Chronicles of the county library

Part VII
By Bri Brasher 
with Leonard Cash
NLJ Reporter
 
This week’s History on Main series wraps up the story behind the Weston County Library, one of the few remaining Carnegie libraries still operating as originally intended. Local historian Leonard Cash picks up the building’s historic timeline, beginning again in 1964. 
A few weeks after the librarian’s workshop in May of 1964, a summer reading program was initiated for the children of the county, as reported by the News Letter Journal. The library continued to cater to the younger population in 1965 when the children’s section was moved to the basement of the library after improvements were made to the reading room. 
According to Cash, a memorial to Mrs. Robert (Lena Summers), former librarian who had died on April 26, 1965, was held at the Weston County Library in September of that year. Cash also said that the shelves to hold memorial books were built by Mrs. Summers’ son-in-law V.C. Thompson. Summers was the librarian from 1949 to 1957, and she was the mother of Mrs. V.C Thompson, Mrs. Andy Ost, Mrs. E.J. Landrigan and Mrs. Robert Porter, all of which was reported by the News Letter Journal and saved in Cash’s records of the time. 
In the spring of 1966, the News Letter Journal published an article that outlined the first 53 years of the library’s history in the area. The article discussed much of what has already been mentioned in the History on Main Series, with a few additional interesting details. The article mentions that John L. Sundstrom did the masonry and stone work on the brick library building “using large sandstone blocks from a quarry on Salt Creek near town.” The News Letter Journal also mentioned the “club room” in the basement that was turned into the children’s library department in 1965, where “low book shelves line the walls and the youth books were all moved downstairs. Mrs. Ralph Wrightson is librarian in the children’s department.”
Cash’s records then include a Feb. 23, 1967, article in the News Letter Journal announcing the recent purchase of land in Upton to build an extension to the library to be located on the corner of Fourth and Pine Street. Harold Julies of Cody was awarded the contract for the construction of the library in June of 1967. The article stated that “the contract sum of $51,343 includes 2,240 square feet of floor space, brick masonry exterior walls, air condition for main reading room, cabinet work and shelving for 3,200 books and wall to wall capacity. There will also be a community hospitality room, entrance visible and public rest rooms.” A notice that the library would be opening Friday, March 1, ran in the local news in early 1968, according to Cash’s records. 
The News Letter Journal published “Weston County Library To Celebrate” in its July 30, 1967, edition to commemorate the library 75 years after it was built. “Weston County’s Library, seventy-five years after it was built, stands today as a sturdy testament to the hard work, ingenuity, enthusiasm and community spirit of Newcastle’s and Weston County’s citizens,” the article said. “In 1910, with a total population of only 4,960 people, Weston County was being touted in the local newspaper as the best bet in the country for any prospective homesteader interested in dryfarming. Every means available was used to urge people to move Weston County. While Newcastle, with its railroad, three churches, opera house, a hotel, a wide variety of merchant services, a hospice, a doctor, a dentist, several lawyers, a judge, an undertaker, a surveyor, a realtor, an architect, and more, not to mention the school and a full contingent of county and city offices, was about as cosmopolitan a town as could be found in Wyoming—albeit the population was only 975, the streets were unpaved, and most traffic was the four-footed variety.” 
Cash’s records then jump to Sept. 23, 1981, when the News Letter Journal reported that the county commissioners started discussions on new construction projects in Newcastle, including construction of the new library facilities and joint law enforcement center. Bond issues were being considered for funding the projects, and architectural firms were contacting the commissioners with plans for the projects. Cash suspects the construction on the library was talk of the remodel that took place the following year.
According to Cash’s records, the county allocated $650,000 for the library project in November 1981, which had been approved by voters. A library bid was accepted for $556,300, as reported in the July 1, 1982, issue of the News Letter Journal. The bid went to Mac Construction Co., which also built the Mallo Camp lodge facilities, according to Cash. Construction was expected to start at the end of the month, according to the News Letter Journal, which also reported that the construction had to be completed within 300 days, start to finish. 
Cash also has a record noting that the library formed a foundation in December 1981, according to the News Letter Journal. 
On Aug. 5, 1982, the News Letter Journal published an article covering the “ground breaking ceremony” on the library addition, where Commissioner Ron Moody had the privilege of scooping the first bit of dirt. Cash said Moody is still a Newcastle resident and was once also an insurance salesman in town.
The next notice in Cash’s records came on July 14, 1983, when the News Letter Journal wrote about the library’s temporary home in the Youth Exhibit Hall at the fairgrounds. 
“See when they started construction, they closed the library and moved it out to the fairgrounds,” said Cash. 
Cash said the library staff put shelving in the hall to keep resources and titles accessible to the public. The same article also announced that the library was to close until further notice, which Cash suspects was in order to move everything back to the updated library. 
Then, in September of 1983, Cash said plans were being made to accept the library. But first, the commissioners wanted to inspect the project to make sure the facility was up to par, Cash said. 
A new season of story hour was also planned to start on Tuesday, Nov. 22, and run every Tuesday afternoon to follow, from 2-3 p.m., according to a September 1983 issue of the News Letter Journal.
The “new” county library was set to open on Nov 8, according to a notice published on Nov. 3, 1983, in the News Letter Journal. Cash clarified that the original building remained intact while an addition was added and upgrades completed. An open house of the library was to be held on Feb. 14 from 1-8 p.m., with a dedication ceremony in the early afternoon, as reported in the Feb. 2, 1984, issue of the News Letter Journal. A week later on Feb. 9, 1984, the paper added that Mabel Brown and Wayne Johnson were to speak at the library open house and refreshments were to be served. 
Rock work by Brent Sundstrom commenced in April of 1984. Cash said Sundstrom’s rock wall still stands today behind the library on Seneca Street, which extends to City Hall and the Law Enforcement Center. The rock came from the old jail house, Cash said.
Additional work at the library was discussed several times at county commission meetings in the spring of 1984, according to Cash’s records. A May 24, 1984, article indicates that there was a leak in the library’s roof and the heating system was not up to satisfaction, so the commissioners were in the process of trying to find a contractor for repairs. 
Cash’s timeline then cuts to Oct. 11, 1989, when a unique piece of driftwood was given to the library by Richard Dumbrill. Cash said Dumbrill was an attorney in town, a path this his son Douglas also followed. The driftwood piece is still used in the library’s landscaping in the front of the building.
Librarian Brenda King’s resignation was reported in the News Letter Journal on Dec. 26, 1985. Cash said King resigned because she was moving out of town, and Carma Shoop took over as acting director. Brenda Mahoney-Ayres currently serves as the Weston County Library System Director.
The latest news on the Weston County Library was published in the News Letter Journal about a year ago when the 21st Century Club purchased an official plaque designating the library as a Carnegie library and recognizing the building as a contributing structure in a historic district.
Next in the History on Main series, Cash will cover the timeline of Newcastle’s courthouse on Main Street.