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The Development of Literary Activities and Library Services in Yorkville, Illinois from 1964-1915 Mary Faith Thomas In 1967, I sat on a wooden child's chair, pulled up close to a low table in the Yorkville Public Library, overlooking Rt. 47. Edward, my blond, curly-headed preschooler, played contentedly by my side. Grace Fisher, president of the Yorkville Public Library Board and active member of the Yorkville Woman's Club, sat opposite me. What was I doing here? What was I thinking? Two weeks earlier, I had mentioned to a friend that I was interested in volunteering in this quaint little library, maybe three or four hours per week. Now I, a former elementary teacher, principal of the Methodist Primary School in Karachi, Pakistan, and a professional Girl Scout, was being interviewed for the librarian's position. Two weeks later I was hired. Sally, a mother and homemaker, typed catalog cards and processed new books in the evening. Debbie Coleman, a high school page, jacketed books and shelved library materials, books on the main floor and back issues of magazines in a dark, damp basement. In 1993, Debbie Coleman Smith, mother of three and an elementary school teacher, became director of the Robert W. Rowe Public Library in Sheridan, Illinois. My primary responsibilities that first year were to finish typing author, title and subject cards for the non-fiction collection; select a variety of books within the $1,200 materials budget; and, develop some programs for children. Thus began my fourth career, that would span 22 years at the Yorkville Public Library. Although I reported to a nine-member board, I was also accountable to the entire Woman's Club membership, who had worked tirelessly in the library for 50 years. There were also many patrons who kept me on my toes as well. Shortly after my arrival in fall 1967, Mabel, with a twinkle in her eye, whispered in my ear, "You know, I've read almost every book in here. You'll have to work hard to keep me in reading materials." Lydia would call to reserve the latest love stories. Her husband, a retired judge, would arrive within the half hour, cigar clenched precariously between his teeth, to check our Lydia's books. "Mrs. Thomas, I don't know how Lydia can read such trash. The real stories are those by the likes of Zane Gray. They have action. They're believable." Jessie, another Woman's Club member, sometimes visited the library two or three times a week. Before making her selections, she would straighten the shelves and admonish me if the books were not lined up at the edge of each shelf. Ron, lifetime educator, extolled the value of books and reading. Grace Fisher, studied library law, attended local and regional meetings on collection development, funding and the formation of Illinois library systems. Vincent, a very wise, faithful friend and co-camp counselor with me for Vacation Bible School, once said, "The quality of a community shows up in the heritage which it leaves...It is the heritage that gives strength to the young; not buildings or things that money will buy." During those 22 years, the little 22 x 40 sq. ft. wooden building where I began was torn down to accommodate expansion of the Yorkville National Bank. The Anderson Building, located at the southeast corner of the Fox River bridge on Rt. 47, became the library's second home. It, too, was razed, to make room for a wider bridge. The library's third home was built with funds from the State of Illinois' Functional Replacement Program on 2.5 acres of property that had once been a part of the Illinois State Game Farm. A loft was added a short time later with a $35,000 gift, and countless volunteer hours of painting, staining and moving of furniture and equipment were provided by the Friends of the Library. Many community leaders, the W.C.T.U., the Yorkville Woman's Club, the Library Board of Trustees, the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and the Friends of the Library worked hard and long over the years for a fine library, gift to all who love books and believe in the value of reading. This historical presentation is on behalf and in honor of all who gave so willingly and enthusiastically over the years. 36 In this study, the development of literary activities and library services in Yorkville between 1864 and 1915 are explored. Although Yorkville was laid out in 1836 by Rulief S. Duryea, very little information is available to the student of library history before 1864, when the Kendall County Record, a weekly newspaper, was first published by John Redman Marshall, who was editor from 1864 to 1914. The newspaper continues to be published in the same brick building, built in 1864, now converted to two stories. Other sources used include the minutes from the Yorkville and Bristol Reading Room Association and the Yorkville Woman's Club, shares from the Yorkville and Bristol Reading Room Association and a letter dated 1895. I. Early History of Yorkville and Bristol From 1864-1957, two communities comprised what is now called Yorkville - Bristol, or that part lying north of the Fox River, and Yorkville, that part lying south of the river. The Bristol area had always been wet and so endured a variety of nicknames, "Slough Grass," "Pond Lilly," "Bull Bush," and "Muskrat Houseland." Nevertheless, it contained a park, the Yorkville High School, a mill, Elmwood Cemetery, the Kendall