{"id":132,"date":"2010-05-26T07:23:35","date_gmt":"2010-05-26T12:23:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/?p=132"},"modified":"2010-05-26T07:23:35","modified_gmt":"2010-05-26T12:23:35","slug":"the-joplin-carnegie-library-and-the-origins-of-joplin-public-library-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/?p=132","title":{"rendered":"The Joplin Carnegie Library and the Origins of Joplin Public Library: Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

Under a bright October afternoon sun, a crowd of ten thousand gathered to watch a parade snake its way from Fourth and Joplin streets to Main Street.\u00a0 It turned under the watchful gaze of the Keystone Hotel and then proceed south to Ninth, where it turned again to the right and came to a stop at Ninth and Wall.\u00a0 It was October 8th, and the people of Joplin had come to celebrate the laying of the cornerstone of the new Carnegie Library.<\/p>\n

The parade had formed at 2:30 pm and consisted of a number of different groups.\u00a0 In the vanguard was Police Chief Jake Cofer with a platoon of police officers.\u00a0 Behind the police, the South Joplin band played and stomped in celebration, and were followed by 66 members of the Knights Templar from Joplin and the surrounding area.\u00a0 The contingent of Knights Templar was outnumbered by the 151 members of the Masonic Blue Lodge.\u00a0 Behind the Masons came 2,386 excited school children, headed by 29 high school students and teachers, walked four abreast down the city streets.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>

A different parade, but an example of a parade down Main Street and how the Elks might have marched that October afternoon.<\/p><\/div>\n

Behind the flood of children came 24 grey headed members of the Grand Army of the Republic from\u00a0 Joplin’s O.P. Morton Post. As in 1865, the veterans marched proudly behind a cherished battle flag.\u00a0 Approximately 60 individuals of the Elks and Eagles followed the veterans and then bringing up the rear were thirty members of the Knights of Pythias commanded by Joplin attorney Joel T. Livingston.<\/p>\n

Thousands surrounded the construction site of the library.\u00a0 The limestone walls soared over the crowd, such was the progress that had been made since Augustus C. Michaelis was selected as the architect in February.\u00a0 A platform rested against the side of the building next to where the cornerstone was to be laid.\u00a0 Children, anxious to see the ceremony, climbed the surrounding trees and hung perilously from branches.<\/p>\n

A band took up position beside the platform while the mayor of Joplin, John C. Trigg, climbed onto the platform to address the crowd.\u00a0 His speech, the lengthiest of the day, began with the origin of the movement for the library.\u00a0 The mayor boasted that the tax revenue from property valued at $4,000,000 was more than sufficient to support the library, but also noted that it had not been enough for the construction of the building.\u00a0 For this, Mayor Trigg credited industrialist Andrew Carnegie who, \u201ccame to the rescue and dissipated all doubts and disquieting fears.\u201d\u00a0 Trigg continued:<\/p>\n

\u201cNo event in the history of the city of Joplin will perhaps stand out in bolder or more prominent relief in the future than the laying of the corner stone of the Carnegie public library building\u2026It should be accentuated as a distinct epoch in the annals of the city, from which to date as from the dawn of the new century, an augmented zeal in the material, moral and intellectual improvement of our people of all classes and conditions\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

After the mayor established the effect of the library on the city, he then described the benefit of books, \u201cThe inestimable value of books is no longer a vexed or mooted question.\u00a0 The wise, the good and the great of all ages and nations, divines, poets, philosophers and statesmen, have contributed the most cogent and convincing testimony in support of the premise.\u201d\u00a0 Trigg went on, reading excerpts from such authors as Joseph Addison, Richard DeBury, and Louisa May Alcott.\u00a0 Finally, and perhaps to the relief of some in the crowd, the mayor concluded his speech.\u00a0 This was followed by a brief rendition of the song, \u201cRemember Now Thy Creator,\u201d that setup the next speaker, Reverend Paul Brown.\u00a0 Brown was a substitute for Judge Picher, who had been unable to attend the ceremonies that day.<\/p>\n

Reverend Brown reflected on the origin of free libraries and then spoke of libraries as essential to democracy:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the end of democracy?\u00a0 I answer the end of democracy is a natural aristocracy.\u00a0 There is an aristocracy of nature which no contract or statute can ever abolish\u2026.Here in the district, our chief industry, mining, weeds out weaklings and cowards, and creates a natural aristocracy of physical courage and vision in the depths of the earth.\u00a0 Now what does democracy guard against?\u00a0 Not natural aristocracy, but artificial, the aristocracy of mere birth or place or force or accident.\u00a0 Democracy means that equality of opportunity which will give the natural aristocracy a chance.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

