ah, our library back in the day....

Now that the past series of research laden posts are behind (for now at least) - time to get into more bits of nostalgia.  Visiting the past is a rich experience, I learn that each time I set out on a new post.  One of the subjects I have had on my bucket list of blog posts is the Taunton Public Library.

As soon as we could ride our bikes out of the Village and beyond, we headed for the Library. I have such dear memories of seeing what seemed like an unlimited amount of books facing me in that Children's library.  The chairs and tables fit me perfectly.  There was a quiet that allowed a child to become lost in each book turning the pages for  something new.  My imagination found fodder there.  Soon also, I began to do posters for the librarian which fostered my art career.  A new Children's Room was dedicated in 1964, but it is the old dear one that holds a special place in my heart and memory. The first Children's library, the one in my memory, was created by Edwin Hills in 1908.  This was a project close to Mr. Hills heart as prior to that only those age 15 or over could enjoy the library,  Mr Hills took on the position of librarian at the new 1904 Library and worked there for the rest of his life

The current Taunton Public Library was opened in 1904 and funded from a Carnegie Foundation grant of $70,000 that had been given to the city for that purpose.  There were libraries all over New England funded by the Carnegies.  This is a early photo of our library which

was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984..

If you notice, there are wrought iron railings on either side of the main steps.  These were steps going down into the rest rooms and also, on the left, to the first children's library, the one I frequented as a child. (Remember the big wooden holder for the rest room key?)

It was cool down there as all was stone. 

It reminded a child with a vivid imagination of a castle keep.

The children's library was below ground but there were windows looking up and out so it was not dark.  Little ones could read at a small table to the left of the librarian's desk.   It was in that library that I learned to love words and so often, the illustrations that went with them.  The librarian knew of my growing interest in art, and often asked me to design posters for some event or another.  That encouragement meant the world to me.

The mother library of the current one was established by an ordinance passed by the Taunton City Council on March 21, 1866 and was located above the the Bristol County Savings Bank.  Three libraries: The Taunton Social Library,the Young Men's Library Association and the Agricultural Library agreed to combine their book holdings which collectively totally 6,000 books.  That first library occupied the top floor of the bank until the present library was built in 1904.

Maydell Murphy was the first head librarian and was appointed in 1932.  She established reading rooms above each fire station in the areas of Taunton: Whittenton, Weir and East Taunton.  During the War and Depression years the Library faithfully served all the citizens of Taunton  providing shelter from  constant fears and worry.

Maydell Murphy


 We all remember the wonderful Ruth Snyder who later succeeded as Head Librarian. 

 Ms. Snyder with her beautiful black braids circling her head. I regret
that I have no photo of her.


      Check out this site for more library history

 http://tplarchive.wordpress.com

No high tech in those days - or much tech at all.
 A table held stereoscopes and cards like these

to be viewed in 3 D.  Remember?

This is pretty interesting, I never gave much thought
to how these were done.

To  check a book out?  The sound of that date stamp telling you when it was due back.
The neat thing is that you could see who checked the book out before you.

It was exciting to get to take some books home.

Later, when we were in high school and had research to do, we graduated to the upstairs adult library and learned about the Dewey Filing card system, and the magic of "the stacks".

Thanks to Pinterest for many of these photos

and to the 

Taunton Public Library Research Department

 for their assistance regarding Edwin Hills.

Like so many other things in our memory, the library as we knew it is fading fast.  They are still around but are no longer the magnets they were.  As I am doing now, with my computer and the internet, marvels of information are at my fingertips.  But, it is a solo occupation.  My office does not have that smell of books and newspapers and no one is hushing me.  But, I still love to wander the stacks of libraries when I can, for I do not always know what I am looking for....there is still the excitement of the hunt.  And the wonderful, consoling thing is that children still love books, turning their pages, and listening to a beloved voice read the words.  We just have had an experience no one will have again.

For that  experience I am deeply grateful.

I am hoping that you have more to share about the library in Taunton.

As I am far from there, I am counting on others to fill in the gaps.

Want to share a story?

POSTSCRIPT TO VILLAGE ORIGINS

This post was written with the invaluable help of Arlene Gouveia.  I thank her again for the picture she paints of  School Street Village life all those years ago.

Once settled in the Village, as we have often written, our grandparents created a melting pot of their own, melding people from the Azores, Madeira and from the mainland into a coherent and supportive community.  In essence, another kind of village.  As generations came along, the kinship they wove supported each of us as we lived our every special childhoods.

Immigrants landing in New Bedford, MA in 1912

source: Portuguese Spinner: An American Story

Stories of History, Culture and Life....Southeastern New England

published:1998

There was a significant Madeiran presence in the Village as well as from Sao Miguel, largest of the Azorean islands. The minority of people were from Flores, Pico, Graciosa and Corvo, the smaller  islands.  This changed when, around 1957, there were terrible earthquakes in Fayal, some of them lasting months at a time.  The U.S. at that time had a quota system which limited immigrants from Portugal and the Islands.  Thanks to then Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy  and  Senator John Pastore (Rhode Island) Congress passed a special exemption: The Azorean Refugee Immigration Act of 1958  which allowed more Azoreans to immigrate. A wave of immigrants took advantage of this, especially from the Island of Santa Maria.  Nearby Stoughton  for a time had only Madeira folk, after the quota was lifted they welcomed Azoreans from Pico and Graciosa.  Arlene tells us that many of the Madeira people worked at the Talbot Wool Combing Mill in Norton which processed wool and produced lanolin. Some of the Madeira immigrants started their own grocery stores in the Village and other small businesses which we spoke of earlier in this blog.

