were extremely pleasant and helpful. The show itself was exceptional. They were spot on throughout the whole show. The singing was great as well. We chose way up front seating, so we were in folding chairs, however, the original chairs looked comfy. The cast exited and greeted everyone going out. All and all, it was a fantastic night.

Family went to see Addams Family the play. From the time we walked in the door to the time we left…read more 100% professionals and very nice. The facility offers concessions at affordable prices. The staff and volunteers are excellent overly helpful. The opera house is very well maintained and painted nicely, the chairs installed are old but maintained and looked comfortable our seats were in the folding chair section. The performers were superb, and the play was excellent, the music lighting and singing was spot on. This company knows how to put on a play. Very impressed and we will be back for other performances in the future. Spread the word!

While the current health pandemic has certainly impacted my social life and ability to try out a…read moreton of new businesses, it's also served to help me work on some projects that have needed my attention. I've had my vision set on establishing a memorial here in Indiana for quite some time, though I'm still exploring locations, acquiring land, and design options. As a result, I've been researching and exploring Indiana's monuments, old and new, and in the process learning about Indiana history. If you know me, you know that I'm a bit of a peacenik. I do a lot of work in the area of non-violence and am pretty much drawn to anything that promotes peace. I was unaware of Decatur, Indiana's Peace Monument until I began doing some research regarding Indiana's memorials. Located at the Adams County Courthouse, the Peace Monument was dedicated on October 30, 1913 and is a cenotaph made of Indiana limestone and metal. As a fun fact, the limestone came from the same quarry as downtown Indy's Soldier's and Sailors Monument. The front of the monument is an allegory for peace represented by a woman. As another fun fact, the model for Peace was a Chicago resident named Margaret McMasters Van Slyke, who'd once been called "the best and most perfectly formed woman." The cenotaph used to house a fountain, though the fountain is no longer in place. There's a metal tablet installed on the cenotaph. As yet another fun fact, the metal came from the USS Maine. There are two urns in front of the cenotaph designed for plantings. In 2014, Boy Scout Troop 70 and Elks Lodge 993 embarked on a project to develop a directory of the names listed on the Veterans Wall of Honor. While the cenotaph is a general war memorial, it emphasizes the importance of peace and the role of women. The memorial was designed to specifically memorialize the Civil War, Spanish-American War, Mexican-American War, and the Revolutionary War. There's a small plaza directly adjacent to the memorial with a tastefully created picnic table that allows you to simply sit there and really take it all in. It's quite beautiful and the memorial has had some renovation and updating done over the past few years. Owned by Adams County Commissioners, the Peace Monument was sculpted by Charles Mulligan and carved by Charles Dodd. This is definitely worth a visit and with Berne, Indiana nearby it's a terrific day trip.