County Fairgrounds, which later became the Glen D. Palmer State Game Farm, and just recently the site of a new high school, two churches, the First Congregational Church, which became the Yorkville Congregational Church, and the Bristol Baptist Church, which became part of the Yorkville Congregational Church. This beautiful, old structure is now owned by the Kendall County Historical Society. It is known as the Chapel On the Green. When Yorkville became the first county seat and the railroad came through south of the river, the post office and most of the businesses moved to Yorkville. Yorkville was given its name by the early residents who came from New York state. The town was the site of the county seat from 1841-1845, when it was moved to Oswego. In 1862, Kendall County citizens voted to have the court house returned to Yorkville. A tax was implemented to build a new structure. All the records were moved back to Yorkville on May 23, 1864, with "...five or six double teams..." When Duryea opened the first store with James S. Cornell, the town began to grow. In 1870, the town's prosperity was further enhanced by the arrival of the CB & Q Railroad, then known as the Fox River Branch of the Aurora, Oswego and Ottawa Railroad. Yorkville was the site of the Knickerbocker Ice Company, Black's Paper Mill, a pickle factory and a button factory. There was also a theater and union hall, where many educational, literary and musical programs were presented. By 1878, the Women's Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.) Reading Room began to play an important role in the social and cultural development of the community, as well as becoming the focal point for the temperance cause for 20 years. II. Literary Activities and Library Beginnings, 1864-1878 Lyceums, Atheneums, and Literary Societies As early as 1867, when Mr. W. W. Coy became the chairman of the first mentioned lyceum, and 1868, when a literary society was formed in Bristol and Yorkville for the winter months, area residents participated in a variety of literary activities, declamations, select readings, essays, debates, music and lectures, which contributed significantly to the social and cultural aura of the two communities. The American lyceum was founded by Josiah Holbrook, a Yale College graduate in the early 19th century. In the American Journal of Education, 1826, Holbrook describes the lyceum as a "society for mutual education" (dedicated) "to procure for youths an economical and practical education, and to diffuse rational and useful information through the community generally," (as well as) "to apply the sciences and the various branches of education to the domestic and the useful arts, and to all the common purposes of life." The basic form of the lyceum was the lecture, frequently presented with visual aids. Lecturers included such prominent people as Daniel Webster, Henry David Thoreau, Charles Dickens and Susan B. Anthony. Several of Ralph Waldo Emerson's essays were originally written as lyceum lectures. Atheneum (Athenaeum) was the general name applied to all temples in ancient Greece dedicated to Athenea. In 135 A.D., the Roman Emperor Hadrian founded an institute of learning, which flourished until the 400s. Later, it became a popular title for literary journals and as a name for literary and scientific clubs. The Chautauqua Movement was founded by John H. Vincent, Secretary of the Methodist Sunday School, and later Bishop of the Methodist Church, and Lewis Miller, a businessman interested in church affairs. Originally designed to train Sunday school teachers of all denominations, it was extended to include lectures, discussions and home readings, similar to the lyceum movement. Reasons for the lyceum, atheneums and literary societies were stated in the Kendall County Record many times over as "a power in the community," "for 37 mutual improvement in elocution, composition, and debate,... (for) calling young men away from the four enticing fiery halls that we see by our doorsteps...," to "make a pleasant evening for the young people during the winter," "to renew the youth of the aged, while putting the youth and children in a position to acquire social graces under adult supervision," to provide evenings of entertainment. A few of the Yorkville, Bristol and Kendall County groups elected officers and lasted for years, the Kendall Literature and Social Club, the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, and the North Side Literary Society. The meetings of the Kendall Literature and Social Club consisted of the usual recitations, reading and music, followed by progressive games, whereas the Chautauqua and North Side groups patterned their meetings after the Chautauqua system of education. The Chautauqua and Literary and Scientific Circle (C.L.S.C.), organized in 1882, based its study on a four year plan of home reading in English, American, European and classical history and literature. The plan was considered the first basic program of coordinated instruction on a national level for men and women in the United States. A monthly magazine, the Chautauquan, supplemented the readings with articles on yearly themes, discussion questions, bibliographies, literary extracts, inspirational pieces and news. Those successfully completing the four-year course were awarded diplomas. Enrollment went from 7,000 in 1878 to 60,000 by the turn of the century. According to the