Ralph Troll spent 40 years teaching biology at Augustana College, and he only told the story there twice.

The first time was in the late 1980s, when he was asked to speak to a German class, because he was from Germany.

"It was just kind of part of the story," he said last week.

And then in the 1990s, the college asked him to give a senior-recognition talk. "I'm a biologist," he said. "They didn't want to hear about anything like that.

"I decided: This is a good day to do this. ... That's really the first time I told the whole story."

In all, Troll - who is now 77 years old and an emeritus professor at Augustana - said that he's told about his family's experiences in Germany during World War II five times, which is five more times than his mother talked to her children about her stay in a concentration camp. He'll lecture twice next week, on Sunday at Davenport's Temple Emanuel and on Monday at Augustana College.

(Editor's note: John Granger, the author of The Hidden Key to Harry Potter and Looking for God in Harry Potter, will present two lectures in the Quad Cities on Thursday, April 23: "From Muggle Lead to Spiritual Gold: The Literary Alchemy of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Novels" at 10:30 a.m. in Augustana College's Centennial Hall (3703 Seventh Avenue in Rock Island), and "Why Reading Matters: Good Books & the Life of Christ" at 7 p.m. at Broadway Presbyterian Church (710 23rd Street in Rock Island). What follows is the transcript of an interview of Granger by Augustana students Stephanie Grider and Ellie Ryan. For more information on Granger, visit HogwartsProfessor.com.)

Ellie Ryan: You have said that readers of the Harry Potter novels experience what you call "apotheosis," or a kind of spiritual transformation via their identification with Harry as they are reading. Please say more about that.

Eight venues will participate in a spring pub crawl in The District of Rock Island to be held Friday, April 24, from 7 to 11 p.m. Tickets to the event are $4. Participating bars include The Arena, Bennigan's Grill & Tavern, Daiquiri Factory, Del's in the District, ICONS, Malarkey's, 2nd Ave., and Steve's Old Time Tap. The pub crawl is part of a larger nighttime-economy plan being developed for downtown, and is a result of discussions that stemmed from the Responsible Hospitality Plan. For more information on the event, visit RIDistrict.com or call (309)788.6311.

Rounding out this year's River Readings at Augustana, Iowa poet Marvin Bell will read from his work on Thursday, May 7. After earning a BA from Alfred University and an MA from the University of Chicago, he graduated with an MFA in poetry from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he taught for 40 years. From 2000 to 2004, he served as Iowa's first poet laureate. Bell has published many books of poetry, the most recent being Mars Being Red. The reading is free and open to the public and takes place at 7 p.m. in Augustana College's Larson Hall, inside Bergendoff Hall of Fine Arts (3701 Seventh Avenue in Rock Island).

Celebrity chief Rachael Ray will donate seven tons of her premium dog-food line to the Quad Cities Greyhound Adoption Center, 9525 New Liberty Road in Maysville, Iowa. For more information on the organization, visit QCGreyhoundAdoption.com.

The 35th Annual Bix 7 race will be held on Saturday, July 25, in the streets of Davenport. People can sign up for Bix 7 events through applications available at Bix7.com. In conjunction with its 35th anniversary, the Bix 7 race will be hosting an American National Championship for seven miles.

The Moline Public Library is the winner of the 2009 Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week Grant. The $3,000 grant, administered by the American Library Association's Public Awareness Committee, is awarded annually for the best public-awareness campaign in support of National Library Week, which runs April 12 through 18.

Local law-enforcement officers will trade in their handcuffs and badges for serving aprons and gourmet burgers at Red Robin restaurants for a Tip-A-Cop fundraiser from noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 18. During the fundraiser, law enforcement will collect tips from restaurant guests to benefit Special Olympics Iowa. Red Robin, Special Olympics Iowa, and local law enforcement are hoping to exceed a $7,500 goal with support from Iowa residents.

Quad City Arts has announced a partnership with U.S.Bank in Rock Island. Local artist Ken Urban is currently displaying photographs he made during the 2008 Quad City Criterium in the bank lobby at 3411 18th Avenue. The lobby is open to the public. Urban's photography will be on display through May. For more information, contact Dawn Wohlford-Metallo at (309)793-1213 extension 108 or visit QuadCityArts.com.

Quad City Flutes Unlimited will perform its 26th-annual spring concert at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, at the Butterworth Center, 1105 Eighth Street in Moline. Admission is free. The 18-member flute choir, directed by Rich Stodd, will dedicate this concert to Mary Kae Waytenick, who directed the group for many years. A special student scholarship will be presented to Carrie Duke, a senior flutist at United Township High School. Carrie will receive a $150 scholarship and will perform with members of the flute choir in "The Flower Duet from Lakme."

The sixth-annual Quad Cities Earth Week Fair will be held Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the QCCA Expo Center, 2621 Fourth Avenue in Rock Island. The fair is open to the public, and admission is free. The first 500 adults through the door receive a free reusable metal water bottle. The fair is a celebration of Earth Day (April 22) and educates attendees on environmental issues and ways they can be better stewards of our environment. The 2009 fair offers booths from various environmental organizations, businesses, and local governments. Booths provide hands-on activities for children, information and education for adults, and special activities for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts working toward environmental badges. For more information, visit QCEarthWeek.org.

Chris Crutcher, the author of more than a dozen books and short stories featuring teenage protagonists, has earned a bevy of awards and accolades over his 26-year writing career, with eight of his works named "Best Books for Young Adults" by the American Library Association, and Teen Book Review hailing 2007's Deadline as "a brilliant, well-written, thought-provoking, and, to put it simply, truly amazing novel."

So why do so many people seem so angry at him?