Laura Frei has many good memories of the county library and believes the area was blessed to have it

Recorded December 17, 2018 Archived December 17, 2018 09:24 minutes
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Id: APP599387

Description

Recording April 24, 2018 – As a child, Laura Kay Paxman Frei and her sister, Vickie Ann Paxman Hatch, walked two miles with an armload of books to the St. George Library. After returning books, the girls loaded back up and walked home. She thought the effort made her appreciate the books and made them more valuable to her. It made them into avid readers, along with the encouragement from their parents. The librarians often let her check out more than the allotted number because she would return them in time and had earned their trust.

Laura has fond memories from the children's section of a large globe, many books, the little Red Riding Hood mural, Mrs. Eliza Jones, and the stereograph photo viewer. It was located in the downstairs basement of the St. George Carnegie Library in southern Utah. Laura loved the Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins, and Trixie Belden series. She had looked forward to the day when she would be able to use the upstairs “grown-up” area.

After learning that the St. George Carnegie Library building was going to be torn down and replaced in the late 1970s, Laura started a petition to save it. It garnered quite a few signatures, even a former mayor. Someone on the city council talked to her about the disrepair and need for a new building. She withdrew the petition. It broke her heart when it was demolished.

Participants

  • Laura Frei
  • Julie Walton
  • washcoarchive

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