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GRAND LADY OF THE LIBRARY — Mrs. Florence Crump
of Shavertown will again have charge of the book booth, which
is always a popular place at the library auction. She will be
assisted by Benny Matchett and Priscilla Reese Liput.
By KATHY SUDA
Staff Correspondent
In 1944, two people had an idea, a wish
that they shared...the formation of a free
public library that would serve the Back
Mountain communities. The motivation
behind these two was twofold — the
educational betterment of the residents
and the bringing together of the people of
the Back Mountain.
Howard Risley, editor and owner of
The Dallas Post at the time, recom-
mended the formation of a public library
to his subscribers. At the same time,
Ruth LeGrand discussed the idea pri-
vately with members of two book clubs.
One day, Le Grand was taking a walk
and saw a vacant house on Main Street
owned by the Ryman family and envi-
sioned it as the perfect home for the
library.
Le Grand went before the Rotary Club
and laid out her idea before members
and asked the help of Kiwanis, women’s
clubs and the PTA.
An estimated $10,000 was needed to
renovate the Ryman house. The Oster-
hout Library offered to help by supplying
two trained librarians and 800 books.
Risley offered financial help and used his
editorial column as a personal publicity
column for the library.
A meeting was held at Lundy’s Restau-
rant and representatives of 17 civic
organizations attended. Committees were
formed and the idea of a library was now
a project. In Feburary, 1945, Atty. Peter
Jurchak drew up a charter and it was
accepted.
After much discussion, the name of the
Back Mountain Memorial Library was
made official.
While redecorating and refurbishing of
the house took place, a fully-trained
librarian was hired out of Springville.
Miriam Lathrop served to organize the
workings of the library with the help of
many volunteers.
Between October, 1945 when the library
opened and dedicated and 1950, the
library grew. Books were donated by the
thousands. Children’ programs and the
Book Club began. In 1949, reports showed
the library stocked 17,000 volumes, 2,000
state books and served 1,000 members.
In 1950, the library’s success and
growth demanded expansion and the
library sprung an annex at the Elmer
Parrish home. 3
From this time until 1961 when Lathrop
retired, the library took on the responsi-
bility of more services. It offered its
services to the Gate of Heaven School.
Lathrop began to be known to children in
Back Mountain schools as the ‘‘liberry’’
lady as she distributed books weekly to
area schools. Books were distributed to
shut-ins in 1955 and in 1959 a branch was
opened in an ice cream parlor.
The need for more financial support
brought the birth of 25 years of annual
auctions which also has become quite an
event in the Back Mountain utilizing
many dedicated volunteers.
In March, 1985, the library found a new
home at its present location at 96 Hunts-
ville Road. It serves the Back Mountain
communities and has a circulation of
over 10,000. It offers four sessions of
story hour for the children and Tuesday
night pajama story time parties. For
adults it offers the Book Club, Friends of
the Library and exhibits throughout the
year.