| Name |
Merkey, Bonnie |
| Gender |
Female |
| Occupation |
1984 |
Ulysses, Ulysses, Potter, Pennsylvania, USA  |
| Libfarian. the Willis Irving Lewis Memorial Library. Later librarians were... Sheri Graves, who began the job in 1984 and is still ably filling that position. She is assisted by Bonnie Merkey. |
- 20201106HAv-
Words of Gold, Jeannette Morley Buck
Favorites · January 13, 2016 ·
I was certain that I had landed directly in Paradise all those years ago when, as a very clueless third grader I was allowed to walk down the hill from the Ulysses School with other classmates, cross two streets and climb the steps to the Ulysses Library. I had been given Louisa May Alcott’s book Little Women by my teacher in the Gold one-room schoolhouse the year before. I knew, after I read it, that books were the closest thing to magic on this planet and that I wanted to read more of them. And, here I was, smack in the middle of shelf after shelf loaded with books, every single one of which held new worlds and new adventures enclosed between the two covers.
The two ladies who were serving as librarians back then, Mrs. Nina Whitney and Mrs. Laura Daniels soon recognized a budding bookworm and did their level best to guide me to books which they felt were appropriate for me.
This past December, as 2015 drew to a close, the Ulysses Library celebrated one hundred years of service to the town and the surrounding communities.
The Ulysses Library Association was formed in April of 1915. Donations of books were received and a building on Grove Street which had been B. J. Cushing’s photography studio was rented for storage until a permanent place was available. An appeal to the State Library Association brought Miss Helen Rockwell to Ulysses to train workers how to properly catalogue the books and in the operation of a library. In October of the same year, Robert R. Lewis of Coudersport offered to erect a building as a memorial to his father, Willis Irving Lewis who had been born in Ulysses. A site was chosen on the corner of Main and North Streets where a store owned by Seth Lewis once stood. Seth Lewis was one of four Lewis brothers who were among the early settlers of Ulysses. Also in October, 1915, the Ulysses Library Association was incorporated and chartered.
The brick and cement building was completed in December of 1918 at the cost of $4,000 and dedicated as the Willis Irving Lewis Memorial Library on June 2, 1920.
Althea Hopkins was the first librarian, followed by Nellie Eaton Jones. Later librarians were Minnie Mulford, Nina Raymond Whitney, Laura Daniels, Geraldine Newcomb, Elsie Mills, Delores Bristol and Sheri Graves, who began the job in 1984 and is still ably filling that position. She is assisted by Bonnie Merkey.
The Ulysses Library Association joined the Pennsylvania Library Association in February of 1926 and 20 years later, in April of 1946, they became a member of the American Library Association.
The original building was estimated to have the capacity to hold 5,000 books. In the year 2001, there were 14,000 catalogued items and four computers. The old structure was sadly showing its age and the Association decided that a new building would be more cost effective than an attempt at renovating the old one.
Money bequeathed to the library by Laura Lewis, widow of Dr. Clifford Lewis, formed the basis for the building fund and First Citizens National Bank donated property adjacent to the original building. Construction was begun on October 27th, 2001 and by the end of April the following year the move to the new library was completed. Many local people donated gifts, time and labor to the effort.
Over the years several incentive programs for students have been introduced and well-accepted. The “holding count” of the library now contains 20, 090 items which includes cassettes, book CDs, tapes and DVDs both for adults and juveniles as well as the standard shelves of books comprising a wide variety of subjects and authors, both fiction and non-fiction.
On December 5, 2015 a celebration of the Ulysses Library’s centennial was held with over 100 people in attendance. Mr. Elery Walizer, President of the Board of Trustees, gave the dinner speech.
Elery Walizer, who has served as president of the board for twenty years, stepped down this year and Benjamin Olney was elected to the position. Mr. Walizer, retired teacher from Northern Potter Schools, has for many years been a strong supporter of the library as was his wife, Carolyn Chelgren Walizer.
The Willis I. Lewis Memorial Library is operated under the auspices of the Ulysses Library Association. Closed on Sunday and Monday, the library is open all other days of the week. The website is www.ulysseslibrary.com.
No matter the many modern conveniences of the twenty-first century, for many of us there is still nothing quite as satisfying as reading a good book. Check it out, my friends. See Less
Comments
Rebecca Ahearn Sunderlin
You always make it an adventure, great article.
· Reply · 4y
David Johns
Terrific article about the history of the Library, Jeannette. Credit & thanks surely goes to the hard-working, dedicated Library volunteers, employees & supporters of the Library fundraising efforts. (Dave & Cindy)
· Reply · 4y
Author
Words of Gold
Thank you! and you are right, so many work to support the library.
· Reply · 4y · Edited
Write a reply...
Shirley Fair
Great history...Glad you t ook the time to write this well....
· Reply · 4y
Jane Potter Hilfiger
Very nice article about the History of the "Ulysses Library"! Thank you Jeanette!
