The Richness of a Free Library

In my last history blog, I wrote about the unique bookplate found inside every Fulton Library book. The plate proudly displays images that connect our city to the Native American tribes who considered this area sacred. Researching the origins of that bookplate got me thinking about the history of our library, still one of the few places in town that doesn’t cost a penny to visit.

That’s exactly what Andrew Carnegie had in mind when he began funding the construction of libraries throughout the United States. One of the wealthiest people in our country’s history, Carnegie never forgot his humble beginnings. After emigrating from Scotland with his family in 1848, he worked his way up the ranks of the railroad business, aggressively amassing a 200 million dollar (worth 5.8 billion dollars today) fortune. Amazingly, Carnegie sold his successful enterprises and spent the rest of his life giving that wealth away. He did so most impressively by founding over 2,500 libraries in the late 1800s and early 1900s, one of them right here in Fulton.

Carnegie had a personal reason for establishing those libraries. When he arrived in America eager to learn, he found that a library’s accessibility offered him the resources necessary to educate himself and develop a successful business plan. Carnegie believed anyone should be able to do as he did, including immigrants, who needed to acquire cultural knowledge of their adopted country. Libraries could provide that information.

Those of us benefiting from our library in 2019 weren’t around when Fulton received Andrew Carnegie’s kindness. But Joyce Cook, who was Fulton Library’s director from 1987 until 2001, has researched those early years. Joyce shared it with us when she contributed to The Fulton Memoir Project in 2014. Her memoir also covered the library’s history before Mr. Carnegie’s philanthropy came our way. As Joyce explained, there already was a library in Fulton, though it was humble compared to the one Carnegie helped us build:

 “The first Fulton Public Library was in a long, narrow upstairs room over one of the stores on ‘The Dizzy Block,’ at 7 South First Street. The Library received its charter from the state government in 1895 and, by 1901, had about 4,000 books in that second floor reading room.  Those books were donated from the high school library and the library of Falley Seminary, a local private school.  Helen Emens was the librarian for many years.” 

Joyce explained that the first library board was composed of Fulton industry leaders and school administrators. After a few years, the board got word that Andrew Carnegie’s foundation was offering money for library construction. Hopes were high that patrons would soon have a brand new library until its board members learned they did not qualify for funding. Only established cities could apply for Carnegie’s support and in 1901 the area we call Fulton was still two towns separated by the Oswego River. A year later, the towns merged and one of the city of Fulton’s first major accomplishments was receiving $15,000 (over $430,000 today) by The Carnegie Foundation. Joyce described the location for the new library:

“The site was part of the old portage road, where boats off-loaded their cargo to get around the falls, then loaded it back on further down the Oswego River, north of the city.  Some of the stone was salvaged from a building onsite that housed canal workers and was used in the library’s foundation.  Marble, brick, and native stone were used for the walls and door and window surrounds.  The roof was slate. Inside were quartered-oak floors and woodwork, as is evident even today.”

By summer 1905, the city had laid the library’s cornerstone. The following spring, Mrs. Emens, still in charge of the library, oversaw the transfer of materials to the new building. A few weeks later, the first patrons walked through its doors.  They were welcomed to a spacious main floor, with a children’s section behind the main desk and a basement area used for storage and large group programs. (The upper floor—the mezzanine—was added in the early 1960s.) 

 After rereading Joyce’s memories of the library, I wanted to bring myself up to date on our city’s important resource. As a frequent visitor to the library, I know that today the children’s area takes up the entire basement (other than a small conference room) and the two main floors hold over 34,000 works of fiction, non-fiction and reference materials. The area behind the front desk is now devoted to computers. Along with newspapers and periodicals, a CD and DVD collection expand how we learn and are entertained by library materials.

 A visit to the library’s website turned up more: Under the heading “Services,” you’ll find copy and faxing information, as well as notices on new e-books. You’ll also find out that the Fulton branch is now part of a North Country Library System, which includes 65 other libraries in upstate New York. This vastly expands the number of books and other resources available to check out. We’ll never run out of good books to read!

 Elsewhere on the Library’s website you’ll learn about new classes being offered, its monthly newsletter, and links to other websites with Fulton history information. Patrons who stop in can spend hours browsing for just the right book or book-on-tape or a movie to enjoy on DVD. The newspapers and magazines are waiting to be read. All this, of course, without any cost.

Don’t you think Andrew Carnegie would be smiling down on the good use being made of his generous gift?

The Fulton Public Library’s main entrance first began welcoming us in 1906.

Inside Every Fulton Library Book

It’s probably no surprise that I’m a big fan of our public library. Not only because I’m involved with their Memoir Project, which helps Fultonians preserve recollections of our city, but also because I’m a regular library patron. I find it amazing that, in 2019, I can still visit the library and borrow books for free. Is there anything else in today’s money-obsessed world that offers such value?

