You Are Welcome Here, Always

I met Mrs. Bonita Marley, MPL Director and Librarian, on a Saturday morning in June, 1978.  I was visiting my college girlfriend, a Mooresville native (who lives there still).  She wanted to show me the local library, where she had spent many pleasant childhood hours.

The Library was a fine Carnegie structure.  Such libraries were quite distinctive.  I was surprised that a town the size of Mooresville had such a sizable library.

We walked up the front stairs through the library entrance.  My girlfriend began giving me the grand tour, when an older lady approached us.  "Welcome back," she said to my girlfriend, whom she seemed to recognize.  "I see you've brought a friend," she added, turning to me.  "I'm Bonita Marley," she said.  "Welcome to our library.  May I help you find anything?"

I explained that I was from out-of-town and that my girlfriend was showing me around.  I was a  stranger to Mooresville, and I was pleasantly subsumed in the small town charm of the place.  "I'm glad you dropped by to see us," Mrs. Marley said, with such genuine warmth and kindness that I was immediately put at ease.  "I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have."

Merely reading my recounting of our conversation, 34 years after the fact, you probably won't appreciate just how pleasant, friendly, and inviting Mrs. Marley was that day.  She honestly cared that a total stranger was visiting her library, perhaps only once, which was true--I was never inside the MPL Carnegie Library again--and she wanted me to know that it was her pleasure to have me there.  You would have had to have heard her voice to know this, but it was no feigned "customer service" spiel.  She was accustomed to greeting everybody who entered the library this way.  Mrs. Marley was truly glad to see them there.

Bonita Marley, MPL Librarian & Director (1961-1984)

Mrs. Marley became MPL Director in 1961.  She began her 23-year tenure at the Library's helm by overseeing an extensive renovation of the facilities.  The front entrance, which had two stairways approaching from each side to the front doors, was changed to be a single staircase straight from the doors to the sidewalk (compare the photos below; click images to enlarge).  This was more welcoming--an architectural invitation to enter the library--which Mrs. Marley would surely have favored.  A new heating and air conditioning system was installed, and the basement kitchen was enlarged.  The Library was being modernized to create a public institution attractive to the growing youth population.

MPL Carnegie Library (1916)

(Note Entance Stairs to Sides)

MPL Carnegie Library (ca. 1963)

(Note Single Stairway Entrance)

This youthful appeal was particularly evident in the converting of the basement auditorium into the Pioneer Room, which was a full-time "young people's library" area.  MPL was one of the first Hoosier public libraries to designate a particular section devoted to young adults as their special library gathering place.

Youth services programs greatly expanded under Mrs. Marley's tutelage.  Year-round story times were scheduled for various children's age groups.  Many other youth and adult programs were established, which included such staples as summer reading, arts & crafts, and movies.  There were substantial increases in collection acquisitions, and a steady stream of new patrons was welcomed aboard during the 1960s.  By 1969, the Library's collections totalled 14,500 items.

Bonita Marley holds the India (short for Indiana) Likely Scrapbook,

one of the Library's local history treasures (undated photo)

Myrtle Keller, MPL Assistant Director, Bonita Marley, MPL Director,

and  Babs Sandefur, Page, showcase summer reading options (1970)

Mrs. Marley was cognizant that adults, too, needed to be enticed to come calling upon the Library.  She dramatically increased both fiction and nonfiction holdings in the adult collections.  She also felt that MPL should become the bastion of local history for Mooresville and the surrounding communities.  The Library had a long history of preserving local historical materials, but Mrs. Marley made this a priority.  So, in 1966, she hired the best possible person for the job.

MPL Director Bonita Marley and Assistant Director Wanda Potts (Feb. 1978 photo)

Wanda Potts became MPL Indiana Room Librarian (and an MPL Assistant Director) in 1966.  Both Wanda (born in 1921) and Bonita (born in 1906) were Mooresville natives and lifelong residents.  (Well, Mrs. Potts now lives in west Indianapolis, but that's a minor detail to this story.)  They knew as much local history as any two living persons, and they were directly responsible for the quality and breadth of the Library's Indiana Room collections that we enjoy today.  Had it not been for these two librarians, you would not now be reading this blog.  Their historical preservation efforts flow through my fingers as I'm typing.  As is true for all of the MPL librarians over the past 100 years, our century of public service is encapsulated in Bonita and Wanda.  They WERE the flesh-and-bone embodiment of the Library's goals and aspirations.  Our Library would not exist as we know it today without their tireless dedication to excellence and service.