Yorkville Circle's announcement of 1884, the group would meet every Monday evening during the school year, beginning in October. In 1888,150 enthusiastic Chautauquans and friends gathered for a picnic, at which time they expounded the advantages of the Chautauquan movement. School and Sunday School Libraries What little mention is made of libraries in schools and sunday schools indicates that the collections were scattered and weak. In 1875, the report of school libraries showed that Bristol had two districts with libraries containing 226 volumes; Kendall had three districts with 140 volumes. The proceeds from a school exhibition at Bristol Station were to be applied toward the purchase of Chamber's Encyclopedia. In 1891, entertainment at Union Hall was for the library fund of the Yorkville schools. It was the intention to create a nucleus for a scientific and literary library, eventually adding "philosophical and chemical apparatus." In 1896, a box social was planned to raise money for getting libraries in all the Kendall County schools. Thirty-one volumes were available by combining the Pupil's Reading List of 1895-96 with 18 books and the 1894 list with 13 books for $8. Despite this effort, the County Superintendent of Schools was cautious. He felt that no child should be allowed to take the books from the shelves or select books at any time. "Children would become devourers of books, not careful readers." At the Kendall County Sunday School Convention of 1874, it was reported that there were 3,596 volumes in 19 Sunday school libraries. The following year this figure had dropped to 2,317 volumes. Twenty-five years later. Rev. S. W. Meek of the Yorkville Congregational Church suggested to the editor of The Record, that the three sunday school libraries and the public schools combine their collections into one, making the central collection large enough to be of some value and service. Organizations for Preservation, Betterment and Improvement Several groups were organized for the purpose of preserving bettering, and improving the community through lectures and courses, the Yorkville Historical Society, the "University of the Traveling Library," and the Yorkville Business Men's Club. Lectures and courses filled many fall and winter evenings, and, weather permitting drew large audiences. The Yorkville Historical Society offered 16 free lectures on the Civil War Period their first winter. The second winter's topics included the ethnology, history, biography, and politics of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. These lectures were free to students; adults were charged 10 cents for the purpose of replenishing the Union Library of the two villages. Eleven lectures were presented the third winter. Mr. M. L. Ashem, from Des Moines, Iowa, spent ten days in Yorkville during January, 1898, attempting to interest the people in the "University of the Traveling Library." One thousand good books would be sent in sections of fifty to a town. After one section had been completed, they were exchanged for another. By March, section 12, devoted to Mexico, had been placed with the librarian, A. P. Hill. Section 7, devoted to Spain, was received in July. The Yorkville Business Men's Club was formed for business and pleasure at the start of the new century. It was to "...give the members a place to go of an evening, a place to sit down and read the daily papers, a periodical, a book..." The large hall and adjoining rooms, rented from Capt. F. M. Hobbs on the second story of the Hobbs block, were furnished with tables, chairs, rugs, pictures, books and newspapers. According to The Record, the club's members spent very little time reading, but many enjoyable hours were spent playing pool and billiards; entertaining the ladies one night a month, and entertaining visitors to the community. In 1907, a special fund was set up for an 38 advertising campaign to attract Chicago people to Yorkville during the summer. In 1912 and 1913, they assumed responsibility for the series of winter entertainments. Two short-lived, but entertaining groups, which may have made some contribution to the establishment of a library in Yorkville-Bristol, appeared in 1868, the Fox River B.B.C., whose full name is not mentioned, and the Fox River Library Association. At a meeting of the latter group on May 15, 1868, $65 was collected with the intent to establish the organization on a permanent basis. A committee of four thought a Reading Room, plus a nucleus for a circulating library, could be realized for $500. The Kendall County Bank and the Union Library Association In February, 1871, the community's first bank, the Kendall County Bank, was opened. In December of that year, a meeting was held to organize the Union Library Association. By the first of the new year, John W. Cass of the Sandwich Manufacturing Company had been elected president. A code of by-laws was adopted and a lecture series was planned. In March, the Union Library Association received 200 books. Included were Prescott's story of Fredinand and Isabella and the Conquest of Mexico, Bancroft's History of the United States (9 volumes), Hume's and Macauley's History of England (10 volumes), Gibbon's Rome, Millman's History of the Jews, Thaddeus of Warsaw and The Children of the Abby, Gulliver's Travels, Robinson Crusoe, Arabian Nights, and Wayne Reid's works for youth. Also included were Dickens, Marrvatt, Wilkie