Now we’re jumping ahead ten years. During those years Mary Richardson ran the library with her faithful volunteer assistant and daughter, Jennie, by her side helping her. They ran things the old-fashioned library way. Each book had a card in the back and when you checked it out you signed the card and it went under the first letter of your last name in the register box. When you brought it back the card went back in the book and on the shelf. Many long-time library users have said that they could judge whether they’d want to read a book by looking at the names of who’d had it before them. The card catalog was a real piece of furniture, and each book had a corresponding card on file. There was lots of typing to be done on the typewriter in those days. Jennie greeted you when you came in, often from across the library where she was working on a puzzle. Mary led the library from 1975-1997, a long and honorable tenure. She retired at 80 years old.