Those of us who’ve been carrying stacks of Fulton Library books home for years know that when we open each one we’ll see a familiar image on its inside front cover: the library’s bookplate. You might not even notice it, since it’s been used to identify books that are part of our library’s collection for over 80 years, but, as I recently learned, the bookplate is pretty special.

Those familiar with Fulton history will understand why the bookplate celebrates our city’s strong ties to Native American culture. Among the images found on the plate are a Native American in full ceremonial dress, a tribesman navigating the Oswego River, several animals that were sacred to local tribes and a phrase in Native American dialect.

How did these specific images come to represent our library? I found the answer in an old issue of The Fulton Patriot. In an article about the bookplate, its creator, Henry Pelouze de Forest, described its origins.

Mr. de Forest, Fulton-born, was actually Dr. de Forest, and he’d had a successful career as a surgeon in New York City. But the good doctor never forgot his Fulton roots, and in 1930 he was asked to create the bookplate for his hometown’s thriving library. (According to de Forest, the creation of the plate was actually a combined effort of several Fultonians and its supporters.)

Along with his medical expertise, Dr. de Forest was also a historian and he wanted the tribute to his birthplace’s library to reflect its rich Native American heritage. De Forest was well aware that the area we know as Fulton was once a gathering place for Central New York tribes. He explained some of this history in the Patriot article:

“The Iroquois Nation or ‘People of the Long House,’ as they described themselves, consisted originally of five tribes…the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas and the Senecas….During the Revolution, the Oneidas were the only ones who took the part of the colonists and at the close of the war with England, to reward their Indian allies, [they were] granted…large tracts of land.” Some of that land would one day become the city of Fulton.

Living with those tribes was a Church of England priest, Father Joseph W. Smith, who wrote a book about the natives’ way of life, including traditions and legends passed down from generation to generation. Many of those stories revolved around the Oswego River, which tribes used for transportation and recreation. Dr. de Forest’s bookplate includes two paintings of our city’s mighty river: Indian Point and Pathfinder’s Island, by Fulton artist Darwin Styles, and painter Robert Orr’s portrayal of a Native American’s canoe trip over Fulton’s Oswego Falls.

Robert Orr’s artistry shows up on the bookplate again with his drawings of local tribes’ sacred animal totems: Turtle, Beaver, Heron, Eel, Bear, and Deer, all which once were found in the Fulton area. Orr drew them on a “wampum belt,” which were used by tribes as trade for needed supplies. De Forest included a second belt, known as “the Peace Belt,” showing the white man and the Indian clasping hands.

On the bookplate, the two belts meet at a photograph of an Iroquois in full dress. Dr. de Forest obtained the photo from a Mohawk with ties to Fulton named Os-Ke-Non-Ton, or “Running Deer.” Os-Ke-Non-Ton was a noted Native American singer who’d given concerts in the Fulton area, often on the shores of Lake Neatahwanta. (He was also credited with cutting the piece of birch bark used as background for the bookplate.)

In the Patriot article, de Forest noted the challenge of finding just the right words to complete his bookplate’s message.  He knew he wanted a phrase of original Onondaga language, but, being untrained in translation, he wasn’t sure how to obtain one.

“To find an educated man of today of the Onondaga race familiar with the two languages was by no means an easy task,” de Forest explained. “But finally, at the suggestion of Miss Evelyn Lee Messenger, former Fultonian, who has taken much personal interest in the perfection of the bookplate, I wrote to Dr. Arthur C. Parker [Director of Rochester’s Municipal Museum], a full-blooded Onondaga [who] gave me most cordial cooperation.”

Through Parker’s assistance, de Forest was able to find the ideal statement to forever link our library with its Native American roots: Ongwe oweh oadeh sigwa….deh weso sigwa neh ga-ya-dos-hah dio—The Iroquois Trail Is Long, But No Trail Is So Long As That Made By A Good Book.

All de Forest’s work to create his history-worthy bookplate would have been for naught if he hadn’t been able to find financial support for its production. As the Patriot article stated, it was through “the generous and public spirit of Mr. & Mrs. George Gaylord Chauncey, who donated 250 dollars,” that artists could be paid for their work. Also critical to its success were Jesse Anthony Morrill, who created the printing press template from which the bookplates were mass produced.  William Fraser Dickson, a New York City native who attended school at Fulton’s Falley Seminary, paid for the production of the first 2,000.

According to current Fulton Library staff, about 2,000 bookplates are affixed to new books each year. One by one, those books are borrowed from the library and keep us company for a few weeks in our homes. There, we Fultonians enjoy hours journeying on the long trail of what reading a good book offers us.

The Fulton Public Library’s bookplate, found inside every book in the library’s collection, has a rich history.

Extra! Extra! High School Newspapers!

In my last blog, I wrote about the interesting history that can be found in old newspapers. Today’s blog continues that theme and focuses on what I learned when I came across a 1937 issue of Fulton High School’s student newspaper. Aptly named “The Buzz,” the school’s four-page publication offers some clues about how things were for teenagers 80 years ago.

