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A 239-year-old family Bible will be the only book not for sale at the Friends of Library book sale to benefit the Marshall Public Library. The rare German Bible belongs to historian Gail Beil of Marshall, Texas. She is opening up her 1900 Victorian home for the book sale to be held Nov. 9-11.

Twenty-five years after the creation of the Scholars' College at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, freshmen enrollment has almost reached its highest point. Director T. Davina McClain says with a small liberal arts college feel, students find they can get a bargain in a bachelor's degree. She says being unencumbered by debt allows Scholars' College students to pursue more costly graduate programs.

The travel website TripAdvisor has named Jefferson, Texas, to its top 10 list of the nation's spookiest getaways. Historian Jodi Breckenridge leads twice weekly ghost tours through downtown Jefferson. She says the town has embraced its haunted reputation and its special spirits are a tourism draw. Her Halloween tour begins at 8 p.m., near The Jefferson Hotel.