Lafayette County WI Archives History - Books .....Blanchardville Public Library 1976 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wi/wifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 1, 2007, 12:11 am Book Title: A History Of Blanchardsville, Gem Of The Pecatonica [photo Blanchardville Village Library] Blanchardville Public Library The Blanchardville Public Library came into being through the instigation of Mrs. F. L. Kingeter who envisioned what a public library could do for residents of a small village such as ours. Mrs. Kingeter introduced the idea to the local Woman's Club in 1949, and thereafter the members decided to sponsor this project. In October of 1949 a committee of Woman's Club members was appointed by the president. The library committee consisted of Mrs. F. L. Kingeter, chairman; Mrs. V. A. Marshall, Sr., Mrs. Arthur Juve, Mrs. Frank Mason and Mrs. Theressa Martin. This committee searched diligently for a suitable location for the library and decided to accept Mr. T. Watson's offer of a room above the Post Office at that time. The room was redecorated and rented for $10.00 per month which the Board requested from the village annually. On January 16, 1950 a Tag Day was observed to raise funds for purchasing books. This venture netted $150.00. The library committee visited the Free Library Commission, Madison, to obtain details concerning the loan of books to the library every six weeks to increase the circulation of books. The need for equipment resulted in donations by several citizens. Mr. Carlton Chandler loaned book shelves which were stained and varnished by Mr. Chris Wahl, the material being furnished by Jorenby Hardware. The shelves were installed by Mr. Arthur Juve and Mr. Oscar Hanson. Other donations were a table by Mrs. O. R. Olson, chairs by Mrs. V. A. Marshall and Carlton Chandler and a wastebasket by Mrs. H. T. Saether. Ed Scadden, Agriculture instructor at the school, supervised the construction of a children's reading table by boys in Industrial Arts. As a result of the cooperation of all these concerned citizens the library was ready to open January 28, 1950. The established library hours were Wednesdays — 3:30 to 5:00 and 7:00 to 8:30 o'clock, and Saturdays 2:00 to 4:00 and 7:00 to 8:30 o'clock. The operation of the library during these hours was possible through the volunteer efforts of Mrs. Kingeter (head librarian), Mrs. A. Juve, Mrs. F. Mason and Mrs. V. A. Marshall. A healthy growth of the library necessitated the expansion. Fortunately, in 1953 the Wisconsin Power & Light Company exchanged its former substation, a brick building by the bridge, for a piece of property owned by the village. This building was renovated and became the new home of the library on January 24, 1953. Again, the same willing workers, Carlton Chandler, Juve and Hanson gave of their time and labor to add new shelves. The additional space provided more room to expand and add to the already fine collection of books and periodicals. Being located on the ground floor also had its advantages. During the years following this move, the Woman's Club was chiefly responsible for financing the growth of the library by sponsoring fund-raising events and maintaining community interest in the project. After ten years of this dependency on the Woman's Club the library sponsorship was assumed by the village. Thus, on July 15, 1960, the library legally became the Blanchardville Public Library. Mr. Verdean Vick, a member of the Village Board, was nominated to serve as a member of the Library Board. Other board members at that time included Mrs. Eva Kingeter, Mrs. V. A. Marshall, Sr., Mrs. Arthur Juve, Mrs. Frank Mason and Mrs. Howard Roemer. In May, 1960, a surprise 10th anniversary party for the presiding board and volunteer librarians was held at the home of Mrs. Lloyd F. Johnson. These librarians, who had given so freely of their time and effort, were indeed deserving of this honor for they had previously never received any remuneration and continued to serve without salary until 1964 when the Village Board voted to give them a small remuneration for their hours of work in the future. It was a significant step forward when our library, together with other libraries in the five counties of Crawford, Richland, Iowa, Grant, and Lafayette became affilated with the Southwest Library Processing Center at Fennimore in 1960. This Center gave participating libraries access to book selection tools and professional guidance in their use through periodic book-selection meetings designed to improve the quality of library resources in the area as well as the processing of new books purchased through the Center. The library has continued to profit by these services to the present time. In addition to providing a source of reading materials, another worthwhile service rendered by the library has been the children's Summer Reading program conducted each year by interested teachers, mothers and other volunteer readers. This reading program has provided many happy hours of listening for pre-school and primary-grade children and has helped to instill in them a desire to read and become future patrons of the library. In 1968 a very welcome additional reading service was provided by the visiting Bookmobile from the Southwest Library Center, Fennimore. Local readers, children and adults, have continued to profit from the monthly visits of the Bookmobile. Throughout the following years, many donations from the Woman's Club and other sources have enabled the library to expand by adding encyclopedias, magazines and additional reference books. Many fine books were contributed through memorial gifts from the Senior Citizens in memory of departed members of their club. Over the years the Village Board saw fit to increase the library budget, making possible the payment of mileage to librarians attending the regular library meetings at Fennimore. This expense had formerly been assumed by the librarians themselves. The increased budget also provided for the hiring of assistant librarians who were Mrs. Mildred Pointer (1972) and Mrs. Frank Erickson (1974) who served until the present librarian, Mrs. Jane Gallagher, completed a required library course to qualify her as a licensed librarian. She assumed her duties as of October, 1974, and is presently serving as head librarian. Upon the resignation of the former library board which had served so faithfully and well, the following new members were appointed to the Board in 1974: Co-chairmen, Thelma Emberson and Eva Kingeter; Secretary, Pansy Stoker; Village Board Representative, Norman Lashock; and Mrs. Thomas Saether. Mr. Thomas Saether served for a while as an ex-officio member of the board in an advisory capacity, due to pending building plans. Later, upon the resignation of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Saether, their positions were filled by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Shager. Two new programs were recently introduced to the library circulation, one of which was the loaning of Talking Books from the Wisconsin Bureau of the Physically Handicapped, Milwaukee. The second new service was the acquiring of a record player with head phones, and a collection of records which are on loan. In addition, the library received several cassette tapes and player. These records and cassettes include good music selections, drama and poetry having appeal for all ages. These new services were made possible through the Library Services and Construction Act, a Title I Grant, administered by the Southwest Library System. As a result of these extended services, the present housing facility of the library has become very crowded and inadequate. Therefore, it is the goal of the village to construct a new library in the very near future. An initial fund has been established through a $5,000.00 grant by the Village Board from a Federal Revenue Sharing Program. The Woman's Club has instigated a New Library Building Fund through funds netted from the recycling program. Another generous donation was received from the area Jaycettes from the proceeds of their Style Show. In view of the impending building program, a Library Building Committee was appointed by the Library Board, consisting of Charles Shager, Chairman; Norman Lashock and Mrs. James Carter. This committee has been working in conjunction with the Village Board on such initial matters as acquiring a suitable site, estimating costs, having building plans drawn up, as well as coping with the arduous task of meeting building regulations regarding the flood plain as set forth by the D. N. R. It is the hope of all interested community citizens who envision a new library in the future, that they will see their dream fulfilled. Additional Comments: Extracted from A History of Blanchardville, Gem of the Pecatonica File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wi/lafayette/history/1976/ahistory/blanchar142gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 9.2 Kb