The first in the series was written by Danell Sulik.

          On March 8, 2008, the Elroy Public Library will be celebrating its centennial birthday.  The Elroy Public Library is a Carnegie Library, one of 63 public library grants Wisconsin communities received from Andrew Carnegie.  Only 6 other states received more Carnegie grants than Wisconsin.

 Andrew Carnegie Background

          Andrew Carnegie, who emigrated from Scotland to the United States in 1848 at the age of 13, made his fortune in steel.  In 1901 at the age of 66, when he sold the Carnegie Steel Company and retired from industry, Carnegie was one of the world’s wealthiest men.  Carnegie, who believed that the rich should use their wealth to enrich society, spent his retirement funding philanthropic projects. 

           Carnegie thought the best gift you could give a community was a library because with it people could improve themselves.  Between 1901 and 1923, Carnegie donated $40,000,000 for the construction of 1679 public library buildings in the United States.  After 1916, Carnegie shifted his financial support to library education and staffing the libraries with trained personnel, although libraries already promised to communities continued to be built until 1923.  In all, Carnegie donated $56,162,622 for the construction of 2509 library buildings throughout the English-speaking parts of the world. 

           Carnegie was not without controversy or detractors.  Biographer Joseph Wall said, "Maybe with the giving away of his money, he would justify what he had done to get that money.”  Carnegie was hated for the 143 day Homestead strike of 1892.  Ten men were killed and hundreds were injured when his second in command, Henry Frick, hired 300 Pinkerton detectives to protect the plant and the non-union workers Frick planned to hire.  The Pennsylvania National Guard was called in to restore order and protect the plant until the union was broken that fall.  Although Carnegie was in Scotland at the time of the strike, he did not negotiate to end the strike after the violent clash and he continued to employ non-union workers.  Carnegie was also a member of an exclusive hunting and fishing club which was blamed for the Johnstown Flood of 1889 that killed over 2,000 people.

 How did a community go about getting a Carnegie library grant?

          In order to qualify for a Carnegie library grant, the community had to demonstrate the need for a public library, provide the building site, and annually provide ten percent of the cost of the library's construction to support its operation.

           A town in any English-speaking nation desiring a grant began by writing a letter of request to Carnegie’s secretary, James Bertram, who then sent a form with specific questions to answer.  These questions included information about the town’s population, finances, whether it already had an existing library, if it had purchased a site for the new library, and how much it had collected toward the building of the new library.  Carnegie and Bertram were willing to consider any completed application, but there were those who would not consider applying for the grant because they despised Carnegie for his ruthless business practices.

 Elroy Public Library Chronology

          Although $10,000 was a considerable amount, some residents did not want to take any money from Carnegie, and this was when the average family made less than $500 annually, a pound of bread cost a nickel, a new Ford $750, and gas was 28 cents a gallon.  But Elroy did apply and received its $10,000 Carnegie library grant in 1905. 

          The first library board convened on May 5, 1906, with some very familiar names.  Members of the first library board were Mrs. A. W. DeLong, William Flood, Mr. H. E. Newman, Mrs. H. W. Smith, Mr. John Hart (president), Mr. A. W. Field, and Professor W. S. Hake.  At the June 16, 1906 meeting, the library board voted to purchase the Britt property at a cost not to exceed $2,500.

           At the July 2, 1906 meeting, the board chose Parkinson and Docendorf as architects.  At the October 24, 1906 meeting, sealed bids for construction were opened and all were rejected.  At the January 1, 1907 meeting, the secretary was instructed to ask Mr. Carnegie for at least $1,000 more to apply to the library fund without additional cost to the city.  Mr. Carnegie said there would be no more money.  On January 24, 1907, the board met to accept the bid of $9,327 from Mr. Harry Gordon of Elroy.  On February 2, 1907, the board voted that the contract with Harry Gordon be signed and that the board advertise for applicants for librarian.  

           The Elroy Public Library officially opened on March 8, 1908, and has been in continual operation as a library ever since.  Of the 63 Carnegie libraries built in Wisconsin, 12 have been razed, and 27 are no longer used as libraries.