Henry Conduitt House (1911).  Appearing in the picture, from left to right, are:

Florence (Shephard) Conduitt, age 33; Maude (Gray) Kenworthy, age 15;

Bonita (Conduitt) Marley, age 5; and Henry Conduitt, age 67.

Click here to read more about Wanda Potts.  Below are some biographical highlights about Bonita Marley.  Click the image below to enlarge.

As I sit in the MPL Indiana Room, wearing Wanda's mantle as MPL's local historian, I am amazed, daunted, and mystified that I, of all people, should have been entrusted with this great responsibility.  But I am thrilled by the challenges, and the prospect of serving the Library's patrons brings me to work knowing that another day of sheer fun awaits.  I am blessed to have a job that is more play than work.  Who would have thought, way back in the Summer of 1978, when I briefly toured the MPL Carnegie Library, that the future would one day reward me so well?

Of this much, I am certain.  My girlfriend who took me to the Library said she planned to become a librarian because of her joyous adventures at MPL exploring books galore, but, also, because of Mrs. Marley.  She (my girlfriend, then; my wife, now) has been an honored member of the profession for over a quarter century.  I would hope that, if Mrs. Marley's spirit were to walk through the front entrance of our Library today, she would be pleased to see that "young fellow" from 1978, a little greyer in the hair and much more stout, working at "her" Library.  I hope she would be pleased by the way in which I serve our patrons.  I'm sure that she would, once again, welcome me back where I belong.

Fifty Years, More or Less, in 1967

Mooresville Public Library's 50th anniversary of continuous operation could have been observed in 1966, since the town's Carnegie Library building was dedicated on January 27, 1916.  This benchmark could have been noted as early as May, 1962, because, 50 years earlier, the decision was made to fund and construct a taxpayer-supported public library.

It therefore seems strange that the Library's stewards chose May 7, 1967 as its quinquagenary (i.e., semicentennial) anniversary.  But there it is, in the Library's vertical files, and so we're stuck with the historical fact.

 MPL "More Than 50 Years" Celebratory Bookmark, issued May 7, 1967

(Click images to enlarge; use your web browser's zoom function to further magnify)

MPL "More Than 50 Years" Celebration Party

May 7, 1967

Why did Bonita Marley, MPL Librarian & Director, and the Library's Board of Trustees choose to celebrate the Library's "over 50" anniversary instead of just observing the event in January, 1966, when it would have been half a century since the Carnegie Library dedication?  No clear statements were recorded in the Board's minutes or other Library documents, so we are forced to make reasonable inferences.

Mrs. Marley and the Board were aware of the significance of May, 1912 in the Library's origin story--Bonita Conduitt had been a six-year-old child that year--and they further would have known about the steps taken between 1912 and 1915 to finance and construct the Library, as well as to maintain the temporary library collection downtown while funding and construction were ongoing.  Perhaps, then, they were including all of this history as part of their celebration in May, 1967.

There is, however, a better explanation.  Indiana celebrated its sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary in 1966, and Mrs. Marley and the Board probably did not want to compete with the many state and local observances of Hoosier statehood by adding the Library's quinquagenary to the mix, when it would have gotten lost in the shuffle of state-wide historical celebrations.  Better to wait until 1967, when Mooresville's citizens could concentrate upon the Library's important historical milestone without distraction.

A flippant suggestion has been made that the Library Board and Staff simply "forgot" the 50th anniversary in 1966 (or 1962, depending upon your starting date) and held a late party to correct the oversight.  That won't wash.  Mrs. Marley vividly remembered the Carnegie Building's construction and opening--she was one of the Library's first cardholders, of which she was rightly proud--and local history was one of her hallmarks.  She had hired Mooresville historian Wanda Potts in 1966 specifically to safeguard the community's history, and both were keenly aware of the Library's longevity.  Neither Mrs. Marley nor Mrs. Potts would have overlooked such a significant accomplishment as 50 years of public service.

