HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEE MEMORIAL LIBRARY!  

By Jim Wright
Library Trustee

Part 1: 1900 to 1925

     Did you know that back at the turn of the 20th century, in our town's horse and buggy days, the Ladies of Allendale's Village Improvement Committee voted for a public library -- but only if it were coupled with a plan to fix the local roads.

   "Allendale needs a public library, but do not let us forget that something must be done about our intolerable roads," exclaimed one of the board members back in 1900. "Why, only last week my carriage sank to the axle in a mudhole up the street."

  The library, one of the first in northern Bergen County, opened in Allendale's public school and was supported entirely by private funding. The local population in 1900 was 694.

   "It was a period when Allendale -- 'four hours from the city by horse and carriage' -- was a popular summer resort," a 1946 article in the Ridgewood Herald-News reported. "Summer boarders were the new library's principal patrons and the library was open only during June, July and August.

"The library had a vicarious existence for nearly twenty years," the newspaper reported. "Funds were limited. Quarters were cramped. Moves were numerous."

    The tiny library had to move from its original quarters when the need arose for a school cloak room. It eventually moved to Allendale's flat-iron building, currently the Thomas, Freeman, & Giglio Insurance Agency, near the train station. 

In 1919, the Village Improvement Authority turned over the reins to a newly formed Allendale Library Association, which wanted to build a new library.

   On the new board was the volunteer librarian, Mary K. Lee, for whom Lee Memorial Library is named.

   The celebration kicks off on Wednesday, July 23, with family movie night on the great lawn of Lee Memorial Library, so book the date and stay tuned.

To be continued...