 Danell Sulik

The second article in the series was written by Cindy Mueller

Spirit of the Library Past
By Cindy Mueller

            I am submitting this account of a recent experience at the Elroy Public Library, although I don’t expect anyone to believe it. I’m not even sure I believe it myself. It began one evening when I found myself alone in the library …

            As a volunteer, I had been asked to work in the library one afternoon earlier this month while the staff was attending a seminar in La Crosse. The library had been quite busy but emptied out as closing time neared. The snowy weather seemed to send patrons scurrying for home as darkness approached. I decided to spend some time in the Genealogy Room reading up on the history of the library since the 100^th birthday was approaching. I settled in at the desk and began perusing the minutes of the library board meetings from 1906 when the city received an offer of $10,000 from Andrew Carnegie to build a library.

            It was interesting stuff, but the ornate penmanship was hard to make out, and I had eaten way too much for lunch at the Chinese restaurant. I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew a hand was shaking my shoulder and I opened my eyes to darkness. I looked up, and in the glow of streetlights streaming through the window could just make out the shape of a woman standing beside me.

            I jumped to my feet – I couldn’t believe I had fallen asleep on the job! Well, I guess I could believe it, it’s been known to happen. However, before I could apologize to the patron, she told me very kindly that the library was closing and that I would have to leave. “What, me leave? But I’m the one who should be kicking people out!” I thought.

            “Excuse me,” I said, thinking that I may have been having an encounter with someone slightly unbalanced, “but do I know you?”

            “Perhaps we haven’t met, dear,” she replied. “I am Miss Roberts, Miss Edna Roberts, the librarian.”

            Well, this was interesting. I knew that Edna Roberts was the name of Elroy’s first librarian back in 1908. Wait until I told Mary and Sharon what happened around the library when they went out of town. I might have to call the police to get this woman some psychiatric help.

            First things first, however -  we needed some light. I crossed to the switch by the door, but nothing happened when I flipped it. My eyes were becoming used to the dimness, though, and as I turned to face the woman, I noticed that she was dressed in a demure blouse and ankle-length skirt. Her hair was pinned up in a bun. “Hmmm,” I thought, “she is certainly dressing the part.” It was refreshing to see someone with a delusion who really followed through on it.

            Well, I would try the lights in the office. The phone was there anyway and it was looking more and more as though I would have to call for some assistance. I reached out to put a hand on the woman’s shoulder and guide her out of the room. To my astonishment, my hand went right through her as though she were thin air.  “This is too freaky,” I thought. “What was in that moo goo gai pan anyway?”

            Could this be a dream? At that moment I bumped into the corner of a bookcase and the resulting burst of pain convinced me otherwise. Aha! Maybe it was the whack on my head that had jarred something loose, but a thought occurred to me. I excused myself to “Miss Roberts” to go in search of the photograph of Edna Roberts which I knew was hanging in the main part of the library. I brought it back to where the woman waited. Comparing the photograph to the figure in front of me, I saw that she did, indeed, appear to be Miss Roberts.

            “Miss Roberts,” I said, “we need to talk.”

            “Let’s sit by the fireplace,” she answered. “There’s a nice group of chairs there, although I don’t recall seeing them before – and the portrait of Mr. Carnegie, our benefactor.”

            I explained as best I could (not that I understood it myself) that this was 2008, not 1908 and that Miss Roberts must be (excuse the expression) “dead.” She seemed to take it in stride, musing aloud that she “had always hoped to see what the library would become in one hundred years.”

            “Well, you’ve come at the right time,” I told her. There will be a Birthday Bash on the afternoon of Saturday, March 8 from 1-4.  Everyone is invited to come celebrate 100 years of the Elroy Public Library. There are drawing contests, essay contests, prizes and, of course, birthday cake.

            “My stars,” she exclaimed. “It sounds like quite a shebang.”

            “Yes,” I replied. (Whatever that was, it sounded like fun.) “We have such a beautiful library, there’s a lot to celebrate.” It occurred to me that there had been a few changes in the library since Miss Roberts’ time. “Would you like a tour of the library?”

            “Certainly,” she replied with alacrity. Miss Roberts seemed to have little trouble adjusting to the idea of being a spirit. Perhaps her love of the library transcended any of those niggling questions about the afterlife.

            “As you see here,” I began, “we are in the original part of the library. This is now the adult section.” We continued on into the addition and I explained it had been built in 2000 to accommodate the expanding collection and services offered by the library. Many people in the community donated generously to make it happen.