MPL Librarian/Director Bonita Marley (left) with former

MPL Librarian/Director Helen Hadley Ward (right) (1967)

Librarians Bonita Marley & Myrtle Keller at the MPL Circulation Desk (1967)

The "More Than 50 Years" party was quite a social event on May 7, 1967.  Many prominent local dignitaries attended the celebration, but, much more importantly for Mrs. Marley, "regular" folks (like you and me) were there to enjoy the cake and talk about the great times Mooresville's citizens enjoyed at MPL.  Perhaps "you" reading this were actually on the guest list that day long ago.  Sadly, I wasn't, because I was in El Salvador sitting across from an active volcano at that exact time (it's a long story).  The guest list is among the artifacts included in our Indiana Room vertical files.

We celebrate these anniversaries because not many institutions, public or private, survive half (or all of) a century.  So let's apply the "horseshoe tossing" rule as far as exact dates are concerned.  The important commemoration is the Library's uninterrupted service to Mooresville and Brown Township residents, whether 50 years ago, today, or, hopefully, in another century and longer.

A Lifetime of Community Service

“I am writing this with mixed emotions.  This is something I feel I should do because I feel it is for the best interest of the library—my second home for the past 27 years.”  So began MPL Director Bonita Marley’s retirement letter to the MPL Board of Trustees, dated September 6, 1983.

“With your permission, I would like to remain [as director] until March 1^st, 1984 to be able to have things in the best order possible for my successor and to make out the annual report for 1983, which will be done in February [1984].”  Bonita would not have left the Library in the lurch; she made every effort to assure a smooth transition to the next director.

“No doubt, in the near future, you may be able to go into a building program and into more automated procedures in carrying out the business of the library and adding to its adaptability and efficiency.”  Bonita knew that library technologies were changing, and she felt that a new, younger director, schooled in the latest computer systems, would be an asset to her growing community’s informational needs.

“I am more than grateful for the opportunity that was given me to start here as clerk in 1957 and then be able to advance to librarian.  I have had the most wonderful cooperation and support from all trustees from the day I began and including my friends of the present board.”

“[Leaving MPL] is not easy to do, but I feel it is best, for I always want the very best for the library.”

And so Bonita Marley retired as MPL Director and Librarian in April, 1984.  She had turned age 78 on February 11.  Her final librarian’s report to the Library Board was entered into the minutes on April 2, 1984.  On April 6, 1984, the Board hired her successor, librarian Sharon Beatrice, who was MPL Director from that time until 1987, when she changed careers to pursue other service-oriented work with Native Americans in Arizona.

As sometimes happens when examining the historical record, even in a small town like Mooresville, the Library has no photograph of Ms. Beatrice, except for a fuzzy black-and-white photocopy of a newspaper clipping from the Mooresville Times that would not reproduce well digitally.  Apparently, nobody thought to take a snapshot of the new library director for our vertical files.  When you’re living history at the moment, you don’t always think of such things.

Ms Beatrice left the Library in 1987, the year construction began on a new building.  Subsequent (and current) MPL Director Diane Huerkamp (2004-present) attempted on several occasions to obtain a photograph from Ms. Beatrice, but none has ever been received.  So there hangs an empty director’s plaque on the directors’ wall at the north end of the Great Hall at the Library.  The best we can do is a picture from a 1987 newspaper clipping.

Sharon Beatrice, MPL Director (1984-1987)

Although Mrs. Marley retired in 1984, she remained an active volunteer at the Library and used her lifetime of community service contacts (friendships, really) in Mooresville to assist in the planning and construction of a new building at the Library’s current location of 220 West Harrison Street.  That structure, known commonly as the “1988 Library,” since 2006 has been the MPL Youth Services Department, to which was constructed an addition in 2005-2006, which included the Bonita C. Marley Library Community Room.

