Walworth-Seely Public Library: Ormsby
Thomas R. Ormsby
Former Board Member, Walworth-Seely Public Library
Thomas R. Ormsby is one of the people in our neighborhood. One of the many hats he’s worn, is to have helped make our Walworth-Seely Public Library the gateway to knowledge that it is today.
“One of the first things Pat and I did when we moved into Walworth in 1973,” Tom said during our telephone interview, “was to register at the library which was in the little red house.”
Marty Davis was the Library Director at that time, but Mary Perry began soon after the Ormsby’s came on the scene. When the Board wanted to extend the library hours into the early night-time, they felt it wasn’t safe for the female library assistant to be there alone, so Tom sort of hung around reading to keep her company. At some point, he asked her if she felt safer with him there. She said that in her other job, she was a security guard covering 14-floors! Ah, well, so much for good intentions!
Tom was a library trustee from September, 1991 to February, 1997 and President of the Board from 1993 to 1996.
“I was on the Board when the decision to build a new facility was made and helped the library move,” Tom commented. “The Highway Department came with their trucks to help us actually move all the books and paraphanilia into the new building on Lorraine Drive.”
For many years, Tom has been the all-around-handyman for things the library needed.
“Since we have long winters and people wear coats, we needed a coat rack that both children and adults could use,” Tom said. “I built a rack out of strong, beautiful oak that could go down low for the children to use during their Story Hours, but could be raised for adults to use during their programs at the library.”
As a matter of fact, Tom also made the coat rack that is in the Town Hall section of the building. His love of working with wood has left a lasting legacy in Walworth.
Tom is no stranger to doing things for children. He was the official “grandfather” for the nursery children in Ardith Rose’s Teddy Bear Trail Nursery School in the mid-1980’s. He loved coming in to plant seeds with the children each spring, as well as hosting a field trip in the late spring to his and Pat’s vintage home and well-maintained acres on the Walworth-Ontario Road. He taught the children to walk very quietly so they could hear the birds, instead of running around to startle the birds into flight; notice the diferent shapes of the leaves you could touch, and the ones to avoid; and to breathe in the fresh, spring air. At the farthest end of the loop, his tractor and wagon was stationed with a snack, juice, and a rest before our trek back to the beginning.
Have you noticed the handsome display case in the library? It was crafted by Jerry Sampson and donated by George and Candace Komorowski in memory of their son, Zachery Andrew Komorowski. One of the early displays in it was the hand-crafted walking sticks Tom loves to make.
Tom also fashioned the fold-out extension at the library’s check-out counter that enables folks in a wheel-chair to have a writing surface at the right height for them to use. In the library basement, Tom built a storage system that uses wire screen to economize on space and let air circulate to lessen the chance for mildew to form.
“I’m impressed with the excelent personnel in the library,” Tom said. “When you go up to the check-out counter with a question or to check-out something, they are quick to smile and say: How may I help you? Not all people in service to the public are so friendly and helpful. One day, I requested a specific book on Scotland and within a few days, they had located a copy in a Chicago Library and it was waiting for me in Walworth. The Friends of the Library does a really good job, too. They are all volunteers and their used book sale twice a year takes a lot of time for them, but it is a great fund raiser.”
Tom feels that the library definitly needs more space as the number of patrons increase and the books and other media items increase. He is impressed with the constant use of computers in the library. Tom and his companion, Lynn enjoy going to Vero Beach, FL and they know how much they enjoy the old-time Mary Tyler Moore movies and classic books, but he realizes the library is not a museum, and some things must be culled from time to time.
After Pat died in 2003, Tom moved to Macedon where he still keeps active and is often found in the library. He advocated for the Macedon and Walworth Libraries to combine and pool resources, but it was a no go situation. Then, he advocated to expand the present facility to the south, but came up against strong opposition from the folks who had donated money to the trees that had been planted there. Tom takes these disappointments with the grace, good-humor, and optimism that characterizes this gentle man-about-town.
With a chuckle,” he reminisced that he liked the old card system where the card was in the book’s pocket and your name went on the card with the date due stamped on the card and on the book. When the book was returned, the librarian put the card back in the pocket and the book back on the shelf. Tom would review the names to see if he’d already read the book.
Thank you, Tom Ormsby, for being a Walworthian with the accent on worth. Although Pat rests in peace and you have transplanted to Macedon, your legacies lives on with us and you are always in our hearts.
(SOURCE: telephone interview with Tom Ormsby by Kate Chamberlin; Sep08-08; 11:00 AM.)
Walworth-Seely Public Library: Rose
Ardith Rose
Former Walworth-Seely Library Children’s Librarian
Ardith Rose is one of the people in our neighborhood. She and her husband, Chuck, were very involved in our community, schools, Scouts, and especially the 2nd Baptist Church of Walworth as they raised their four children: Todd, Brett, Paul, and Tammy.
Ardith began volunteering at the Walworth-Seely Library while Mary Simpson was the Director (September, 1969 to June, 1970; and May, 1971 to June, 1972), Marty Davis was the Clerk, and MaryAnn Hartley was the Children’s Librarian. Occasionally, Ardith would substitute for Marty after she became the Director, but from January, 1977, to May, 1985Ardith was the Children’s Librarian.
