| 1936 |
The Cherryville Woman's Club went before the Board of
County Commissioners in Dallas and asked for an appropriation of $100.00 to begin a
library in Cherryville. The request was granted. The
library was housed in the Woman's Club house on First Street, next to the high school.
Miss Maxine Beam was the first librarian-succeeded by Miss Evelyn Browne. |
| 1940 |
The library was relocated at Nuway
Clubhouse with Mrs. Erskine Carson as librarian. |
| 1941 |
Woman's Club bought the John J. George house on South Elm
Street for their clubhouse. Here a bookmobile station was set up under the direction of
Mrs. Davis George. |
| 1946 |
Woman's Club sold their clubhouse.
Bluestocking Book Club adopted the library for a period of several years. They set up
shelves in the Princess Beauty Shop on Main Street with the library's small collection
supplemented by bookmobile service. High school girls served as part-time librarians after
school hours, paid by the book club. |
| 1950 |
Junior Woman's Club adopted as its project for the year
the opening of a public library. It was learned that Cherryville could become a branch of
the Gaston County Public Library if a location and a paid librarian could be secured. A local library board was appointed with Mrs. Emmett Houser as the
chairman. Other members of this board were Rev. George Riddle, Mrs. James L. Putnam, Jr.,
W.B. Rhyne, Grier Beam, Rev. E.S. Elliott, W.T. Robinson, Carlyle Summer and Fenton
Larson.
On November 14, 1959. the Cherryville Branch Library
officially opened in the McGinnis Building on Oak Street. Miss Nettie Willis, previously
librarian of the Phoenix Indian School in Arizona. was hired as the first librarian. |
| 1954 |
The library moved to the Masonic
Building on the corner of Main and South Mulberry Streets. Miss Willis resigned in
December to work in the Baptist Home in Winston-Salem. In June of 1955, she was killed in
an automobile accident. Mrs. Margaret Ledford succeeded Miss Willis. |
| 1957 |
County-wide library tax referendum passed. |
| 1959 |
The new Cherryville Branch of the Gaston
County Public Library officially opened February 21, 1959 with Mrs. Margaret Ledford Smith
as librarian. |
| 1972 |
Branch library is expanded. Old house adjacent to library
was bought and razed to build addition. Cost of property was $12,000. Local citizens
organized fund-raising projects such as bake sales, carnivals, etc., and in less than a
year, the note was paid. |
| 1982 |
Margaret Smith retires as supervisor.
Gwendolyn "Teddy" Robinson Kilby is named as supervisor. |
| 1988 |
A $186,000 renovation was completed in the fall of the
year. It involved an overhaul of the building's exterior to create a more energy-efficient
structure. A new roof was added and the interior was made completely
handicapped-accessible with remodeled rest rooms. New carpeting and revamped lighting
systems were also installed. In addition to Teddy Kilby, staff members include Martha Pope
and Pat Metcalf. |
| 1993 |
Gwendolyn "Teddy" Kilby
retires. Dianne Navey is named supervisor. Staff members include Martha Pope, full-time
and Barbara Farris, part-time. |
| 1994 |
Circulation system and card catalog are automated with the
installation of the Galaxy/OPAC system. |
| 1995 |
Susan Aderholdt is named supervisor. |
| 1997 |
Long-time employee Martha Pope retires after 30+ years of
service. Sandra Carpenter becomes the new full-time employee. |
| 1998 |
The Cherryville Branch Library continues
to be one of the busiest branches in Gaston County. With an average monthly circulation of
over 4600 items, the branch offers books on tape, videocassettes and music cassettes in
addition to traditional print materials. The
library provides a weekly pre-school storyhour as well as a very highly-participated-in
summer reading program for pre-school through sixth grades.
Cherryville, as a town, is very supportive of its library.
There is a strong network of readers who keep the reserve system active.
Access to the Internet in the branch is anticipated before
the end of the year. |