It was books, Brown argued, that provided the opportunity for men to overcome the privileged aristocracy who were born to fame, title, or fortune.\u00a0 Brown, after noting famous authors of history, praised the city’s superintendent, J.D. Elliff, whom Brown stated, had played the crucial role in seeing the library created.\u00a0 Brown soon concluded his remarks, followed by a song from the band, and again, when the time finally came for the actual laying of the cornerstone.<\/p>\n

\"Laying<\/a>

The laying of the cornerstone of the Joplin Carnegie Library.<\/p><\/div>\n

This august moment was overseen by the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Masons, John C. Yocum.\u00a0 The Grand Master announced the placement of the cornerstone, as it was guided by a small crane and lowered carefully into place.\u00a0 An invocation was given by the Mason’s Grand Chaplain, who was accompanied by the Masonic ceremonies of deposit and consecration.\u00a0 One last speaker arose, Dr. W.P. Kuhn, a senior grand warden of the Masons from Kansas City.\u00a0 Dr. Kuhn opted to win the crowd through praise of the children present, as well a quick joke about Methodist and Presbyterian preachers:<\/p>\n

\u201c The Methodist preacher never prepared a sermon or at any rate never had any reference notes, but his services were largely attended, while the Presbyterian divine labored conscientiously over his discourses, wrote them painstakingly out and read them with painstaking fidelity.\u00a0 But, his flock was few, and in a spirit of discouragement he came to the Methodist preacher and asked him why it was that the people crowded to hear him who never prepared a sermon while his own church was all but empty.\u00a0 And the Methodist replied, \u201cMy good friend, you write out your sermons and the devil is right there behind you.\u00a0 He knows every word that you’re going to say and he is able to circumvent every effort you make, no matter how praiseworthy.\u00a0 Now I don’t know what I’m going to say and I know the devil don’t know what I’m going to say either, and that’s the difference between us.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Dr. Kuhn concluded by stressing the importance of free libraries, as they were part of the \u201cthree planks that the structure of every American community is founded.\u201d\u00a0 The other two planks were free thought and free speech.\u00a0 Immediately after the crowd sang, \u201cAmerica,\u201d and the cornerstone laying ceremony ended with a benediction offered by the Rev. Charles A. Wood.<\/p>\n

With the cornerstone laid, construction on the library resumed.\u00a0 The building incomplete, the actual Joplin library, which was already in existence was housed at the Joplin high school and overseen by Lucile Baker, the first librarian.\u00a0 Ms. Baker was a writer for the Joplin News-Herald<\/em> and used the byline of \u201cBecky Sharp\u201d in a nod to Missouri’s own Mark Twain.<\/p>\n

The library was finally completed a year later.\u00a0 The city received its first check from Andrew Carnegie at a sum of $5,000.\u00a0 Twelve years later, the city sought and received another $20,000 from the generous benefactor for an addition to the west side of the library.\u00a0 In charge of the library, now at home in its new building, was Mary B. Swanwick, who was joined by assistant librarians Blanche Trigg, Mary Scott, and Hattie Ruddy Rice.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Joplin Carnegie Library not long after completion.<\/p><\/div>\n

As of 1911, the library had 15,737 books as well as 2,643 magazines and periodicals.\u00a0 Over the year, over ten thousand people used the library, around 1\/4th of the city’s population, and almost 65,000 books were circulated.\u00a0 Active card holders numbered almost 7,000.\u00a0 Ten years later, the head librarian, Swanwick, passed away and was eventually replaced by Blanche Trigg, daughter of Joplin Mayor John Trigg. She oversaw the institution until 1949.\u00a0 It was under the oversight of Trigg’s successor, Margaret Hager, who helped lead the movement in the 1970s to purchase the Connor Hotel and the rest of the 300 Block as the site of a new library building.\u00a0 That building, the present home of the Joplin Public Library, opened in April, 1981.<\/p>\n

Sources: Joplin News Herald, Joplin Globe, \u201cA History of Jasper County, Missouri and its People,\u201d by Joel Livingston, and Missouri Digital History.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Under a bright October afternoon sun, a crowd of ten thousand gathered to watch a parade snake its way from Fourth and Joplin streets to Main Street.\u00a0 It turned under the watchful gaze of the Keystone Hotel and then proceed south to Ninth, where it turned again to the right and came to a stop […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,245,37,35,39],"tags":[490,494,496,328,491,52,492,380,31,376,383,495,497,493,11],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}