It would be impossible to exaggerate Bonita Marley’s significance to her Library and her community.  We would not enjoy the Library we have today had it not been for her tireless dedication.  How fortunate we would all be if we, too, could provide a lifetime of public service to our hometowns.

Solid Returns For Your Tax Investment (Then & Now)

The minutes of MPL Board of Trustees meetings provide a wealth of information about month-to-month issues facing the Library over the past century.  These meetings are open to the public, and, accordingly, the minutes are public records.  So we can snoop around a bit and discover some interesting details about the Library’s history.

Consider an entry from January 4, 1974.  Librarian and MPL Director Bonita Marley gave the Board a year-end report for 1973, and the Board voted on salary schedules for the Library staff.  These were:

• Bonita Marley:                   $525/month
• Wanda Potts:                      $395/month
• Myrtle Keller:                     $145/month
• Children’s Librarian:          $1.60/hour
• Pages:                                 85 cents to $1 per hour, depending upon experience
• Custodian:                          $100/month

Wanda, you may recall, was Assistant Director/Indiana Room Librarian.  Myrtle was Head of Circulation.  There was a separate youth services librarian, four teenaged pages, and a custodian.

What were salaries for 1975?

• Bonita Marley:                     $6,900/year
• Wanda Potts:                        $5,160/year
• Myrtle Keller:                        $1,980/year
• Mattie Lundy:                        $1,257.80/year
• Cindy Breedlove:                  $2.10/hour
• Cindy Johnson:                     $2/hour
• Bonnie Hamilton:                  $2/hour
• Debby Kouns:                       $2/hour
• Andrea Tucker:                     $2/hour

Mattie was the custodian.  Cindy Breedlove was the “assistant children’s director,” and Cindy J., Bonnie, Debby and Andrea were pages (Mooresville High School students).

Nobody could accuse library employees of getting rich.

You may know some of these folks, as several still live in Indiana, and many have family still living in Morgan County or vicinity.  Each was hard-working, dedicated to the Library and its patrons, and committed to providing quality public service.  When one considers how little they earned, even for the mid-1970s, their dedication leaps off the page (or screen, since this blog is on the Internet).

Salaries have risen since those days over 35 years ago, but they remain considerably beneath what similarly skilled workers command in the private sector (or in federal or even some state or local governmental positions).  That means Library staff are making sacrifices in earning potential, the impact of which is clearly felt at home among their families.  Consider the value and quality of library employees’ services to the public in the taxing district.  Citizens of Mooresville and Brown Township have long received an excellent return for their tax dollars allocated to MPL.  Remember, too, that the Library’s legions of volunteers receive no compensation for their many contributions.  That’s another, even greater value for tax dollars invested in the Library.

An Outstanding Library

(Last Updated January 9, 2025)

 

In 2004 MPL was named outstanding library of the year by the Indiana Library Federation (ILF).  The award was given as a result of the Library's ACCESS campaign, which began in 2002 and offered patrons the opportunity to obtain discounts or free merchandise from participating area businesses.  Patrons received such rewards by showing their library card at the time of purchase.

 

The ACCESS campaign continued even after the ACCESS cards were replaced by Evergreen Indiana library cards, when MPL became a founding member of the Evergreen Indiana (E.I.) library consortium (2008).  ACCESS inspired the national campaign that eventually superseded it (called My Library Rewards), which was itself discontinued on August 31, 2020.

 

MPL Got Access Library Card (2004)

 

 Evergreen Indiana Library Card (2008)
 

MPL Facebook Post Announcing

End Date for My Library Rewards Program

(Facebook Post, August 5, 2020)
 

ACCESS was the brainchild of former MPL Executive Director Lynn Jurewicz and her successor, Diane Huerkamp, who served as Lynn's assistant director and became the Library's executive director in 2005. (Diane retired at the end of December, 2024.)  Participating community businesses offered price discounts or other rewards to Library cardholders, which meant money in patrons' pockets.  Having an MPL ACCESS library card (and, beginning in 2008, an Evergreen Indiana library card) gave access to more than just excellent programs and diverse resources and materials.  It was a brilliant melding of library and local business marketing.  ACCESS has served as a model for other public libraries seeking to reach more patrons in their service districts.  As mentioned above, it inspired the creation of My Library Rewards, a nationwide library initiative.