“Space constraints have always been an issue in the library,” Ardith stated during our telephone interview. “We used the upstairs portion of the Seely building for storage and our staff meetings, so it left more space for books and patrons, but there was a space crunch when we had the pre-school Story Hours. We used the front room where the original front door and old book-drop were located. At first we had only one story hour, but then expanded to four story hours.”
The library had many small child-sized, colorful, molded plastic chairs that stacked up on themselves to save space when they weren’t in use. These chairs needed to be arranged for each session and then re-stacked. In front of the audience, Ardith would put a puppet stage or flannel board, or rocking “story” chair, depending on her theme for the session.
“I especially liked to build around the Holiday themes,” Ardith said. “For Thanksgiving, I’d read the story “Stone Soup” and have the children help me make a pretend stone soup with the ingredients I’d brought in. Then, we’d share a finger-food Thanksgiving snack. Volunteer helpers like Pat Ormsby and Louise Weller were very gracious in giving of their time to assist us, no matter what the theme.”
Christmas was another of Ardith’s favorite themes. Special crafts to be turned into gifts, special foods to be taste tested, and, of course, a special visitor dressed in red (a.k.a Tom Ormsby or Tom Fleming).
Ardith’s warmth, wonderful sense of humor, innate knowledge of children, and love was always evident in all she did, but especially so when she put on a puppet show. Bill Wemple built a stage and, as Ardith spun her magic through puppets, our pre-schoolers learned how to handle a myriad of childhood issues in a way they could understand and internalize.
During one of the story hours I attended with my pre-schoolers is an example of Ardith’s unflappability and quick thinking. She was in the middle of a puppet program and the library phone rang. She was the only librarian on duty at the time, so she needed to answer the phone. I saw her get a bit pale and dial a number. She came over to me and asked if I wouldn’t mind taking over the pre-schoolers for a few moments. I didn’t know until our interview (30-years after the incident) that the first phone call was from Mark Simpson. He’d been burning brush and some how caught himself on fire. He’d called Ardith for help…in a hurry. She dialed the ambulance, which took time as it was before the Emergency 911 number had been established; then, found a cover for her story hour. All in a day’s work at the library for Ardith Rose.
“We did have one mystery that kept us wondering what was going on for quite a while,” Ardith mused. “We used to have a jar on our check-out counter for patrons to donate “over-due” money. When I’d open the library, the money would be gone, even if it were only one penny in the jar when I left. Eventually, the mystery was solved, though. Several of the local teens were boosting one of the little ones in through the book-drop. He’d take the money and run.”
Another special event Ardith holds dear is making a float for one of the early Walworth Festivals. The theme of the float was “Storybook Characters”. She remembered there was square dancing on Main Street and other activities in those days.
“Having a strong summer reading program is important,” Ardith said. “Bringing in local authors like MJ Auch, Jay Stetzen, and Rafe Martin, illustrator Eric Carle, as well as local talents like the magician Jim Bush and other entertainors are needed to show the children positive role models.”
Many of these ideas she incorporated into her Teddy Bear Trail Nursery School, held in the mid-80’s. Ardith’s enthusiasm, organizational skills, and investment in our community can be witnessed by the Bradford Pear Tree she and her nursery school students planted in Ginegaw Park near the original pavillion those many years ago. Yes, the tree is still thriving today.
In her vision for the future of Walworth, Ardith sees the Baptist Community Center as a step in the right direction to provide our youth with a safe, fun place to go, but she would like to see it expand to include such activities as basketball, ping pong, and a large meeting room, similar to a YMCA.
Ardith grew up on a farm that is now part of Gananda and attended Macedon Elementary School until 5th grade when her family moved away. Years later, on a visit back to see her “old home”, she found that Chuck’s family was living in the old farm house. Well, They were married on July 28, 1962. Now, four children and 13 grandchildren later, Chuck and Ardith are still enjoying life to the fullest.
Ardith under-scores the mission statement found in the 1962 brochure that commemorated the official ribbon cutting opening the library to the public, it stated:
“To accomplish the one and only purpose of any public library – education and enjoyment derived from books -the Walworth -Seely Public Library offers its patrons the service of a large, invisible force of workers.”
Thank you, Ardith Rose, for being a Walworthian with the accent on worth and being a part of what makes the Walworth-Seely Public Library our gateway to knowledge.
(SOURCE: telephone interview with Ardith Rose by Kate Chamberlin, August 11, 2008)
NOTE: Here are some of the books written by the authors Ardith mentioned. MJ Auch: Beauty and the Beaks, Wing Nut, Chickerella. Rafe Martin: Birdwing, The Shark God, The Monkey Bridge,. Eric Carle: The Grouchy Ladybug, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?, The Tiny Seed. Story-teller Jay Stetzer: 3 Granger Place Rochester, N.Y. 14607 (585) 727-0700. Magician Jim Bush: (315)986-5624, Email: info@jimbushmagic.com, P.O.Box 975, Macedon, NY 14502