Collins, Muehlbach, Miss Holmes, Miss Haeland, Mrs. Stowe, Winthrop, Buliver and Irving. In May, the library was moved to the Kendall County Bank, and Mr. John Cass was elected librarian. By the annual meeting in 1873, members were told to pay their dues to acting librarian M. E. Cornell, one of the directors of the association. He is also mentioned in the 1876 report, Public Libraries in the United States of America. Few comments remain concerning this collection. J. R. Marshall of The Record said: The books committee in selecting the new addition to the Union Library did not take into consideration the number of patrons and members who like light literature, viz: novels, tales, et, of more recent date than Mrs. Edgeworth's tales. These selections are good but heavy; better for a private library at home than a circulating library. The tone is too elevated for the masses. Rev. Haseltine wrote several articles for The Record under the heading "Books." He placed considerable importance on studying useful books during one's lifetime. ...Our country is eminently a reading country. In our village and its environs, judging from a short acquaintance, and from a slight examination of that well selected library at our County Bank, we are a reading people. According to Bateman, the library remained at the Kendall County Bank until 1878, when the W.C.T.U. Reading Room was built and began to play an important role in the social and cultural development of the community. The Union Library Association's book collection was moved to the Reading Room that same year. There is no further mention of the Union Library Association, although two members, Milton E. Cornell and Dr. A. J. Redding, became directors of the stockholders group of the Red Ribbon Club, called the Yorkville and Bristol Reading Room Association. The Union Library Association was born when there was an expressed need for books and a library, if for no other reason than to keep the men out of the saloons and the youth out of trouble. The young man, with unoccupied winters, who does not devote time to reading useful books, or what is better, studying in school or out, books which will teach him how to read and how to use what he gets by reading, neglects his own welfare to a criminal degree, and if he has no ordinary sense, will not too late regret, to his dying day his suicidal course. III. The W.C.T.U. Reading Room, 1878-1915 Temperance Development in Yorkville Perhaps the most colorful segment of the history of library development in Yorkville and Bristol, encompasses and parallels the growth of the temperance movement, which promoted reform, purity, and goodness through the formation of Red, White, and Blue Ribbon Clubs. Men signing the temperance pledge were eligible to "put on" the red ribbon, signifying the blood within that would henceforth be untarnished; the women wore white, representing loving hearts. The blue ribbon, worn by the children, represented the blue sky above. As early as 1865, the Yorkville Division of the Sons of Temperance were meeting weekly at the Yorkville schoolhouse. In March, 1878, Mrs. D. A. Aldrich (Galva) of Millington lectured on Temperance and woman's work to a large audience at Union Hall in Yorkville. A total of 185 men signed the pledge and put on the red ribbon. 39 Tie on the red ribbon, let it wave in the sun, Proclaim to the world that the victory's won; Your wife will be happy, your children with glee, Will shout hallelujah, our father is free... About 500 children joined the Blue Ribbon Club, and 60 women organized the White Ribbon Club after an address by Dr. Whitney at the Methodist Church. Three officers, Mrs. Jas. A. Godard, Mrs. A. T. Seely and Mrs. M. E. Cornell, had husbands who were directors of the Union Library Association. Building of the Reading Room At the first meeting of the Red Ribbon Club in May 1878, President M. E. Cornell appointed a committee comprised of E. K. Green, P. A. Morton, and William Smith to find a place to establish a reading room. Mr. Cornell had been one of the directors of the Union Library Association. The committee explored two possibilities, putting up a building for $350 or moving a building from Fox to Yorkville. If expenses did not exceed $200, they were to pay the moving expenses and rent the building for one year. One month later, the committee decided to build. Enough subscriptions were already in hand to put up the building and furnish it. The White Ribbon and Blue Ribbon Clubs would do their share with expenses. A building committee of three, Wm. Smith, A. J. Cornell and P. C. Dearborn,"were instructed to prepare a careful estimate of a building 60 ft. long, tin roof, two stories high to be built on lot owned by G. R. Lee." At another meeting: Moved and carried that an assessment of 50 percent of the amount of stock subscribed for building on cash subscriptions be made. Moved and carried that the stockholders who have subscribed labor and materials be assessed 100 cts on the dollar to be collected by the building committee, as fast as wanted. Moved and carried that the building committee, be instructed to get plans and figures for a building 22 ft. wide, 40 ft. long, one story high, 12 ft. ceiling, brick pieces for foundation, sq. front Double Doors, single door in rear, Ceiled overhead, wainscot walls, Plastered one chimney sheating and paper pitch and shingle roof...Four light windows hung with weights painted white.