MPL Executive Director/Librarian Diane Huerkamp (2005-2024)

Emphasizing MPL's newly declared outstanding library status, Ms. Huerkamp and the Library Board implemented a plan to construct an addition to the 1988 building.  This construction plan was first formulated as early as 1998, when the Library Board began to entertain the prospect of further expansion of the facilities.  Many feasibility studies and financial planning meetings later, MPL was fiscally well-situated in 2005, when construction began on the new addition.

Aerial Photo of MPL Addition Under Construction (2005)

(Click Images to Enlarge)

The new construction added 24,500 square feet to the 1988 building, which was 12,000 square feet.  The addition effectively tripled the size of the original structure.  With the grand opening (January 27, 2006), patrons were introduced to an 18-station computer lab, six-station computer mini-lab, local area network (LAN) that accommodated wireless connectivity, significant expanded shelving for all collections, separate study rooms and a new Bonita C. Marley Community Room, a Young Adult Zone (YAZ), enlarged Circulation Department, a dedicated Indiana Room for genealogical, state, and local historical information, new offices and staff room, and a technical services area.  Nearly the entire 1988 Library was converted into a massive Youth Services Department.  A basement provided storage space, with a future renovation option converting the space to public use. Outdoor areas were designated for a courtyard and children's programming.  If you visit the Library now, you will see all of these facility features and much more.  Here are photos taken during 2006.  Let's begin with the most important room in the Library, at least from my vantage.

 Exterior Photo of MPL Indiana Room & Media Alcove

(January 27, 2006)

Northeast Side of the New Library Addition

(Taken During the Grand Opening Ceremonies)

(January 27, 2006)

New MPL Front Entrance & Parking Lot

(January 2006)

MPL Grand Hall (2006)

MPL Circulation Desk (2006)

MPL Indiana Room (2006)

MPL Adult Services Information Desk

(MPL Information Technology Specialist Judy Morehouse

"holding down the fort" in Reference)

(YAZ in background)

(2006)

Young Adult Zone (YAZ) (2006)

MPL 18-Station Computer Lab (2006)

MPL Youth Services Entrance (2006)

 MPL Youth Services Department (2006)

 MPL Youth Services Department (2006)

Entrance to MPL Children's Programming Room (2006)

MPL Children's Programming Room (2006)

Local Historical Photographs Along Hallway

to Bonita C. Marley Community Room (2006)

 Bonita C. Marley Community Room

(Front to Back) (2006)

Bonita C. Marley Community Room

(Back to Front) (2006)

One of MPL's Study Rooms (2006)

Paul Hadley Art Gallery

(in the MPL Grand Hall) (2006)

 MPL Media Alcove (2006)

 Browsing the Adult NonFiction Stacks (2006)

 Media Browsers, Music Collections & Ready Reference (2006)

(Now used for Young Adult shelving & Music)

Patrons Reading (Indiana Room

in Background) (2006)

We have plenty more pictures from 2006, but this posting is rather graphics-intensive, so perhaps we should defer to another time.

This is the Mooresville Public Library with which patrons are familiar today.  Surprisingly, the adult nonfiction collections reached three-quarters capacity by 2008, requiring moderate collection deselection, or what collection development librarians commonly term "weeding" of outdated, worn-out, or damaged items.  By 2011, adult nonfiction and fiction both were nearly to shelving capacity, requiring an intensive "weeding" that continues presently.  (The Youth Services Department "weeds" its various collections on a continuous basis, whereas the Adult Services Department tends to wait until shelves are filled.  Both approaches depend upon staff being available to undertake this highest of labor-intensive collection management practices.)

The 2006 addition truly brought MPL to maturity.  By the Library's centennial (2012), MPL is well-equipped to do what it has done for a century--serve its community's growing informational and educational needs--for today and for many years to come.

