Granite City Tales

This sequel to Granite City Tales contains more of Paul Heller's essays on the history of Barre, Vermont. Many were published in local newspapers and magazines. Two have never before been in print.

Katherine's life changes forever when she runs into Jason in the hallway of Granite City High School. Jason, the school's star football player, is angry. He chases and follows her into the local library where Katherine discovers an ancient book. Upon further examination of the book, Katherine finds herself crossing into another dimension. She falls through the pages of the book and lands in a magic kingdom of elves called Elfenore. The Prophecy of Scrolls predicted that she would come to Elfenore. But a Dark Cloud is forming over the mountains and it is moving closer to the Kingdom of Elfenore. Katherine finds the courage and strength to help the elves fight the evil that threatens their peaceful existence. They must protect the Secret of Elfenore at all costs. Can Katherine and the elves fight the evil of the Dark Cloud? Will their efforts be enough to save the Kingdom? Come along with Katherine on the adventure of a lifetime! It's an adventure that you'll never forget!

Most people do not think to observe geology from the sidewalks of a major city, but all David B. Williams has to do is look at building stone in any urban center to find a range of rocks equal to any assembled by plate tectonics. In Stories in Stone, he takes you on explorations to find 3.5-billion-year-old rock that looks like swirled pink-and-black taffy, a gas station made of petrified wood, and a Florida fort that has withstood three hundred years of attacks and hurricanes, despite being made of a stone that has the consistency of a granola bar. Williams also weaves in the cultural history of stone, explaining why a white fossil-rich limestone from Indiana became the only building stone used in all fifty states; how in 1825, the construction of the Bunker Hill Monument led to America’s first commercial railroad; and why when the same kind of marble used by Michelangelo clad a Chicago skyscraper it warped so much after nineteen years that all 44,000 panels of it had to be replaced. This love letter to building stone brings to life the geology you can see in the structures of every city.