Written on the
occasion of the centennial of the Free Public Library of Verona, New
Jersey
April 25, 1993, by Robert L. Williams
In the opening years of the 1890s,
the little country hamlet of Verona was beginning to bustle with
activity and awaken from its long and peaceful slumber as an
agricultural community. With the new railroad line running through
the northern portion of the community, more people began to flock
westward and with these people came a need for more businesses and
churches. It is to this setting and period that our library traces
its roots.
In exploring the heritage of the
Verona Public Library, it is necessary to take a brief look at the
life of its founder, Anna M. DeGolier. Anna was born in 1836 in
South Mayfield, New York, the eldest of eight children. Because
her family was living in Montreal, Rev. DeGolier went on a trip in a
schooner through the Great Lakes. While he and a companion were
standing on deck one day, the boom of the sail struck and knocked them
overboard, drowning the pair. News of the tragedy reached home
about a month later and with Anna being the eldest child, the burden of
responsibility was on her shoulders to hold the family together.
This would be no easy task, especially in what, at that time, was a
male-dominated society. From Montreal, the family moved to Chicago
where they lived for some time. While there, Anna taught at a young
ladies' seminary in Evanston, only a short distance from Chicago.
It is recorded that in 1874, Anna,
along with her sister and brother-in-law, came to Verona. Mrs.
William Pitt Rich, a friend of Anna's, commented about her in an article
which appeared in the Caldwell Progress: "I remember once that Miss
DeGolier told me that they did not know that the property they had
purchased was over the Verona line until they came into the house.
They were quite disappointed, she said, at its being so far in the
country." Fortunately for us, Anna's destiny was here in
Verona and not elsewhere.
Ten years later, in 1884, Anna
opened a studio in Montclair where she taught painting. Her best
work was portraiture. But somehow, to Anna, this was not enough.
In the early 1890s, while visiting
her sisters in Ohio, Anna realized the value of a women's club and
brought the idea back to Verona. She once said, "Statistics
show that there is the greatest percent of insanity among farmers wives,
who have few associations and fewer books. What a woman needs is
to get out among people and have something about which to think as she
goes about her household duties." Anna called together the
women who had been members of the former Athene Literary Society, an
organization of both men and women which dated back to 1879.
The first meeting of Anna's group
took place on January 24, 1893 and they named their organization the
Isabella Literary Club. Officers were elected and Anna was elected
president. According to the Club's constitution, its goal was to
promote intellectual growth, increase knowledge in the vital affairs of
the day, and cultivate the social element. These goals were
certainly upheld as some of the activities of the club included essay
writing, readings, and musical numbers such as piano solos and vocal
duets. According to Grace Kaas, among the minutes of the club was
found a debate, "If modern women take an interest in civic affairs,
men should help solve the domestic problems." This certainly
branded these Victorian ladies as progressive for their time, as the
suffrage movement was still in its infancy.
At the fourth meeting of the club,
a motion was passed to expend the surplus funds for a library.
Several other motions were passed which included the purchase of books
necessary for immediate use by the club. These books were to be
turned over to the library. In addition, each member was to
contribute, semi-monthly, five cents for the benefit of the
library. At this time, the library was housed in Anna's sister's
home at 5 Brookdale Avenue, a beautiful Victorian house which
stood on the east side of Brookdale where Celentano's parking lot is now
located. Anna acted as librarian.
In its early years, it seemed the
library was always on the move. In 1895, it was moved to the
Verona Club House located on the north corner of Derwent Street and
Claremont Avenue. Although greatly remodeled, this building still
stands. In 1897, the library was moved to the old brick Bloomfield
Avenue school where it was incorporated with the school library, and in
1899, to rooms in Judge Johnson's newly constructed building which today
stands adjacent to Center Drugs. Twelve years later, the library
returned to the Bloomfield Avenue school which had been enlarged in
1902.
In the meantime, following several
public meetings, a citizens' committee met jointly with a committee from
the Isabella Club on February 6, 1900. This resulted in the
formation of the Verona Public Library Association. A corporation
was created and its first annual meeting was held in March of that
year. One of the first actions was to name Anna DeGolier as
librarian. Shortly thereafter, the Isabella Club gave all its
books and bookcases to the trustees of the Library Association with the
condition that the Association would allow the women of the club the
free use of the books for one year. Another provision required
that the property would revert back to the Isabella Club if the Library
Association disbanded.
Anna DeGolier died in the autumn
of 1901, but despite her death the library continued to grow as the
flame she held so firmly was passed on to others. Money was raised
to finance the library through public subscription and benefits
organized by the Isabella Literary Club. In the fall
of 1911, at the general election, the people of our community voted to
establish a free public library and, in 1912, officers were elected.
Approximately 1,500 books, money, and furniture of the Verona Public
Library Association was turned over to the Trustees of the Free Public
Library of Verona. In 1916, the trustees of the library received
notice that they would have to vacate the room in the schoolhouse
because it was needed for more classes. Thus a search was begun
for new quarters. The library obtained a Carnegie
grant for $11,000 and a lot on the corner of Bloomfield and Montrose
Avenues was purchased with funds from the Library Association
supplemented by public subscription. Architectural drawings for
the new building were made but the sudden rise in construction costs at
the advent of World War I prevented immediate action. It was not until
1922 that construction began on the library and rather than being
constructed on the corner of Bloomfield and Montrose, it was included in
the Civic Center.
But before the new building was
completed, disaster struck on the morning of January 7, 1923. The
municipal building, which was formerly the old Methodist Church on the
east corner of Grove and Bloomfield Avenues, caught fire. It was
at this location that the library had relocated in 1916 and it was
estimated that 5,000 books were destroyed in the fire. It was
about 3:30 a.m. when police Lieutenant Rowland, who was trying doors in
the business section, spotted flames leaping from the roof adjoining the
chimney. The fire truck, recently purchased police car, and
a car used by the Water and Sewer Department, were taken out of the
building. Only a police motorcycle burned. The fire spread
so quickly that just as the last car was being taken through the doors,
a part of the roof and two steel cells on a balcony over the door
plummeted, blocking further entrance to the front of the building.
Despite assistance from Montclair and Overbrook Fire Departments, the
building, with the exception of a rear annex, was completely
destroyed. It was said that the many books in the library burned
the longest.
Dorothy Davenport Lang, who lived
nearby on South Prospect Street, had a vivid recollection of that
fateful morning in early January. "I remember the strong wind
that night, the covers of burning books blowing up the street and my
father climbing on the roof with buckets of water, just in case."
Of the 5,000 library books
accumulated over a thirty year period, the only ones saved were those in
circulation which amounted to about 325. Even though most of the
loss was covered by insurance, the Library Board virtually had to start
from the beginning in replenishing its shelves. Finally, on September 7,
1923, the new library building was opened, and thus a new era began.
Nearly seventy years have passed
since the Library opened the doors of the original portion of its
present building and a century since its founding. Many milestones
have been passed along the way - too many to be included in this brief
history. How pleased and surprised Anna DeGolier would be if she
could see and visit the library today.
Robert L Williams
