FROM LEFT TO RIGHT AT THE HEAD TABLE
DEE BELLOTTE, DAVID ADAME, R.W. SKRABANEK,
JOANN GRIGGS, QUEIN MORRIS, D. PRESSER, M. LUSK,
AND W.J. HARWELL
DIRECTOR
JEANNA DIGGS
HISTORY OF JACINTO CITY LIBRARY
The Harris County Public Library in Jacinto City of¬
ficially opened its doors at a ribbon-cutting ceremony,
Open House on Sunday, June 29, 1958, and began opera¬
tion on Wednesday, July 2, 1958.
Ten years before this a small group of women, in¬
cluding Edythe Tompson, wife of a Jacinto City doctor,
collected about three hundred books and petitioned the
county commissioner at that time for a local library. The
petition was denied "because it would be in an incor¬
porated city.”
The city was served by the Harris County Bookmobile
for many years prior and after this, coming to the city
about every three weeks. This ceased when the branch
opened.
In 1957 Dorothy Bowyer, a resident of the city and
regular patron of the bookmobile became interested in
establishing a branch in Jacinto City. The county librarian,
Mrs. Mary Butler, advised her to approach the city council
of Jacinto City for a building to house the library, and to
have the citizens petition the county commissioner, V.V.
Ramsey. The city council readily agreed to furnish the
building which had once been their first city hall, and to
move it from Market Street to a convenient location near
the ball park and recreation building. They also agreed to
remodel it and maintain the building for library use. They
talked to Commissioner Ramsey, who agreed to bring it
before Commissioner’s Court "if the people want it”, in¬
dicating that a petition was not necessary. Mrs. Bowyer
then contacted all the organizations in the community:
PTA’s sororities, civic clubs, Lions, Lodges, and other
benevolent organizations and urged all those interested in
having a branch library to write to Commissioner Ramsey.
He was flooded with letters.
Mrs. Bowyer was appointed librarian, and a library
board of representatives of the community was appointed
by Mayor A.J. Holder to help promote library awareness
and service. This board was chaired by Donald Parrish;
Mrs. E.L. McGowan acted as secretary, and Edythe Tomp¬
son served as publicity chairman. Mrs. Tompson started a
scrapbook of library publicity, pictures, etc., and this is
available for examination at the library. Another member
of the board was Mrs. Amy Chandler, wife of Lonzo, one
of the city’s first mayors.
At the Open House Mayor A.J. Holder cut the ribbon,
and special guests included Commissioner V.V. Ramsey,
library director Mrs. Mary Butler and her assistant Mrs.
Mary Taylor, city councilmen J.D. Liles and Powd
McLuen, and library board members. Girl Scout troups
1319 of Jacinto City and 875 of Greens Bayou served
refreshments and acted as tour guides around the library.
The library opened with about 3,000 books, and was
open three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday,
for a total of fifteen hours a week. 159 persons registered
for library cards the first day of operation, and was obliged
to enlist the aid of her daughter Nancy and a friend Miss
Jeri Light to help her with the work, which was taking as
much after hours time as that of hours open. Winter hours
were set later to accommodate school children and work¬
ing people.
Many books were donated to the library to supplement
those the county furnished. The Pi Xi Sorority donated a
new set of Compton’s Encyclopedia and donated the year¬
books for it for a number of years thereafter.
In 1959, the year after opening, the library had cir¬
culated 22,797 books and was 9th in rank of circulation of
the county’s 16 branches. The Jacinto City Branch was to
stay in the top 10 in circulation for many years thereafter;
circulation dropping when Woodforest branch opened in
1969, serving part of the area this branch had covered and
with the increase of local recreation activities there were
less juvenile readers.
In I960 the Rainbow Garden Club landscaped the
library grounds. Later Mr. and Mrs. Monroe Cobb planted
a palm tree in front of the library, Scout troops planted
flowers, and in the 80’s roses and shrubs were planted by
Thomas Murphy.
In 1961, with a record book circulation exceeded only
by the county’s two largest branches, the library had
outgrown its space. The City of Jacinto City built a 12x33
addition onto the back of the library building, nearly
doubling its size. They remodeled the exterior also.
With the new addition a reality, the county commis¬
sioners granted the branch an assistant librarian, Mrs.
Doris Garren, who began work on March 1, 1961 and was
to remain in that position for fifteen years and then re¬
mained as substitute for another five years.
In 1964 an L-shaped double section of shelving was
built in the main section of the library, increasing substan¬
tially the book capacity.
In 1965 Mrs. Bowyer started a series of weekly book
columns in the Sentinel Newspaper and these ran each
week for a year.
Gifts and Donations.
The library has received donations of furniture, books,
records, pictures and money throughout the years. The
City of Jacinto City started giving the library a book
budget after the first few years of operation and this
money carefully accounted for, was spent to supplement
ihe books the county furnished. It was used not only for
purchasing new books, such as easy-readers, but also for
°oks on sale, rebinding worn books and for additional
magazines. When the county library budget became ade¬
quate for the library needs, the money from the city for
°oks was discontinued.
In 1968 three organizations made cash donations to be
used for new books: The Jacinto City Civic Club, The
Greater Northshore Jaycee-ettes and the Jacinto City
Retail Merchants. Books purchased with these funds were
put on display at an Open House during National Library
Week in April 1968. Also in 1968 and 1969 RCA Victor
Records sent a box of new and popular records to the
library. In 1972 the Galena Park Association of Childhood
Education gave Jacinto City and Galena Park branch
libraries fifteen children’s books each.
In 1972 five new and needed books were donated in
honor of Jacinto City Councilman Powd McLuen by his
wife for his 85th birthday.
Gifts of $100.00 for large-print books were made to the
library by the Golden Eagles Ladies Auxiliary of the
Fraternal Order of Eagles # 3098 in 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982
and 1983.
Special Programs and Activities
Beginning with the second summer of operation (1959),
the library had a Summer Reading Program for elementary
school-age children. The material was usually furnished by
the Texas State Library, but the local librarians designed
bulletin boards and special activities which went with it, as
well as the award programs at the end of each summer,
which varied from simple refreshments and the awarding
of certificates to movies and more elaborate puppet shows
of recent years.
Each Tuesday morning at 10:00 the library has a
preschool story time. Originally an hour long and con¬
ducted by volunteers, the time was later shortened to a
half-hour and became the responsibility of the assistant
librarian. The volunteers held the story hour in the city’s
community building, and free knitting and crocheting
lessons were offered to parents while the children had their
program. This was discontinued after several years through
lack of teachers.
Especially well-received programs, some of which were
repeated, were ones on simple cake decorating, taught by
Mrs. Beth Bowyer, the librarian’s daughter-in-law, Making
a Will, by local attorney Jack Maner, Rape Prevention by
the police chief Allan Jamail, and an annual Workshop on
Library Resources for Teachers of Preschool children,
given by the librarian.
From 1972-1978 the local Galena Park Elementary
Schools’ art exhibits were put on display at the library
once a year, usually coinciding with National Library
Week.
In 1965 a Book Discussion Group was formed, meeting
once a month except for the summer months, in the
library. The program was dropped two years later when
moderator George Miller, minister of the local
Presbyterian Church, moved away and no replacement for
him as moderator was located.
In July 1973 the library celebrated its fifteenth year with
an Open House; refreshments were served to a number of
guests.
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