In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Friends of the Webster Groves Public Library, we have asked library users to submit their “Library Story”. We encourage you to submit yours! It can be done through the link on the library’s home page or by using a form available at the library.
1. My favorite library story was being able to walk to WGPL after school at Holy Redeemer, doing the Summer reading program, and voting for the first time at 18. Finally, I am an employee, and it was worth the wait. So much love for this place!
Written by Carrie Field
2. Beginning in 1999, as a student at Webster Groves High School, my daughter, Chelsea Detrick, worked shelving books and, ultimately, as a front desk assistant at WGPL. She continued her work during summers of her college years. Unfortunately, Chelsea succumbed to cancer as her life was just getting started after college, in 2009. To the right, as you enter the children’s section of the library, is an oil painting of Chelsea and her sister Liza and a memorial dedication plaque. Please stop by to see it the next time you are in the library. Originally, Chelsea’s American Girl Doll and Beanie Baby collections were also part of the children’s library. (Alas, the pandemic ended their use by kid patrons.) Chelsea loved her work at the library. It was a great place for a young girl’s first job.
Written by Glenn Detrick
3. At 3 o’clock in the afternoon, most kids race to the school exits, giddy with freedom, and head to home or the playground, books and studying far from their mind. But in 1963, there were occasions when uniformed students poured through the double doors of Holy Redeemer school and raced the block or so to the Webster library, intent on being first. Their incentive? Probably one of the good Dominican sisters had assigned a report on, say, Ireland or Benjamin Franklin, and the library’s limited collection of World Book sets only had one “I” or “F” volume each. There were kids who had (gasp!) complete encyclopedia sets at home, but they were a privileged few. I was not among them. If you were lucky, and acquired the necessary book, you were particularly grateful if it was one of the slimmer volumes, since you now had to carry it all the way home. (Remember, this was pre-backpack, too!)
Nancy Drew books, loud whispers, furtive glances at cute older boys, admonishments of “Shhh!” – the Webster library has been a cherished vault of memories since my Mom walked me in to get my first library card…right about the time John F. Kennedy was elected president of the United States. It’s still a Webster treasure and a favorite walking destination, but now I have a backpack for my treasures.
Written by Joan Lerch
4. The Magical Book Mobile I fell in love with books before I started going to school, because I remember the excitement of walking to the book mobile with my older siblings. Our Mom had her hands full with six kids, so a trip to the library, involving loading everyone into the car, was a daunting task. Walking two blocks up the street to the book mobile every couple of weeks was much easier. Our mom sent us off on that adventure, with our sisters watching my little brother and me. Usually, I loved when my big sister held my hand, but not on book mobile days – too confining! I would skip up the street with an excitement equal to Christmas Day in anticipation of the treasures inside the enchanting vehicle. With a smile, the gentleman who drove the RV watched us joyfully attack the shelves, while his assistant helped us pick out books with her wise suggestions. Often, I was reaching for the older age books higher up. Sometimes she would agree on my choice, and sometimes she would say with a smile in a lighthearted tone, “Not yet.” Checking the books out was a painstaking process, because I just wanted to be home to dive into reading and embark on new adventures. I could barely carry my stack of books home and felt frustrated by having to go slowly so none would fall from my little arms, but a few always did fall. I would read whenever I got the chance; but, as far back as I can remember, I have read every single night as part of my bedtime ritual – first by flashlight and now on my device using Hoopla and Libby with the night shade on the internal light source. For years, my library passcode has been a variation on “book mobile” along with the address of our childhood home. Now retired, I walk more leisurely to the Webster Groves Public Library. When I count my blessings in my nightly ritual, the love of books, libraries, librarians, and my long-gone magical book mobile are all at the top of the list. “The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, And all the sweet serenity of books” ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Written by Theresa Wojak