· Reply · 4y
Write a comment...
|
| Words of Gold |
13 Jan 2016 |
Ulysses, Ulysses, Potter, Pennsylvania, USA [1] |
| The library, and librarians: I was certain that I had landed directly in Paradise all those years ago |
- 20201106HAv-
Words of Gold, Jeannette Morley Buck
Favorites · January 13, 2016 ·
I was certain that I had landed directly in Paradise all those years ago when, as a very clueless third grader I was allowed to walk down the hill from the Ulysses School with other classmates, cross two streets and climb the steps to the Ulysses Library. I had been given Louisa May Alcott’s book Little Women by my teacher in the Gold one-room schoolhouse the year before. I knew, after I read it, that books were the closest thing to magic on this planet and that I wanted to read more of them. And, here I was, smack in the middle of shelf after shelf loaded with books, every single one of which held new worlds and new adventures enclosed between the two covers.
The two ladies who were serving as librarians back then, Mrs. Nina Whitney and Mrs. Laura Daniels soon recognized a budding bookworm and did their level best to guide me to books which they felt were appropriate for me.
This past December, as 2015 drew to a close, the Ulysses Library celebrated one hundred years of service to the town and the surrounding communities.
The Ulysses Library Association was formed in April of 1915. Donations of books were received and a building on Grove Street which had been B. J. Cushing’s photography studio was rented for storage until a permanent place was available. An appeal to the State Library Association brought Miss Helen Rockwell to Ulysses to train workers how to properly catalogue the books and in the operation of a library. In October of the same year, Robert R. Lewis of Coudersport offered to erect a building as a memorial to his father, Willis Irving Lewis who had been born in Ulysses. A site was chosen on the corner of Main and North Streets where a store owned by Seth Lewis once stood. Seth Lewis was one of four Lewis brothers who were among the early settlers of Ulysses. Also in October, 1915, the Ulysses Library Association was incorporated and chartered.
The brick and cement building was completed in December of 1918 at the cost of $4,000 and dedicated as the Willis Irving Lewis Memorial Library on June 2, 1920.
Althea Hopkins was the first librarian, followed by Nellie Eaton Jones. Later librarians were Minnie Mulford, Nina Raymond Whitney, Laura Daniels, Geraldine Newcomb, Elsie Mills, Delores Bristol and Sheri Graves, who began the job in 1984 and is still ably filling that position. She is assisted by Bonnie Merkey.
The Ulysses Library Association joined the Pennsylvania Library Association in February of 1926 and 20 years later, in April of 1946, they became a member of the American Library Association.
The original building was estimated to have the capacity to hold 5,000 books. In the year 2001, there were 14,000 catalogued items and four computers. The old structure was sadly showing its age and the Association decided that a new building would be more cost effective than an attempt at renovating the old one.
Money bequeathed to the library by Laura Lewis, widow of Dr. Clifford Lewis, formed the basis for the building fund and First Citizens National Bank donated property adjacent to the original building. Construction was begun on October 27th, 2001 and by the end of April the following year the move to the new library was completed. Many local people donated gifts, time and labor to the effort.
Over the years several incentive programs for students have been introduced and well-accepted. The “holding count” of the library now contains 20, 090 items which includes cassettes, book CDs, tapes and DVDs both for adults and juveniles as well as the standard shelves of books comprising a wide variety of subjects and authors, both fiction and non-fiction.
On December 5, 2015 a celebration of the Ulysses Library’s centennial was held with over 100 people in attendance. Mr. Elery Walizer, President of the Board of Trustees, gave the dinner speech.
Elery Walizer, who has served as president of the board for twenty years, stepped down this year and Benjamin Olney was elected to the position. Mr. Walizer, retired teacher from Northern Potter Schools, has for many years been a strong supporter of the library as was his wife, Carolyn Chelgren Walizer.
The Willis I. Lewis Memorial Library is operated under the auspices of the Ulysses Library Association. Closed on Sunday and Monday, the library is open all other days of the week. The website is www.ulysseslibrary.com.
No matter the many modern conveniences of the twenty-first century, for many of us there is still nothing quite as satisfying as reading a good book. Check it out, my friends. See Less
Comments
Rebecca Ahearn Sunderlin
You always make it an adventure, great article.
· Reply · 4y
David Johns
Terrific article about the history of the Library, Jeannette. Credit & thanks surely goes to the hard-working, dedicated Library volunteers, employees & supporters of the Library fundraising efforts. (Dave & Cindy)
· Reply · 4y
Author
Words of Gold
Thank you! and you are right, so many work to support the library.
· Reply · 4y · Edited
Write a reply...
Shirley Fair
Great history...Glad you t ook the time to write this well....
· Reply · 4y
Jane Potter Hilfiger
Very nice article about the History of the "Ulysses Library"! Thank you Jeanette!
· Reply · 4y
Write a comment...
|
| Person ID |
I82875 |
WETZEL-SPRING |
