A Summer of Books

Hello readers and welcome back to the Hometown Heritage Blog!
 
Summer Break is finally upon us and with it comes bored kids looking for something to do. There are many activities that kids like to do to pass the time, including sports, video games, and playing with other toys. However, there is one summer activity that appears to be a long standing tradition for children everywhere: a summer reading program!
 
It seems that the summer reading program has had a long history in Perry. The earliest photos in our collection that pertain to the summer reading program date back to 1966: 51 years ago! The photo showing two kids, Kay and Bobby Kidney, getting prizes from the librarian at the time, Louise Fullhart, for reading 30 books that summer. Another photo, this time from 1968, shows Louise Fullhart once again. This time she is with her husband, Frank Fullhart, who was there to tell the children stories about his railroad days. The interesting thing about this photo is that it is taken somewhere in the Carnegie Library which is, of course, our current home. However, although now the Children’s Room, or Room of Wonder, is upstairs, back in the 1960s it was moved downstairs to where the Courtroom is now. It looks quite different from this picture! Gone are the bookcases and curtains to be replaced with the current Courtroom furniture. It would have been interesting for me to see what the whole room looked like compared to now.
 
It seems like the children of Perry have been enjoying a reading program for a long time, and they will continue to enjoy it in the years to come. In fact, the reading program for this summer starts soon with Kids Fest this weekend! Although it is hosted by the Perry Public Library, we will also be taking part in Kids Fest. Here at the Carnegie Library Museum kids will partake in a scavenger hunt to find some historic photos. Perhaps I’ll see you there readers, and come back next week for another Hometown Heritage blog!