Moved and carried that the president and secretary obtain a lease of lot south of bank (now the Yorkville National Bank) in their own names until the association can legally do so. On June 14,1878, the Red, White and Blue Ribbon Clubs joined forces to dedicate the reading room. The exterior dimensions of both the Yorkville and Bristol Reading Room Association and the building committee of the Red Ribbon Club were identical. The new hall is 22 x 40 feet in area, 11 feet to the ceiling; has an eight foot platform across the rear end of the building, overlooking the little stream, the green sward and under the big walnut shade, and this is going to be a mighty cozy place to sit hot summer afternoons and read and think and doze. It is a pretty building, a well-lighted room, and in every way a credit to the builder... The Reading Room Association showed that all but $61 of the $700 had been paid; the Red Ribbon Club showed $60 outstanding. George Woolford, a prominent temperance speaker from Pontiac, donated $5 and called for subscriptions to get the hall out of debt. A total of $90 was collected. Approximately 100 children were served supper at three tables running the length of the hall. After they had been put to bed, the adults filled Union Hall to listen to George Woolford before going to the club room for supper. "Twice were the tables filled, and it was a happy crowd..." A toast by F. A. Morton was given to "Our Building." "May the doors ever stand ajar, and may it ever be a beacon, sending rays of hope to the fallen." Following the dedication, from June 20 - July 10, the Yorkville and Bristol Reading Room Association sold shares at $5 each. The numbering on the shares that remain, suggest that many more were sold. There are 15 certificates totaling 36 shares, or $180. They read as follows: This Certifies that__________is holder of ___ shares in the Capital Stock of the Yorkville and Bristol reading Room Association, transferable by endorsement on this certificate, and entry of the same in the Secretary's book. In witness whereof this certificate is signed by the President and countersigned by the Secretary of this Association this ___ day of __78, at Yorkville, Ill. In August 1878, the White Ribbon Club held a New England Sociable at the Reading Room. ...There was a perfect crush in the club room and a large overflow to the sidewalk. The fame of our beautiful room has gone abroad, and friends from Sandwich, Piano, Bristol Station, Fox Pavillion and vicinity were in attendance.... On August 6,1880, the women of the White Ribbon Club reorganized to become an auxiliary to the State
and National Work of the W.C.T.U. In August 1883, the W.C.T.U. became incorporated, having received papers from Springfield. The last minutes of the stockholders of the Reading Room Association are dated August 9, 1883. In 1889, the proceeds from the lectures offered by the Yorkville Historical Society were to be used to replenish the "union library of these villages." In 1892, stockholders of the Red Ribbon association of Yorkville, The Yorkville and Bristol Reading Room Association donated their shares to the W.C.T.U. to aid the Union in their efforts to obtain control of the building. The lot beneath the building had been purchased for $150 in 1883. Shares could also be sold to the W.C.T.U., by communicating with the corresponding secretary, Miss Roxanna Williams. Of the previously mentioned stocks, 10 were transferred to the W.C.T.U.; two were turned over in 1895. Eight do not indicate a transfer date. Two writings denote a willingness of the stockholders to complete such a transfer. As a slight token of my esteem and regard for the W.C.T.U. I hereby assign, transfer and set over unto it the written certificate. Given under my hand and seal this 2nd day of February A.D. 1895. Randall Cassem (Seal) A letter dated Feb. 6,1895, to Mrs. M. E. Cornell, from Wm. W. Dixon, Dixon Bros., Grocers and Tea Dealers, 325 S. Western Avenue and 1136 W. Harrison Street, Chicago, shows cooperation. In answer to yours of the 5th inst' would say that I cheerfully relinquish all my rights in the building, commonly known as the "Yorkville Reading Room," in favor of the Yorkville W.C.T.U.... Activities and Events at the Reading Room The activities and events held at the W.C.T.U. Reading Room from 1878 -1915 were colorful and varied. The Red and White Ribbon Clubs, and later, the W.C.T.U., arranged many of these cultural and social events, but there were other groups as well that used the Reading Room. Following are some of the more unusual or colorful activities: • Oyster Supper sponsored by the Red Ribbon Club. • Court Case: Circuit Court, Criminal Docket, March Term, People vs. Deacon M. Elleroc (larceny). "On account of the bad atmosphere pervading the Court, the above case will be tried in the Reading Room....
