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Show Children thank Librarian Friday afternoon a group of Pleasant Grove children gathered on Drucilla Smith's porch to surprise sur-prise her with a balloon bouquet, a gift of a new briefcase, and $340 to donate to the new library in her name. Drucilla, more familiarly known as Dot, retired on Sept. 1 as Pleasant Grove City Librarian, a post she has held for 25 years. The children dropped in to say "Thank you" to a woman who has helped them choose good books to read, who has purchased the best of high quality books for the library, who has assisted innumerable students with research papers, who has shared her knowledge with anyone who has asked, and who has taken a special interest in the historical side of the present library. Dot, who is planning on spending her time doing genealogy, temple work and visiting her children, said that the biggest change she saw at the library over the past 25 years was the number of people using the facility. She said that circulation really went up as the population of the community increased. More money was allotted for books each year and the number of hours she spent in the library greatly increased, also. When she became librarian at the retirement of Zelda Freeman, the library was not open in the evenings. Dot said it used to be that, other than children, the library was primarily used by the women. There were many good female authors then, too. Now there are more good men authors than there used to be and men are now using the library I 1 Drucilla Smith, back center, was surprised Friday when these children gave her a big thank you for 25 years of service as city librarian. The children are, L-R, Melissa j Morton, Jillyn Willden, Jason Willden, Wayne Stansfield, Brett Clayson, Julie Stansfield, Melanie Morton, Lisa Willden and Holly Adams. Absent were Misty Beck, Lacey Willden ! and Charlotte Needham. j as often as women. Children read a lot of books. Old favorites are still popular. "You can tell a lot about kids by what they read," Dot explained. Science fiction books are taken out by the thinkers, she added. Women like historical romances or a good light mystery, she said. The library has about 20,000 books right now. Dot noted that lots of kids do research for papers at the library now but that didn't used to be the case. The library is a popular spot in the city. People with all kinds of strange questions call the library to get the answers. Sometimes people know only one line of a poem or one word from a book title and come hoping the librarian can help them find it. They usually can. A few years ago, Dot wrote the history of the building which presently houses the library. She is a native of Pleasant Grove and desirous that histories of some of the old homes and buildings be preserved in the library. She has also written a history of Strawberry Days. Dot has given a presentation in costume and in the first person, of her Aunt Patience Loader Rosa Archer as taken from her aunt's journal. She does a lot of speaking throughout the area. She married Ernest P. Smith in 1945. He died in 1959. She is the mother of seven children including Mrs. Verdon (Laurene) Walker, p Midvale; Lowell Smith, Layton; ; Mrs. Bryon (Coralee) Drennan, Sandy; Mrs. Ray (Ann) Newman, : and Mrs. John (Barbara) Bezzant, j Pleasant Grove; Mrs. Michael (Nola Gene) Harvey, Overland Park, Kan.; and Ernest L. Smith, American Fork. Dot is the ward librarian in the Pleasant Grove First Ward. She is a member of the Historical Preservation Preser-vation Committee in the city, is a member of the Pleasant Grove Arts Council, and is the vice president of Cadmus Club. She will be missed by the residents of Pleasant Grove, but the library is still there and the new librarian will help out just like Dot did in the past. And Dot plans to stay active so you should see her everywhere. |