            “There seem to be quite a number of volumes here. We started out with 1,175 books. How many are there now?”

            Having the library statistics at my fingertips, I was able to “wow” Miss Roberts with the current figures from the most recent annual report: 17,982 books; 8,805 E-books; 1123 audio materials; and 1,690 video material items.  

            With a slightly competitive air, she said, “Circulation in the first year was 13,183. But that was only for a ten-month period. We were shut down for two months owing to the small pox epidemic.”

            I thought about mentioning that small pox has been virtually eradicated, but I thought we had better stick to library topics.

            “The circulation for 2006 was 25,444 items,” I said, rather smugly, “and we now have over 1400 registered borrowers.”         

            “Well, heavens to Betsy,” Miss Roberts replied. “That is impressive. Could I see your Accession Book?”

            “I’d be happy to show it to you, but I have no idea what that is,” I said.

            “Oh, it’s the volume where you write in the title of each book acquired for the library’s collection.”

            “Miss Roberts, all that information is now stored in the computer.” I could see the confusion in her face and wondered how to explain this staple of the modern world. Fortunately, at that very moment, the explanation came to mind.

            “A computer is an electronic device that can accept data, manipulate data to produce information, and store the results for future use. They are used for record keeping, accounting, communication, entertainment … and in many more ways than I can think of now. And, oh yes, sometimes tip calculating.” I paused, trying to think of how to convey the idea of a computer to Miss Roberts. “Why don’t I just show you one?”

            “You have such a machine here in the library!” she gasped.

            “Actually, we have several. There are six available for use by patrons as well as two that allow us to access the entire catalog of the Winding Rivers Library System which includes 26 libraries, to request books not in our collection. “

            We sat down at one of the public-access computers and I proceeded to put it through some of its paces, much to Miss Roberts’ astonishment. Even a brief perusal of the world-wide web brought many exclamations of “This is the bee’s knees!” or “the cat’s pajamas!” from Miss Roberts.  

            Time flew by all too quickly. I enjoyed the look of astonishment on Miss Roberts’ face as she tried her hand at the computer mouse. I glanced her way again, though,  only to see with horror that she was slowly de-materializing.

            “Miss Roberts!” I cried. “You’re starting to fade away.”

            “I don’t want to leave,” she wailed. “I haven’t seen all of the changes to the library. I don’t know how I got here, but I’ll do whatever I can to come back another time.”

            “Try to make it for the library’s 100^th birthday bash on March 8,” I quickly put in before she was enveloped by darkness. “You’ll be the life of the party!”

The third article in the series was written by Shirley Preuss

Important Women in Elroy Library Past
By Shirley Preuss, Friends of Elroy Library

          In the one hundred year history of the Elroy Library, there have only been six librarians. Recently, Edna Roberts, the first and longest serving librarian, made a spiritual visit to the library to view the changes which have incurred since her resignation in 1951. Perhaps she
encountered the spirits of the next two librarians to succeed her, Pearl Larson and Gardis Hoercher. The reins were passed to Ms. Larson in February, 1951. She had considerable knowledge of the library having served on the library board of directors prior to becoming their employee. Ms. Larson’s father, Herbert Neuman, was on the very first library board in 1908. By comparison, her tenure as librarian was short. After five years, Ms. Larson resigned to begin raising a family.

          In 1956 Gardis Hoercher moved from teaching in an Elroy elementary school classroom to the library to become its third librarian. She held this position for the next eighteen years, becoming the second longest serving librarian over its 100 year history. Gardis was the epitome of a
“traditional” librarian. Stately and dignified, Mrs. Hoercher even talked like a librarian – quietly. Her ever present small smile and warm demeanor welcomed one and all to the library---especially children. Although the Hoercher’s had no children of their own, Gardis carried her teacher mode to the library, caring for the children. She began the first summer reading program for the very young, a program that continues today. In the mid-1960s a federal grant was used to establish the Lacrosse Area Library System, which the Elroy library joined. Books could now be ordered for local residents to use without having to purchase the book for one library alone. This added to the librarian’s workload considerably but infinitely increased the material available for local use. In 1974, Mrs. Hoercher retired, but her commitment to the library lived on. Upon her death in 1986, a portion of her estate transferred to the Elroy Library.