A charming bit of this history was that all of the bakers in the Village, were without exception, from the Continent.  Many of the Azoreans would have loved to farm, but had to settle for their large backyards. These did feed their families, as well as somewhat satisfy their love of the land.
 New Bedford boasted many immigrants from Madeira, Fall River Sao Miguel.
 Arlene also related that women from the same Village would often gather to bake their bread.

There was a brickyard in the Village, on Longmeadow Road. Both my grandfathers worked there for a time.  Later, my Paternal Grandfather would go on to his business and real estate career at which he seems to have excelled.

Creating a life: of faith, of culture, of mutual support, the Village folk coalesced.  They formed music groups such as the Taunton City Band, they formed credit unions, a Portuguese American Civic Club.
They organized their Church so that it flourished with many types of religious as well as recreational activities.  And all the while, they assimilated, digging new and nourishing deep roots.  There is so much more to this story, but little space and time to tell it.

                                                I leave it up to you to wander where you will.

This subject has been dear to me.  I am like a thirsty soul always wanting more of who we are and who came before us.  It is encouraging to know that you all are just  as thirsty.

The Village has, of course, changed in composition over the years.  Immigration patterns evolved.
When mills and factories closed, immigration from all of Portugal more often went to New Jersey where a large Portuguese population exists today. A rising standard of living in Portugal, also slowed the migratory flow.

St. Anthony's is still very much an immigrant Church with at least two weekly masses in the Portuguese language.  I still enjoy going there when I am in town, not just hearing the language but all of the echoes which surround me.


                                                             ........................

                    Next:    Back from the history trail to more anecdotes of living in the Village.

What They Found ...Part I

Because there are so  many excellent historical and pictorial sources on the Internet for all of the  I will not dwell on them her.  Historia dos Acores  is just one.

Our forebears, as we have said, were hard workers.  The above photograph  from the site mentioned is an example of what Azorean and Madeira life was like for many of them in the early 1900's.  Preparing to come to America was a dream for something better, something more.

The labor situations that immigrants found when they came to this country is a fascinating, albeit troubling, part of the nation's history.  This was brought home to me as I worked on my maternal grandparent's story and because of that I feel it is important  to talk about it here.  It gives us new respect for the work ethics of our elders who paved the way for us, a way much easier than theirs.  Though many of them worked as entrepreneurs in the Village, they often had to supplement income by working elsewhere.

They brought their industriousness to their new lives. For many of them, life would continue to be difficult, but with more reward. Arlene Gouveia's father-in-law came to the Village and purchased a large piece of land on upper School St. He  grew crops including purple and white  grape vines, fruit trees, and raised goats and a few pigs.  A lot of folks who raised pigs called him when it was time.  A vegetarian now, I prefer not to remember that...  He was from Madeira,  part of a goodly amount of Madeira folk who settled in the Village.

Many of the Azoreans were factory or mill  workers, that would have included my maternal grandparents Isobel and Manuel Motta. She was employed at a shoe leather dying factory in Bristol, R.I.,  the Old Columbia Mill in East Taunton, The Berry Rag Shop.  The latter was  located at the bottom of Arlington St. in the Village and she worked there with her mother Anna (I notice this building still is located at the same place as it was when I was a child gazing at all those bales and bales of colorful rags).,  She also worked at the Cohen Mills in Taunton as a cotton threader winder, and finally at the Plymouth Cordage Co. in Plymouth which manufactured rope. ( Note: Plymouth Cordage Co. has a fascinating history if you are interested and a museum in Plymouth,MA). Most of the manufacturing work took place within a bubbling stew of toxic conditions that often took a toll of the health of many of the workers.

My maternal grandfather, Manuel Motta, worked for Glenwood Range in Taunton.  He was employed as a stove worker.  At that time Glenwood used quartz dust and the ventilation was very poor.  My grandfather contracted silicosis (Black Lung) which led to tuberculosis. Another worker from the Village also contracted the condition.  It would be fatal for my grandfather at a young age.  The Glenwood  situation prompted Massachusetts to form the Division of Occupational Labor and Workforce Development.  One of the first in the nation.

The picture below is a very precious photograph.  

Taken in the early 1900's, it is of a  group of young women working in a 

Fall River, MA weaving mill and includes my husband's maternal grandmother. She is 5th in from the right peeking over another worker's shoulder. An immigrant from Canada,
not only did she work in the mills, she also went on to bear 14 living children.

   My grandmother Isobel said that the mill work paid $14.66 a month for six days a week of 11 hour working days. This would have been usually inhaling flax, cotton and hemp as as it flew all around them.  Heavy metals were also used in many situations such as dying.  Brockton tanneries left polluted ground which even today is problematic.  Brockton was a center of shoe manufacturing in those times. In Norton, there was the Talbot Wool Company which processed wool and
produced lanolin. In the late 1800's there was the Whittenton Cotton Textile factory, which once boasted 1,600 looms.  The Whittenton buildings still stand and are on the National Historic Register.
You may recall that the suspense movie, Shutter Island, was filmed there not long ago.

In the United States 39% of pregnant women immigrants worked in the mills.  The infant mortality rate for them was 200 per 1,000 live births,

 twice the national average.

Coming here was chasing a dream, it also had its costs.

                                                                   ..........................

          Next:  last post in the Origins series: the composition of the Village population, then and now.