• Debate: "Is foreign immigration beneficial to the American people at the present time?" • Jug Sociable sponsored by the W.C.T.U. Some time before this event, jugs had been distributed to members. On this occasion, approximately 50 jugs were broken, with many more still out. The netted $42. The entertainment closed with lemonade and ice cream, which netted $18. • Tenth anniversary celebration of the Reading Room on June 8, 1888. Gospel singing, prayers, recitations, a Male Quartet, strawberries, ice cream, lemonade and cake. • Easter Sociables, sponsored by the W.C.T.U., offered "fancy articles and cards for sale." Tea was served between 5 and 9 upon the European plan. • In 1893, 40 young men met at the Reading Room to form a Young Men's Christian Association. For several years thereafter, they met every Sunday afternoon for bible study. In 1895, the W.C.T.U. and the Y.M.C.A. members made improvements on the room. "The W.C.T.U. had put a large sign up in front of the reading room; it would be complete if the Y.M.C.A. emblem, the star, was hanging beneath it." • Yorkville Woman's Club held their first meeting at the Reading Room on Oct. 14, 1911. There could have been 182 members in attendance that day. By the following spring, there were 235 members who referred to the Reading Room as the "club rooms." The Reading Room as a Library Despite the countless social and cultural activities that took place at the W.C.T.U. Reading Room, and the many chairs that were borrowed from the room for functions elsewhere, there were newspapers, periodicals and books for the enjoyment of all. It was particularly useful for gentlemen attending court to pass some time in the quiet room, and the women "...were glad to see a number of boys and young men in the room, some playing games, others reading...." The Reading Room was "...furnished with piano, tables, chairs, hard-coal burner, clock, pictures and a variety of papers and magazines." The Advance Publishing Company sent an engraving, "Christ before Pilate," which was framed and hung on the wall. Twenty-two dollars was spent for a year's supply of reading materials, including one Chicago daily and several weekly and monthly periodicals. The books from the Union Library Association had been moved to the Reading Room when it was opened in 1878. In 1888, a committee of local temperance workers met to select the literature for the coming year, The National Tribune, The Advance, The Standard, Union 41 Signal, Youth's Companion, Harper's Weekly, Daily Inter Ocean, Northwest Christian Advocate, Young Crusaders, plus all local papers donated. Of the nine listed in 1888, six remained 10 years later: The National Tribune, Daily Inter Ocean, and Young Crusaders, were replaced by Harper's Round Table, Young Men's Era, Scientific American, The Liver, Patrol, Watch Tower and Men. Newspapers included the Kendall County Record, the Chicago Daily Record and the Aurora Herald Express. By 1899, only six titles remained: Harper's Weekly, Harper's Round Table, Scientific American, the Christian Herald, Success, and Youth's Companion. Newspapers and periodicals were for the working man. All subjects were covered, political, historical, commercial and financial, educational, health and pleasure, gossip and trivia, sports, legal, criminal, literature, religion, railroads, trolley lines, theatrical and musical. In regard to newspapers and magazines, The Record stated, "...there is no amusement as cheap reading, and no entertainment as lasting." In the report, Public Libraries of the United States of America, William C. Todd said: A newspaper returns to (a living question) day after day, meets difficulties, presents new arguments and new facts as they are developed, and influences the minds of its readers by persistency if not by reason.... IV. The Yorkville Woman's Club and the Public Library, 1915
Although the Reading Room had a good collection of standard works, there were few additions to the collection and no income for replacements. Monies from many entertainments and events bought new curtains, shades and files for the papers to keep them from being taken from the room. Income ($10) from an 1889 sociable was used to replenish the literature table. Twelve dollars from the Chrysanthemum Show went for the care of the room during the winter. The following year, an Umbrella Sociable helped to pay the coal bill. There is no mention of the Reading Room ever closing during the winter months; however, two May issues of The Record, in 1899 and 1903, carried an announcement that "the Yorkville Reading Room has again been opened." Except for annual and occasional money raising events, such as Valentine and Easter card