of
Muscatine County Iowa
1911
| History of Muscatine County Iowa 1911 | |
Source: History of Muscatine County Iowa, Volume I, 1911, pages 436-438
LOOKING UPWARD. Professor E. E. Sparks, of the University of Chicago, visited Muscatine in December, 1896, and meeting several of the representative citizens, expressed a desire to deliver a course of lectures. A meeting was called and in the old Congregational church Professor Sparks presented his work and told the little gathering of about one hundred what would be profitable to them should they decide to have the course, and to gather together a small collection of books to use for reference in the study. Dr. Morgridge presided at the meeting and invited discussion and opinions upon the topic. Thereupon Professor Sparks was engaged to give a season course of lectures and a committee consisting of Dr. Myrick, Mrs. Anna C. Kennedy and Professor G. J. Roberts was appointed to make a canvass for subscribers and report at a future meeting a plan of organization. January 9, 1897, another meeting was held in the Y. M. C. A. rooms, at which Professor Sparks was present, and at a subsequent meeting, January 13th, at the high school building, Professor Sparks gave the first of the series of his lectures, his subject being, "Men Who Made the Nation." There were about one hundred present and Professor E. F. Schall presided. This may be said to have been the inception of the public library in Muscatine, for at a meeting held January 21st, a constitution was adopted and the first directors chosen were Professor F. M. Witter, Mrs. Peter Jackson, Mrs. B. E. Lilly, Mrs. Anna Lee Mahin, G. M. Titus, Rev. Arthur Fowler, Mrs. E. L. Jayne, Professor G. J. Roberts, Z. H. Hutchinson, Professor E. F. Schall, Professor J. H. Lukens, Mrs. Emma Mahin, Mrs. Anna C. Kennedy, Dr. G. O. Morgridge and Dr. A. E. Myrick. The first officers were: G. M. Titus, president; Professor E. F. Schall, vice president; Dr. A. E. Myrick, secretary; W. E. Bliven, treasurer; Mrs. Emma Mahin, librarian.
A clause in the constitution states that the object of the association shall be to foster systematic reading and study, to sustain university extension and other lectures, to unify and centralize the literary and student elements and to promote the establishment of a public library in this city. The movement increased in interest as was witnessed by the attendance of two hundred at the next lecture and two hundred and forty at the following one. The first year, however, did not prove very successful financially. The committee as appointed did efficient service, however, and with three exceptions existed at the time of its dissolution as at first constituted. Vacancies on the committee that did occur were filled by the appointment of J. G. Van Lent, Irving B. Richman and P. M. Musser. Of course those who had the establishment of a library at heart experienced many discouragements, but the movement grew as time passed and books were added which formed the nucleus of the present splendid library.
The first books were kept in a room in the high school building under the care of Mrs. E. L. Mahin, the present librarian, and were transferred to the present home of the library. On Friday evening, December 20, 1901, the P. M. Musser library building, erected at a cost of nearly $50,000, the gift of P. M. Musser, one of the oldest citizens of Muscatine, was formally dedicated and by the donor transferred to the city. In spite of the severe cold weather at the time, the crowd was so large that the exercises were held in the large Methodist church on the opposite side of the avenue. Afterward the building was thrown open for inspection and until a late hour crowds of interested and happy people passed its doors and admired its beauty.
At the dedicatory exercises the best part of the program was when Senator George M. Titus introduced Muscatine's great benefactor, P. M. Musser. He referred to the Old Ladies' Home, which was purchased and donated by this same Mr. Musser, and finally enlarged on the donation of the beautiful library, on the nature of the gift, and then presented Mr. Musser to the audience. As the latter arose, the audience burst into applause, which attested the feeling of appreciation that the people of Muscatine felt toward him. In response to this expression of gratitude, Mr. Musser spoke as follows:
"Fellow Citizens: One and a half years ago I proposed to the citizens of Muscatine a library building to cost $25,000 to $30,000. I am glad tonight to surrender to the city council through the Honorable Mayor the title to the library building and grounds. I will let my fellow citizens judge whether I have kept my promise or not."
Mr. Musser was followed on the program by Mayor Barney Schmidt, who formally received the deed from Mr. Musser. Senator Titus, presiding at the exercises, then introduced various speakers and made many appropriate references. In speaking of Rev. T. A. Fowler, he brought out particularly the work of that gentleman in this community, both in the capacity of a pastor, the re-building of the church, and his great work for the library. Among the many prominent men of the state who graced this occasion were Johnson Brigham, who is the Iowa state librarian, and Judge Horace E. Deemer, a former Muscatine boy and at this writing (1911) a prominent candidate for United States senator.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING. The library building is practically 70 feet square and two stories in height, with a basement. The substructure is of portage red sandstone and the roof of tile. The windows in the peristyle are all of cathedral glass face of an ornate oval form and the large one in the west, a perfect square, giving an effect within of perpetual sunshine. The general reading, delivery, childrens, stack and trustees' rooms are furnished with oak tables and chairs and are finished in oak. The upper story contains a lecture room, art gallery and trustees' room. The lecture room is seated with opera chairs. In the basement is a large apartment for the storage of books, magazines and papers, among the lot being a complete file of the Muscatine Journal's first issue as the Bloomington Herald in 1840. It is a credit to the Journal, and Muscatine citizens are proud of it.
The city contributes a two mill tax annually toward the support of this most worthy institution, which amounts yearly to about $4,500, and the special funds from all other sources amount to about $400 a year. The annual report of Mrs. Mahin, the librarian, for 1910 shows an unexpended balance of $1,004, and an expenditure of $1,500 for an addition to the building on the south side, of two rooms for office purposes. In the year 1910 there were 731 new books purchased, 37 donated and 114 condemned. The total number of books in the library at the beginning of the year was 12,450, and the total circulation 35,898. The total receipts were $7,444.18 and the expenditures, including the $1,500 for the new addition, were $6,440.
The members of the present board of trustees are as follows: C. R. Musser, Mrs. Ella Jayne, J. F. Devitt, E. F. Underwood, S. G. Stein, Mrs. E. L. Mahin, I. B. Richman, J. G. Van Lent. The officers are: G. M. Titus, president; Mrs. Ella Jayne, vice president; J. G. Van Lent, secretary; Mrs. E. L. Mahin, librarian.
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