A Note to Cynthia…Until We Meet Again By Donna Schlachter

There are some authors that you just seem to know, even though you’ve never met. For me, you, Cynthia, are one of those. It seems that every group I belong to, every large Christian writers’ conference I attend, many blog posts I have read, and even the blogging group I contribute to regularly includes you. You are everywhere!

I feel like I know you…not in the way your family knows you, of course. Daughter, sister, wife, mother, mother-in-law, auntie. And definitely not the way your close circle of friends knows you. Confidante. Party planner. Vacation partner. School chum. Bridesmaid. Mother of your son’s best friend. Life of the party. Quiet country girl.

And what of Chad, the cat? Spoiled by this human who met his every need—and then some. Maybe you being a cat person makes another connection for us.

Or perhaps it’s that you won a writing contest in high school—okay, so mine was only an honorable mention, but for me, that’s when the writing bug bit. Perhaps for you, too.

Although you cut your teeth on writing articles and short stories, you later ventured into books. And such tales! History and romance and hope and the love of words woven into a tapestry that delighted all the senses.

And I’m not the only one. I’ve read notes on your Facebook page left by friends and fans alike, who all recognize that this world is poorer, and heaven is richer, because you’ve gone on ahead.

Several described you as a pillar of faith and strength. I think that was never more evident than in the valiant battle you waged in recent months. While some might mistakenly say you lost that war, we know differently.

You have once again proven that death has no hold over those who call Jesus their Lord and Savior.

Know this: you live on in your books. In your family and friends. In the articles and short stories that we never tire of reading.

Save me a comfy chair in the library, Cynthia.



Your ever hopeful “friend”, Donna

www.donnaschlachter.com




Show your love for Cynthia and support for her family by checking out her books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B06Y1CJ588

PACK HORSE LIBRARIANS: PROVIDING MORE THAN A BOOK SERVICE By Mary Davis

 By Mary Davis

In 1913, Mary F. Stafford started the first Pack Horse Library in Paintsville, Kentucky, supported by local coal baron John C. C. Mayo. When Mayo died the following year, the funding died with him and the program ended.

 

In the midst of the Great Depression, the WPA (Works Progress Administration) under the Second New Deal provided government work for the unemployed. Elizabeth Fullerton worked in the women’s and professional projects at the WPA and decided to resurrect Stafford’s concept. A Leslie County Presbyterian minister provided his library if the WPA would fund personnel to take the books to people who couldn’t get to a library. This initiated the new Pack Horse Library. The Pack Horse Library Project was established under the WPA in 1935. By 1936, eight of these libraries were in operation.

 

WPA Librarians

Pack Horse Librarians, mostly women, were hired to go into the remote parts of the Appalachian Mountains to deliver books to the residents who didn’t have access to a library. They carried approximately 100 books with them. These brave ladies (a.k.a. “Book Women”) traveled 50-100 miles a week by horse or mule and, sometimes, on foot or rowboat for $28 a month. Often, the only income their families had.

 

Librarian on Horseback

However, the money from this program only covered salaries, so books had to be obtained by other means. Many were the old or damaged books and periodicals larger libraries no longer had use for, as well as out-of-date text books from schools and churches.

 

The donated books would be repaired and readied by the head librarian at the local headquarters for delivery to individual homes and schoolhouses. Resourceful librarians made card catalogs out of cheese boxes and bent old license plates into bookends.

 

In the beginning, there were 800 books for 5-10,000 people, not nearly enough to go around. The residents were hungry for reading material, so librarians put together scrapbooks of newspaper and magazine clippings as well as anecdotes and local recipes. These became so popular, that the patrons made some of their own with family history, child-rearing advice, recipes, and sewing patterns to be circulated by the Pack Horse Librarians. Some 200 different books had been created by librarians and patrons.

 

Librarian at a School

PTAs and women’s clubs helped to raise funds for new books, and communities had book drives and open houses. The program grew to 30 libraries, servicing 100,000 patrons. In addition to distributing books, the librarians provided reading lessons, would read aloud to people, and brought new ideas to these isolated areas. As outsiders, they were sometimes not welcomed.

By 1936, the collection had grown to around 33,000 books that were circulated to about 57,000 families. There was generally a one-week lending period.

 

Book Woman Reading to Man

One book woman guided her horse across cliffs to get to her patrons. Another walked her eighteen-mile route after her mule died. And yet another walked beside her mule because it was old. The librarians had to furnish their own horse or mule, which were often leased. The Pack Horse Librarian project continued until 1943 when the government funding was withdrawn.

 

Whether by horse, mule, on foot, or boat, these brave pack horse librarians never wavered from their goal.

Happy Reading!

 

UNPUZZLING THE PAST

1990s Cozy Mystery

Written by Mary L. Chase, Edited By Mary Davis

When secrets and lies are uncovered, will Mar be able to put the pieces together to learn the truth? A year after the death of her mom, Margaret Ross discovers the proverbial skeleton in the closet. Most families have a secret or two. Some are best left alone. Others need to be brought to the light of day to heal old wounds. With the help of her best friend, a lawyer, and a handsome doctor, Mar determines to hunt down all the facts. When she does, will she find what she’s searching for? Or should she let this puzzle R.I.P.?

