in the Red, White, and Blue building!
Drop in to see us.
You are always welcome!
___________________________
(The
following history of the Library was written in 1981 and was taken
from the Leonardville Centennial book, "City of the Plains, A Story of
Leonardville.")
How the Library Was Started
On
November 20, 1964, Leroy Fox, then state librarian, sent Mrs. Sally
Martin to speak to the Leonard Star Home Demonstration Unit at their
request. There had been much interest in establishing a public library
in Leonardville, and the members of this group, as a result of her
talk, began making plans to spearhead a drive to arouse wider community
interest.
Mrs. Marshall Ensign, whose husband had been
transferred to the rural mail route here, had started and stocked a
small library in a building north of the Farmers Union Store. She
started it simply because she needed books, and the state library
supplied bundles of four or five, then ten, then fifty and more for the
community. They were delivered by the Rock Island Motor Transit
Company and Blanche Ensign gave both her time and her money to get the
project underway.
In 1964 reports filed showed that over two
hundred individuals took advantage of the tiny library furnished with
donated and mailed in books. Other clubs of the community became
interested, as did the merchants who all gave funds generously. A
request to the city council for financial aid was favorably received,
and as a result the library was able to move to larger quarters. Mrs.
Joyce Olson volunteered part of her gift shop next door north of the
Farmers Union, the building formerly the Erickson Cafe. The library
continued to be run by Mrs. Olson and enthusiastic volunteers from the
H. D. U.
In May 1965, the gift shop and library was moved
across the street into the building owned by Elton Nelson, on the west
side of Erpelding Avenue. Mrs. Olson closed out her gift shop at the
end of 1965, but the library continued to rent the building.
Recognizing
the need for greater library service, some of the citizens met and
organized a Library Board which consisted of seven members living in
the tax district, with the mayor of the city as ex officio member.
By-laws and library objectives were drawn up, and a librarian was
hired. Mrs. Juanita Chaffee, Mrs. Lena Cheeseman, Mrs. Evelyn
Ruthstrom, and Mrs. Emilie Lagerquist have served as librarians over
the years. Opal Trumpp was number one helper to Blanche Ensign in the
beginning.
The city council, advised that by law, a two mill
levy was possible for library support, undertook to underwrite the
expenses to the limit of the law.
In 1965 representatives from
fifteen libraries in a nine county area met to express their desire for
a library systems plan in north central Kansas. The Kansas Systems Law
had been passed in the legislature that year and provided a legal means
for an association of autonomous local city, county, and regional
libraries to work together to improve library service for all residents
of an area. Leonardville became one of the first libraries to submit
resolutions by their respective boards asking to participate in the
Systems Plan, and became a charter member of the North Central Kansas
Library.
Written by Juanita Chaffee