sales, plant sales, Chrysanthemum Shows, dinner on Election day and one ice cream social sponsored by the Y.M.C.A., the room seemed to be used exclusively by the county executive committee of the W.C.T.U. and by the Yorkville W.C.T.U. for weekly meetings during the summer. The women were disturbed on several occasions. The guest register was "fearfully blemished by vulgar, uncouth and fictitious names," and political posters were placed in the front windows. "Such liberties are not allowed with the Reading Room." J. R. Marshall made the following comment: Some of the boys of Yorkville want a place where they can meet of an evening and talk over their affairs and the day's doings. The store-keepers do not want them to hold caucusses in their stores, and the post office is not a suitable place. Why cannot the reading room be fixed up for them and someone to take charge to preserve the necessary proprieties? The room is not used much.... When the Reading Room opened in 1899, the W.C.T.U. extended a special invitation to younger men. By 1900, there were fewer businesses in Yorkville and the Y.M.C.A., which had been formed at the Reading Room in 1893, no longer met. J. R. Marshall again commented: It has been proposed that a public library be established in Yorkville with headquarters in the Reading Room ... there is a natural desire for the young fellows to get together after supper and talk of the day's doings, and Yorkville seems to have no room for such a purpose. Mr. Marshall speaks of a public library, but emphasizes the need for a gathering place for the young men. In response, the Rev. S. W. Meek speaks of a public library as being a vital, educating force in the community. There are several reasons that make an effort for a public library in our town at once feasible and desirable. We have a building all ready and paid for, centrally located, and in all respects as good as we could wish. The W.C.T.U. Reading Room building. The securing of a suitable building is often the first and greatest difficulty in the starting of such an enterprise.... There is wealth enough here to have a public library if we only appreciated its value to the community, as an attraction, and an educating force.... No one, who has not lived near a great public library, can have any idea of what a convenience and benefit to the community it is.... The W.C.T.U. Reading Room was born at the height of the temperance cause, when every possible means was used to rid Kendall County of the evils of liquor and saloons. But, the doors of the Reading Room no longer stood ajar. It no longer served as a beacon, sending rays of hope to the fallen. "After 20 years or more 42 of service, the library ceased to be of any importance as a social and literary factor in the community." In 1901, the Reading Room received a new roof. In 1908, it was painted, both inside and out. In 1911, the W.C.T.U. redecorated and equipped it with electric lights and a furnace for use by the newly organized Yorkville Woman's Club twice a month. In June, 1915, a committee was appointed by the president of the Yorkville Woman's Club to confer with a committee of the W.C.T.U. concerning a library home. The Woman's Club have at last reached an important period in their work and will now ask for a donation of a book or books and money from any person...who will kindly give toward the new library. On Dec. 4, 1915, the Yorkville Woman's Club opened the Yorkville Public Library in the former W.C.T.U. Reading Room. The Yorkville Public Library will be formally opened on Saturday, Dec. 4, and will be open both afternoon and evening. Thereafter, it will be open to the public every Wednesday and everybody is welcome. Good reading matter will be on the tables and anyone will be welcome to read any of the magazines...There are over 500 volumes in the library at the present...no town the size of Yorkville should be without a good library. So began 50 very fruitful and interesting years of library service, until 1965 when the library and its contents were turned over to the City of Yorkville, thereby assuring future generations adequate library service through taxation.
*Mary Faith Thomas, Director, Shorewood-Troy Public Library District, and former Director, Yorkville Public Library. The article was prepared as a presentation for the 1996 Illinois History Symposium sponsored by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. 43 Directory, Illinois State Library
(Printed by the Authority of the State of Illinois) (X701097-5,800-3-97) Opinions expressed in signed articles are not necessarily those of the editors or the Illinois State Library
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