By Susan Smith

Answers To Go



Each week hundreds of people call or visit the San Marcos Public Library to find information. "Answers•To•Go" highlights recently received questions. Please visit the library at 625 East Hopkins, call 393-8200 for information over the phone, or e-mail us through our web-page at www.ci.san-marcos.tx.us/library.htm.





Q. My son brought home a summer reading assignment, but we’ve misplaced it. He’s going to be in the ninth grade.



A. We’ve rounded up all the reading lists that local teachers have compiled to encourage their students to read some great books this summer. There are two lists for ninth graders, but the assignments are similar for both groups.

Your son may select any age appropriate book and write a book review. We’d be happy to help him select a book. If you’d like to run in and pick up a few for him to choose from, it would be easy to grab some from our big display of books nominated for the Lone Star book award. This is the main assignment for Pre-AP English 1 and one of two options for English 1.

English 1 students have a second option. They may choose to read “We Beat the Street: How a Friendship Pact Led to Success.” Pre-AP English 1 students may read this book for extra credit. When they finish the book, students are asked to create a commercial to persuade others to read “We Beat the Street.”

Here’s the publisher’s description: “For Drs. Sampson Davis, Rameck Hunt, and George Jenkins, growing up in street-tough Newark, New Jersey, was not an easy experience.

“They were all smart, and they all had loving families, but every day they had to struggle against peer pressure, gang violence, rampant drug use, and the challenges of being young and black.

“Then one day—while trying to skip class to shoot hoops—the boys found themselves listening to a special presentation about the Seton Hall University Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Plus program.

“For the first time ever, the three friends believed that they might really have an opportunity to make their dreams come true. Then and there, they made a pact to apply to the program, and if they were accepted, to attend—and graduate—together. And that’s just what they did.”

We’ve purchased 10 copies of this book. Just one is on the shelf as I write this. If you give us a call, we’ll hold it for you. If they are all checked out, we’d be happy to place a reserve for you. Call today and I expect your child will be able to read a library copy of the book before school starts.



Q. I knew the wife of golfer Byron Nelson’s brother many years ago in College Station. I’d like to get in touch with her again. Could you find her address?



A. This was all long ago and the name of the brother and his wife no longer came to our caller’s mind. In looking through our biography reference books, I found detailed obituaries for Byron Nelson, but they didn’t include his brother’s name.

Time to hit the Internet. The article on Byron Nelson in Wikipedia mentioned Nelson’s brother, Charles, who was a professor emeritus at Abilene Christian University.

A Google search of “Abilene Christian” “Charles Nelson” brought up an article on retired music professor Charles and his wife Betty.

Charles was not included in our online telephone directories for Abilene. I called the Abilene Christian music department, and they were kind enough to give me an address and telephone number for the Nelsons.