Lou’s View: THE ROSS LIBRARY AT 110
By Lou Bernard
It’s an anniversary! “But didn’t we just do this a couple of weeks ago?” my regular readers are wondering. Nope, it’s a different anniversary. November is filled with them. That was the anniversary of Lock Haven’s founding. This week is the anniversary of the Ross Library.
It wasn’t always a library. In fact, it began as the mayor’s mansion. Mayor Robert Bridgens built the house at 232 West Main Street in February of 1887. After his death, his wife sold it to Frank and Annie Ross, and then Frank died about three years later, and Annie lived alone in the house.
Annie Halenbake Ross was not a real social type of person. She was popular, and everyone spoke highly of her, but she was the type of person who liked sitting at home better than going out and socializing. She could often be seen in the front windows by people walking past on Main Street, sitting in her chair and reading a book.
It was September of 1907 when Annie was on a vacation in New Jersey. She went to Atlantic City, though I’d be surprised if she’d been hitting up the casinos. Walking along the boardwalk and exploring, that was more Annie’s thing. She began to suffer stomach pains and went to the hotel doctor, who told her it was indigestion and sent her back to bed.
It wasn’t indigestion. It was her appendix, and when the pain hadn’t subsided by morning, she went to the nearest hospital. One of the surgeons tried valiantly to take out her appendix, but it was too late, and Annie died.
Her body was shipped back to Lock Haven and buried in Highland Cemetery. Her funeral was held in her home, about where my desk now sits, which I’ve always felt was neat. And her will was read. And it contained a neat little surprise—She’d left her house to the city, on the condition it be turned into the public library.
City Council immediately leaped into action, and debated it for three years. During this time, the library was quite the controversial topic in the city. Some were for it, some against. One person suggested that we just build a statue to Annie and call it good. One guy wrote into the paper and said he was for it because Lock Haven needed some education, and as he kept spelling her name “Annie Hollenbeck Rose,” he inadvertently made his point.
City Council appointed a committee to go and examine the building. They came back with the determination that it was unsuitable for a library. The committee returned with the opinion that the building was unsuitable. They cited too many windows, hallways, and closets as being a problem. (For the record, I have loved exploring all those hallways and closets.) They recommended that the building be used as a sort of warehouse, storing books inside temporarily until a better building was found. This is why I never store lunch in my desk drawers, because a hundred and ten years later, I might have to move at any minute.
Finally, in response to an impassioned plea from Annie’s lawyer during a city council meeting, they decided to bite the bullet and run with it. From that point on, it was only a couple of months until the library was up and running. The Ross Library opened on Thanksgiving Day of 1910, introducing Annie Taggart as the first head librarian. Wilson Kistler, a prominent tannery owner who lived across the street, was the first board president.
At that time, the library consisted of the first floor of the house—The upper floors were Taggart’s living quarters, office space, and storage. As time went by, the library added on additions when needed. The first one was in 1916.
A hundred and ten years later, the library’s still in business. Stop in and see us sometime. We’ve been in business a hundred and ten years, just waiting for you to visit.