Exponential Library Growth

Everything looked bright and shiny when the newly-built Library opened in January, 1988.  MPL staff eagerly embarked on this latest adventure in providing bibliographical services to their community.  Click images to enlarge.

Opening Day at the New Library (January, 1988)

L to R:

Pat Vahey, MPL Director (1987-1997)

Wanda Potts, Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002)

Bonita Marley, Retired MPL Director (1961-1984)

Theresa Lucas, MPL Staffer

Mattie Deaton, MPL Staffer

Bonita Marley (left) and Wanda Potts (right) working

at the new Library's Circulation Desk (January, 1988)

From 1988 onward, the Library's growth was exponential.  This mirrored the corresponding increases in population and business development in Mooresville, Indiana, during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s.  It was a town on the move, and its citizens expected a Library that could satisfy its burgeoning informational needs.  The Library was glad to accommodate.

Libraries are driven by statistics.  Recall that MPL total collection size in 1988 was 32,000 units.  Let's review MPL's collection growth between 1994 to 2010.

Click Table to Enlarge

By 1998, the Library Board held its first public meetings to determine the feasibility, and to chart a course of action, in undertaking a Library expansion project.  This long-term planning process would ultimately take seven years before sufficient funding was assured, as the Library Board and Director took great pains to prevent the mounting of unmanageable debt.  Sound fiscal practice has been the standard of MPL throughout its century of public service, and the community served owes a huge thanks to the MPL Boards of Trustees and Directors over the past 100 years.  In 2005, a 24,500 square foot addition was grafted to the 1988 building, effectively tripling available space.

The 1990s growth included more than physical materials at the Library.  It also included early Internet databases, electronic resources (e.g., CD-ROMs), and computers for public and staff use.  In the mid-1990s, MPL automated its card catalog and established its first OPAC (online public access catalog) accessible by computer.  The Library also purchased computers and printers for public use.

With the expansion of collections and technologies, Library programs also blossomed, and attendance rose accordingly.  This was particularly noticeable in the MPL Children's Department.  Bigger collections, additional technologies, and larger programming costs money.  Next time, we'll discover how MPL was able to accommodate these elevating expenditures at negligible cost to taxpayers.

MPL in the 1970s: More Renovation, Reaching Out, and Tight Quarters

More renovations opened the 1970s at MPL, as massive growth in collections required reorganization of various spaces in the Library.  In 1972 the Pioneer Room in the basement was renovated to accommodate more volumes in the children's collection and update the look and feel of the "young persons' area."

The most significant service development during the 1970s, however, was the introduction of community outreach programs.  Previously, the Library had focused upon the community visiting the Carnegie building to meet its informational needs, attend programs, or conduct organizational or public meetings.  Now, MPL wanted to reach out to the community to extend Library services to those who, for whatever reasons, were not coming inside the Library.  Thus, librarians began attending offsite organizational meetings to promote its collections, programs, or other services.  Book talks continued at local schools--MPL had pioneered these in the early 1950s--and efforts were made to reach elderly or home-bound patrons who wished to read books or obtain other materials from the Library.  Librarian and MPL Director Bonita Marley wanted local residents to think of the Library not just as a place to go but also as a caring hand extended to the citizens of Mooresville and Brown Township.

Carnegie Library Bursting At the Seams (Feb. 1978)

As the 1970s waned, however, it became evident that the Library itself needed more than mere renovations and outreach services.  Collections had grown well past the Carnegie building's capacity.  The Library needed space, and lots of it--more than was available in the 1916 structure--and so the institution that had served its public so well for 66 years now needed the support of townspeople and township residents if it were going to continue its mission.

Bonita Marley (MPL Director/Librarian) and

Wanda Potts (MPL Ass't. Director/Indiana Room Librarian)

(Feb. 1978)

So began the Library's quest for a new building.  In 1978 the Library Board met with town and township officials to discuss possible future courses of action.  Then, and now, there were competing needs for local governmental tax dollars, and consequently the evaluating and planning processes took much longer than in 1912-1916, when the Carnegie building was constructed.  In fact, it took a decade of strategizing before Mooresville would see its new Library.  But the initial steps began in 1978, which eventually led to a modern facility that continues to serve the citizens of our community.