          Ellen Gardner was selected from a field of 13 candidates to become the library’s fourth librarian. In 1974 Ellen left Leer Manufacturing in New Lisbon and took a course offered by the State of Wisconsin to certify librarians in small rural communities. During her eleven year tenure
as librarian, she returned to college on her own and completed a degree in Library Science. Mrs. Gardner expanded the children’s reading program to encompass story hour and to include regular class visits throughout the school year to the library. Her memories include the fact that there were no computers then and the old Dewey Decimal System was used to hand catalog books. There was also no assistant librarian at that time. The library was the seat of city government with City Clerk Joyce Hart and the police chief both operating out of offices in the library basement. City council meetings were held monthly in the lower level’s fireplace room. In 1983, Ellen helped the library board host the
library’s 75th Anniversary party. The next year Mrs. Gardner accepted the position of Hillsboro High School librarian and tendered her
resignation in August, 1985.

The fourth article in the series

Women in Leadership at Elroy Public Library
By Shirley Preuss, Friends of the Elroy Library

          When librarian Ellen Gardner resigned in 1980, the Elroy Library Board needed only look to the Elroy Primary School to find its next librarian, Barb Delong. Before coming to Elroy, Mrs. Delong had been a medical technologist at Madison General Hospital in Madison. Her husband Dan accepted a teaching position here, and the Delongs moved to Elroy. After their daughters began school, Barb put to use the 24 library credits she had earned after college by accepting the library aid position at school. With her public library certificate in hand in 1980, Barb became only the fifth librarian in the 80 year history of the Elroy Public Library. Little did Barb know then the changes looming on the horizon for the library.

          Early in the 1980s, the first microfilm reader was purchased and the entire collection of past Elroy newspapers was transferred to microfilm storage. Today it’s possible to research virtually decades of articles which have appeared through the years in our local paper. The advent of computers affected the library in many ways. Learning how to “barcode” materials and then transferring the entire collection to the computer system were two entirely new skills Mrs. Delong had to master. It was during the 1900s that work began on designing and planning for the “new” library we have today. With much input from Mrs. Delong about future needs, an architect was sought to prepare a plan that would make the library handicap accessible, double the size, provide parking and, most importantly, preserve the architectural heritage of the original Andrew Carnegie building. In retrospect, Mrs. Delong met all of the challenges presented to her and helped move the library toward the 21 century successfully. The two most rewarding aspects of the librarian’s job, according to Barb, were helping people locate information they needed and reading to children during story hour. When asked what was the best thing about her job, Mrs. Delong quickly replied, “ working with a great library board, having wonderful co-workers and, most of all, coming to work each day in this warm, beautiful library.”

          In 1995 the torch was passed to Mary Waarvik, the sixth and current librarian. Mary returned home to Elroy from Alaska where she had earned a Master’s Degree in English. Once here, she completed her librarian certification through UW-Madison. Change became the theme at the library. In 1998, using our own computer server, all books and materials were bar coded and could be checked out through the computer. Seven years later, 2005, Horizon, a system wide shared data base, became part of the Elroy Library’s tool. It lets patrons use an on-line data base to search the holdings of approximately 30 area libraries for books or information. In effect, people now have access to more than 2 million books in addition to the 20,000 housed in our own library. The ultimate change occurred in the early 2000s when remodeling and enlarging the library required Mary to dismantle the current holdings, pack all the books and move to a temporary building on the south end of Main Street.

          When the doors opened to the modernized library in 2001, Ms. Waarvik warmly welcomed patrons to a computer lab containing six high speed internet computers. Also new was WISCAT, a computer data base which allows people to search nation or even world wide for materials. A Genealogy Room specializing in Elroy oriented records opened to allow people to search their family histories. Most importantly, the expanded community use of the library is noteworthy. Friends of the Elroy Library was formed to promote the library and to bring in quality speakers. Two Book Clubs have formed and meet here monthly as do the home schoolers group and the Elroy Women’s Club. City voting takes place in the community room.

          Indeed, it is no wonder the spirit of Miss Edna Roberts, the very first librarian, was intrigued by the current state of the Elroy Public Library during her late night visit. The base she so adeptly built in the library’s infancy has grown and developed with each of the six strong women who took turns at the helm over the last 100 years. It is with gratitude for their guidance and devotion that we salute our librarians and celebrate the centennial birthday of the Elroy Public Library.