Our town library was very small. But it was big in my world, in Slatington, circa 1967. If I think real hard, I can still smell the delightful fragrance emanating from the stacks of old books. Maybe it is because of the small space. Maybe it is because most of the books were very old. Maybe it is because I want, so badly, to be back there, sitting in our library on a cold winter’s night…surrounded by the world explored in books!
It used to be a post office, but was vacant for many years. There was an apartment upstairs. My friend Denny Rauch lived there. To get in his apartment you had to climb a fire escape and then climb through his kitchen window! I digress. Our library was in an old post office. It was on Main Street between Second And Dowell Streets. If you looked out the front window you could see Slatington’s famous Fireman Statue, at that time just silver.
Inside, there were two desks. One was to return books. The other was to check out books. Mrs. Davies, the head librarian, manned one of the desks. Mrs. Dettmer usually manned the other. There were two tables for reading or doing research. Actually, though, those tables were more for hanging out with friends and trying to sit next to a girl you liked. They say , today, the produce section of a grocery store is the best place to find your true love. Back then, it was the library. We would have such a good time, and only if we got rowdy did we get a shh!!! from Mrs. Davies. If you got lucky, at closing time, it only meant you got to walk a girl home. Good times!
I loved the card catalog and the Dewey Decimal System. Dewey must have been a most creative man! Remember checkout? A little pouch on the inside back cover of the book held a pink card. When you checked out a book, the librarian would use a rubber stamp to stamp on the due date. Don’t be late returning it!! It may cost you a nickel!!
Whether getting a book or doing research or looking for girls, our library was such a personal place and an integral part of our lives. Our library moved to a bigger space about a block away. I was part of a book chain that moved the books to their new location. There is now an antique store in place of the old library. Very appropriate!
I am still a big reader and I use Parkland Library often. But I miss the charm of the old Slatington Library… and the smell of musty old books. I also miss being a teenager, but that is a whole other story. I am sure there is a book about that! You could find it in a library!!
A Semi-retired Kind of Life 