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.)