Valley City is an unincorporated community in central Liverpool Township, Medina County, Ohio.  Settled in 1810, the surrounding township was established in 1816.  Together with Litchfield and York Townships, Liverpool Township composes the Buckeye Local School District.  Valley City is part of Ohio District 7 in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Valley City is known for being "The Frog Jump Capital of Ohio."  Since 1962, it has held an annual contest patterned after Mark Twain's story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County."  On April 2, 1964, two years after the first contest was held, Governor Jim Rhodes proclaimed this contest the official state frog jumping championship.  In 1969, a few Valley City champion frogs competed in the larger contest in Calaveras County, California, including one belonging to Governor Rhodes.  Today, the contest is held at the Mill Stream Park in early August.  In the early 1800s, due to the discovery of salt on the west side of Rocky River near Hardscrabble in Liverpool Township, this area, previously part of the Connecticut Western Reserve, was known as Valley Center.  The name was later changed to Valley City when local community leader Andrew "Cranky" Yandy made the case that the city was not technically in the center of the valley.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_City,_Ohio  

How to Be More Tree:  Essential Life Lessons for Perennial Happiness  Liz Marvin, Annie Davidson (Illustrator)  This beautifully illustrated book brings together sixty essential life lessons inspired by the infinite wisdom of trees.  Trees do not have brains to think with, or nervous systems that cause them to feel things, and yet they are undeniably clever.  From their ability to adapt, to their understanding of the strength of networks and mutually beneficial relationships, they put us to shame with their natural ability to thrive, even when they find themselves in less than ideal environments.  We learn about the importance of asking for help when you need it from elms, who call in an army of parasitic wasps when they're being attacked by caterpillars.  And acacias, who look out for each other by producing a gas when they're being nibbled on by herbivores to warn their nearby friends, while the Chinese pistache show us the power in pacing yourself, and why slow growth can lead to stronger foundations.  From the importance of patience, to drawing strength from others, to weathering the storm, to dealing with life's most persistent irritants--this is a celebration of the heroes of the forest, and an essential companion for dipping into when we need a little inspiration.  128 pages, Kindle Edition  First published November 14, 2019  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48803849-how-to-be-more-tree   

More than a few bibliophiles would prefer that their prized possessions be kept in a bank vault as opposed to a bookshelf, but few actually get to see their dream in action.  Enter The Last Bookstore, an iconic Los Angeles book shop with a not-so-subtly symbolic name that is housed in the grand atrium of what was once a bank.  The marble pillars and mile-high ceiling remain from the old bank, but in place of patrons and guarded stacks of cash, bookshelves line the walls and artful displays of books abound.  Not to imply that everything is brand new and sparkly.  The bookstore actually specializes in reasonably priced used books, and takes great pride in offering a selection of well-kept vintage books as well.  Anyone who’s ever loved a vintage book will know exactly what that means for the musty, decadent smell that hangs in the air in this seemingly sacred place.  Almost as if to make a point about beauty in disarray, the bookshelves are placed every which way all throughout the store, and sculptures have been custom-built from overstocked or damaged copies.  There are even hidden nooks, like the old bank vault itself, where books are winkingly displayed.  There is a section of hardbacks arranged by color.  Most of the fiction is purposefully unarranged, meant to inspire treasure hunts among shoppers.  In short, every inch of the place is designed to make book lovers fall in love with it, and it succeeds.  https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/last-bookstore   

Twenty-one states have the distinction of being the birthplace of a president.  One president's birth state is in dispute; North and South Carolina (British colonies at the time) both lay claim to Andrew Jackson, who was born in 1767, in the Waxhaw region along their common border.  Jackson himself considered South Carolina as his birth state.  Born on December 5, 1782, Martin Van Buren was the first president born an American citizen (and not a British subject).  The term Virginia dynasty is sometimes used to describe the fact that four of the first five U.S. presidents were from Virginia.  The number of presidents born per state, counting Jackson as being from South Carolina, are:

One: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and South Carolina

Two: North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Vermont

Four: Massachusetts

Five: New York

Seven: Ohio

Eight: Virginia

Eleven states have one president.  Find list of U.S. Presidents indicating date of birth and state of birth at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States_by_home_state  

September 8, 2021  Over the course of the pandemic, we've seen all sorts of shortages:  meat and ketchup and Caffeine-Free Coke—and even the refrigerators you store all that stuff  in.  Luckily, we don't eat wood, because shifts in supply and demand have also caused the price of lumber to skyrocket around the globe.  But that doesn't mean the timber shortage isn't also hitting the food and beverage world:  Winemakers are reportedly struggling to score all the wood they're looking for.  The most obvious use of wood in winemaking is the barrel-aging process—but many wineries also use wood to package their most precious bottles.  Mike Pomranz  https://www.foodandwine.com/news/timber-shortage-wine-industry   Thank you, Muse reader!    

National Dictionary Day in the United States celebrates the American lexicographer Noah Webster who was born on October 16, 1758.  Wiktionary   

West Virginia would love to have you.  That's the message the state is sending to urban residents across the country with a new program that gives remote workers $12,000, and a year-long pass to the state's grandest natural destinations, if they agree to relocate to the "Wild and Wonderful" state for at least two years.  The initiative is funded by former Intuit CEO Brad D. Smith and his spouse Alys, who launched the program to support economic development in Smith's home state.  It's currently accepting applications for remote workers who want to live in Morgantown; future slots will be for Lewisburg and Shepherdstown.  Program participants get cash every month, with the first $10,000 stretched out over 12 months.  The final $2,000 comes in the participant's second consecutive year of living in West Virginia.  Ally Schweitzer    https://www.npr.org/local/305/2021/04/14/987174386/west-virginia-is-paying-remote-workers-12-000-to-move-there

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2439  October 15, 2021