FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Post Office Fans, PO Box 11, Crystal Lake, IL 60039, 815-206-8405, info@postofficefans.com.
Local Author from Crystal Lake Named Finalist in Midwest Book Awards
(TENNESSEE POST OFFICE MURALS) by (DAVID W. GATES JR.) up for gold in NON FICTION – HISTORY / REGIONAL
MAY 1, 2022, CRYSTAL LAKE, ILLINOIS – TENNESSEE POST OFFICE MURALS (Post Office Fans, 2021) has been selected as a finalist in the history / regional category of the Midwest Book Awards, a long-running regional awards program first established in 1989.
Gates’s book explores (the history of twenty-eight murals installed in post offices during the Great Depression, the book has been well received by historical societies, libraries and New Deal enthusiast nation-wide, Gates’s sleuthing through the original correspondence between the artist and the government provides the reader a rich account of this fascinating moment in American history).
Finalists for the 32nd annual Midwest Book Awards include nearly one hundred titles from fifty- one independent publishers from a 12-state region, competing for gold medals in 35 fiction and non-fiction categories.
View the full list of finalists here. All finalist titles are available for purchase at MiPA’s affiliate bookshop link, an online bookselling platform that directly supports independent booksellers.
Winners will be announced during a YouTube premiere on June 25 at 7pm central. An in-person watch party and book sale will be held starting at 5pm at ModernWell in Minneapolis, a co- working space located at 2909 S Wayzata Blvd, Minneapolis, MN 55405. Tickets are required for the watch party, but the book sale from 5pm-6pm is open to the public. Visit www.mipa.org for more information.
About the Midwest Book Awards:
The Midwest Independent Publishers Association (MiPA) first organized the Midwest Book Awards in 1989, and the program has run continually since. Today judges for the prestigious literary award are booksellers, university staff and librarians who are subject matter experts and collectively hail from each of MiPA’s twelve states.
About MiPA:
Founded in 1984 in Minneapolis, the Midwest Independent Publishers Association exists today as a vibrant professional association that serves the publishing communities in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. MiPA aims to create an inclusive publishing community that shares educational resources, fosters networking connections, increases the quality of independent publishing coming out of the Midwest, and helps its member publishers grow.
Congratulation David, a well deserved tribute for all your efforts.
Thank you sir!
It does feel nice to have others validate the work you do. I of course appreciate all your comments and building knowledge. Have a great day.
David W. Gates Jr.
Sir…My name is Brandy. I have photos of the Dixon, TN post office mural if you are interested. I obtained them yesterday. I saw your website and thought I would reach out. Thank you.
Larry,
Just noticed your post at:
https://www.postofficefans.com/oak-park-south-station-illinois-post-office/
about the Oak Park (IL) South Station plaque. I have lived two blocks from this station for 48 years. You are right. The plaque does not belong to the building it is posted on. The new station was built on an old derelict RR siding that was no longer in use and presumably purchased by USPS to build a new South Station on. I estimate that was about 20 years ago, but I could possibly pinpoint it more accurately with some effort. The prior South Station was about half a mile away from the current one, at 915 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL. In all probability the plaque was for that building, but its construction was before my time, so I can’t be absolutely positive. That building has since been destroyed, and replaced by a new apartment building, which you can see on Google Maps, at that address: the building adjacent to and south of the alley, on the west side of the street. It was a building that was way too small for its needs, a store front, really, on a lot about the size of the older building on the north side of the alley which still stands there, though I think the post office was only a one story building. Its construction fit squarely in the 1950s style, consistent with the 1957 date on the plaque. Email me if I can be of further help.
Hi Frank,
Thanks for the additional information on this one. I really appreciate the additional information. It has always puzzled me and thank to you, I have a better idea on how this came about.
I’m wondering if you have any photos of the old building at 915 S Oak Park Ave.? I’d love to see some. BTW, I sent a separate email but it was undeliverable.
take care,
David W. Gates Jr.
Larry,
I don’t know how to get around the email problem without posting my address all over the internet, except to use this Reply function.
I do not have any photos of the old substation at 915 S. Oak Park Ave. The best I can come up with is a suggestion that you inquire of the Oak Park River Forest Historical Society, which is a small enough agency to give you individual attention, although I have never dealt with them, or even been there. They may have old photos, perhaps even dating back to the date of the original opening in 1957. The name of the Director (and maybe the only “employee”), is, I think, Frank Lipo. Their website has both a contact page with a form to submit inquiries, as well as a direct email address you can use, and even a phone number:
https://oprfmuseum.org/
FS
No worries, thanks for the additional info. I’ll try the historical society at some point, however, I’m tied up trying to save the Des Plaines, building which has two depression-era murals inside that could be lost.