The Historical Journey Never Ends

Indiana Room at Mooresville Public Library

Just Before the Dedication of the New Addition

(January 26, 2006)

(Last updated:  January 9, 2025).

In March, 2010, during a meeting at Mooresville (Indiana) Public Library, one of my colleagues, Suzanne Walker, who was then the library's youth services director, was discussing a social media initiative with the library's executive director, Diane Huerkamp, and me.  The library had already launched its YouTube channel; we could add Facebook, Twitter, and something called "Blogger," whatever that was, which featured "blogs," whatever they were.  Suzanne envisioned expanding the library's "global footprint" through its use of social media.  We could disseminate our messages far and wide to many more people than merely those who entered through the library's doors.

Suzanne already used Blogger to recommend children's and teen books to read and, along with other staff, was about to create new blogs focusing upon the library's youth services programs.  Blogs could also be used for adult services content.  She suggested I write a blog about the history of Mooresville, Indiana.

Would people read a local history blog, I wondered?  With an Internet already overloaded with trivial, over-personalized content, could an audience be attracted discussing the past of a town with fewer than 15,000 residents?  I doubted it, but I was game to try.

So, on April 3, 2010, I "published" my first "post" to this "blog."  Re-reading it now, the tone reminds me of a standup comic whose tired old material is bombing but who doesn't want to surrender the stage in humiliating defeat.  Of course, I was just starting this journey, so I didn't know exactly where I was going or how I planned to get there.  Maybe I should cut my former self some slack.

Thirteen years later, I've reached the end of my library career.  I've written a few hundred blog posts here, as well as over a thousand elsewhere (on four other blogs, two of which are long gone from the web, but two of which are still around here and here).  As of January, 2025, I've reached over 400,000 views with this local history blog; I reached another million views on my other blogs, and over 2.77 million views on the library's YouTube channel.  Suzanne's social media initiative was a success beyond our wildest expectations.

As my retirement date approaches (May 6, 2023), I look back fondly upon the historical tales we've shared here.  Looking back is what historians do; since I've been portraying one at the library for the past 16 years, I wanted to stay in character until my last day, when I will close the library's Indiana Room (and, as manager-in-charge, the library) for what will be my final time.

This blog will remain online until such time as Google (or whoever will control the Blogger site) decides otherwise.  Links to PDFs will remain active until Mooresville Public Library updates to new website servers.  This blog has been a rewarding experience that, with any luck, was somewhat informative and, perhaps, mildly entertaining.  I'm grateful for the support I've received from the library board and the library's executive director (Diane Huerkamp, who retired at the end of December, 2024).  Not many employers would have tolerated my spending endless hours turning out this tripe.  They always had encouraging words for my efforts.  I appreciate that.

There's much local history to be found on these blog posts.  If you've enjoyed it, thank one of my predecessors, Wanda Potts (MPL Indiana Room librarian, 1966-2002, and assistant director from the 1970s to the 1990s) for creating and maintaining the historical collections from which I've drawn everything.  Also thank Bonita Marley (MPL executive director 1961-1984), who preserved all the local history filed before Wanda came aboard (and handed it over to Wanda to preserve thereafter).  Myrtle Keller (MPL staffer & assistant director during the 1960s and 1970s) also contributed to the library's historical collections, as did each of the library directors and staff before Mrs. Marley.  My immediate predecessor, Marylou Smith, also deserves kudos for her fine work preserving Mooresville's past.  None of the material I've presented here (or elsewhere) regarding local history would have been possible without their tremendous efforts to organize and safeguard it.  All I did was type and upload some images.

Finally, thank YOU for reading about Mooresville's past.  Local history collections are diminishing in public libraries these days, so having an interested audience has helped Mooresville Public Library continue its mission to protect the past for the future to explore.  I hope the library's Indiana Room resources will be around for many years to come.  History continues forward, so there will always be something new and fresh to discover.  The historical journey never ends.