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE LADY’S MISSION. Her other novels include MRS. WITHERSPOON GOES TO WAR, THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET (Quilting Circle 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (Quilting Circle 3) is a Selah Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; THE WIDOW’S PLIGHT, THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection , Prodigal Daughters Amish series, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Rocky Mountains with her husband of thirty-nine years and one foster cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

 Books2Read  Newsletter  Blog   FB  FB Readers Group   Amazon   GoodReads   BookBub

 

Sources

https://settlementlibrary.blogspot.com/2009/12/pack-horse-library-project.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pack_Horse_Library_Project

HAVE BOOK WILL TRAVEL By Mary Davis

 

By Mary Davis

 

“No better method has ever been devised for reaching the dweller in the country. The book goes to the man, not waiting for the man to come to the book.”

Mary Lemist Titcomb, creator of the first U.S. bookmobile in 1904

 

The first recorded mobile library dates back to 1858 when the Perambulating Library, as it was called, rolled through the streets of Warrington, England. The Warrington Mechanics’ Institute in Cheshire, England, which was eager to increase the borrowing from its library, devised a plan to purchase a one-horse wagon and fill it with books to take to the people. The local residents loved the idea so much they enthusiastically organized a flower show and bazaar to raise the funds. Starting November 15^th  of that year, the Perambulating Library began its weekly rounds, increasing the borrowing from 3,000 books a year to 12,000 and continued until 1872.

 

Warrington Perambulating Library

 

The U.S. Version of a perambulating library was the brainchild of Mary Lemist Titcomb. She was a library organizer in Vermont for twelve years before moving to Hagerstown, MD, in 1901. She jumped into organizing the fledgling Washington County Free Library established in 1898 (the first incorporated county-wide library in the country).

 

Old Washington County Library, built 1900-01

 

Titcomb believed that giving out books was only a small part of the mission of a library.

“There is a great army of men and women, who use our public libraries to read because it gives them pleasure—because through books they are lifted out of all routine of every-day life, their imaginations are quickened and for the brief space that the book holds them in thrall the colors of life assume a brighter tint.”

Mary Lemist Titcomb

  

Mary Lemist Titcomb

In 1901, Titcomb set up “deposit stations” in remote area stores and Sunday Schools with thirty to forty books. After four years, she had set up sixty-six stations. However, this wasn’t good enough for her. There were still many people not being serviced by the library. So in 1903, she convinced the library Board of Trustees to secure a Carnegie grant for a wagon to take the books to the people. The first book wagon, driven by Joshua Thomas, the library’s janitor, rolled through the countryside in April 1905, pulled by Dandy and Black Beauty.

 

Dandy & Black Beauty Book Wagon circa 1905

 

In the first six months, Thomas made the trek around the county’s backroads three times a week, averaging thirty miles each, for a total of thirty-one trips. Two drawbacks to this wagon were that the wooden doors on the sides made it impossible to see that there were books, and it was painted black. These factors made people think it was a “dead wagon” and urged it to pass on by due to superstitions. A new coat of paint and glass doors remedied this problem.

 

In August of 1910, tragedy struck the book wagon—or more accurately a freight train did. The driver and horses were unharmed, but the wagon was destroyed. The Carnegie grant had run out, so the county went without bookmobile service for a year until they could get additional funding. The horse and wagon were deemed outmoded, and the first motorize bookmobile hit the roads.

 

The 1930s ushered in the era of the Pack Horse Library Project. Librarians, mostly women, were hired under the Second New Deal to travel by horse or mule into the remote parts of the Appalachian Mountains. They delivered books to the residents who didn’t have access to a library. This program ran from 1935 to 1943.

 

Pack Horse Librarians

Regardless of the mode of transportation, libraries and librarians have been determined to get books into the hands of those who want to read. Bookmobiles had their heyday in the 1960s and 1970s. There are still a few around the world.

 

Happy Reading!

 

SMALL TOWN ROMANCES: Inspirational Boxed Set

5 Novels by 5 bestselling, award-winning authors. You'll love these unique stories of love! Something for everyone with 2 historical, 2 contemporary, and a fantasy romance.

Get it HERE!

The Daughter’s Predicament by Mary Davis—As Isabelle Atwood’s romance prospects are turning in her favor, a family scandal derails her dreams. Despite gaining the attention of a handsome rancher, her parents are pressuring her to marry a man of their choosing to rescue her sister’s reputation. While a third suitor waits silently in the wings, hoping to sweep her off her feet. Whom will Isabelle choose?

Plus 4 others!

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE LADY’S MISSION. Her other novels include THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET (Quilting Circle Book 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle Book 3) is a SELAH Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT, THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection, Prodigal Daughters Amish series, "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of thirty-seven years and one cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at: Books2Read Newsletter Blog FB FB Readers Group Amazon GoodReads BookBub

 

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrington_Perambulating_Library

https://www.appalachianhistory.net/2018/04/first-bookmobile-in-country.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookmobile

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/04/10/library-on-wheels-sharlee-glenn

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pack_Horse_Library_Project