For starters, I was impressed with the number of students and faculty involved with the production of their monthly paper. Thirty-six young people created each issue of The Buzz, with leadership roles such as Editor-in-Chief (Emma Cortini), Associate Editors (Ann Mathews and James Reider), various Business and Advertising Editors and the all-important “Beat” Editors, including two for sports, four for the arts, and over a dozen roaming halls to get the news, or should I say, gossip. Two faculty members (Gladys Bonner and Earl Bateman) kept a watchful eye on the ambitious teens.

Also on The Buzz’s staff were a small army of “distributors” who sold the paper. Costing five cents (the equivalent of 85 cents today; still a bargain), the distributors had sales quotas to meet. Praise for 13 of them who outsold their target number earned them a front page acknowledgement.

Here’s more of what was considered newsworthy for Fulton High School students in 1937:

The January issue included a list of New Year’s resolutions, which the reporter noted had “some very odd ones.” Students resolved to “get to school on time, at least three times a week” or “buy only one soda a week (but accept all others given to me)” or “not to flirt with girls or boys, depending on who liked who.”

Speaking of flirting, what high school paper would be complete without a feature on current romances? The Buzz’s was called “Heart Squeezes” and the columnist (who chose to remain anonymous) cleverly turned his or her report into a poem:

“A little cupid strolled the hall,

with bow and arrow aimed,

and suddenly he heard a call,

that soon would make him famed.

He turned and saw without a doubt

the scene we’d like to tell about:

Arthur whispering in gentle tones,

to no one else but Ella Owens;

John Ciciarelli pursuing Lorraine;

Dowling and Halstead at Lover’s Lane;

Hillick and Bogwicz battling over Quinn,

‘til hard to say who we think will win.”

Sports have always been big news for Fulton high schoolers, and 1937 Buzz’s top athletic headline noted “Bonanno and Trepasso Elected Co-Captains of F.H.S. Ringmen.” I assumed the Ringmen were wrestlers, but they were actually the school’s boxing team. An upcoming match between Fulton and Oswego promised to be an exciting evening since both teams were undefeated that year.

There were other sport reports, enough to fill the newspaper’s entire back page. The girls bowling team was on a roll, featuring outstanding athletes Cora Chetney, Flora Cardinali, Nettie Dexter, Irene Emmons, Jean Trask and Laura Howard. Other girls were competing in ping-pong and paddle-tennis.

Boys on the “Basketeers” team boasted their recent game as “the most watched sporting event.” A hard-fought game, again against rival Oswego, was a nail biter at halftime with Fulton trailing by a few points. At the final buzzer, we’d lost by twenty.

School news wasn’t all sports. Another front page story covered the Boys Glee Club’s upcoming show, “Mellow Moon,” featuring the talents of Francis Quirk, John Halstead, Louis Briggs, Vincent Chalone, John Bowers and Donald Dowling. Admission for the Valentine-themed show was 15 cents for students and a quarter for parents.

The news wasn’t all rosy, as this headline proved: “Student Council Issues Warnings.” Someone had been writing on bathroom walls, the reporter noted, leaving them in “deplorable conditions.” Warnings were issued: students should shape up or “more drastic action [would be] taken.” I bet teachers today would be happy if that was the worst problem they had to deal with.

The Buzz received support from the Fulton community. Advertisers included Putnam’s Pharmacy (“Stop in for a great chocolate soda. 10 cents.”), Wilson’s Book Store (“Office supplies, Gifts, Stationery, Kodaks.”) and bowling at Recreation Park (“Special afternoon prices 15 cents per game.”).

My trip down high school memory lane got me wondering how today’s students get their news. Does G. Ray Bodley even publish a paper?  Knowing I wouldn’t find my answer in boxes of old newspapers, I used Google to find “The RaiderNet,” a weekly online publication from Fulton’s high school.

November 1, 2018’s issue of RaiderNet shared some common themes with The Buzz. The RaiderNet’s front page announced the boys’ soccer team making New York State semi-finals. The issue also covered the Lady Raiders basketball team’s preparation for the new season. RaiderNet did offer a few items you wouldn’t have seen in 1937, such as an opinion column debating the qualities of a good teacher and the school’s mountain bikers planning a trip to a Boonville outdoor education center.

I was pleased to learn that RaiderNet is still compiled by students and staff. Its current advisor, Justine Nylen, said that about 15 students contribute to each issue. Those students are usually enrolled in her Journalism class, where, as part of their studies, they write about school events for the paper. For many years, English teacher Len Senecal was the faculty advisor for The Raider. Justine was a student in Len’s Journalism class, became editor of the paper when she was a senior in high school, and then, in her ninth year of teaching, assumed the role of advisor after Len retired.

While I can’t hold the RaiderNet in my hands, I’m glad to know there are still young people interested in covering school events for history’s sake. Someday, the grandchildren of the RaiderNet’s staff will smile as they read the hot topics of Fulton High School in the good old days of 2019.

The RaiderNet, Fulton High School’s newspaper, has a lot in common with the student-run papers from years past.