School’s back in session, and public libraries are scheduling story times for preschoolers this fall.
But library story times are not a new phenomenon, as evidenced by this photo from the late 1930s.
Marion Turner, the first librarian of the De Soto Public Library, leads a story session with a group of (mostly engaged) children.
Turner was the librarian of record in 1935 when the library that serves the Fountain City opened, thanks to the efforts of the De Soto Lions Club, which organized the drive to establish it.
The first library was located in a room in the school.
Turner served the library for seven years, when she retired. She was replaced by Anne Fischer, who spent 20 years on the job.
She, in turn, gave way to Betty Olson in September 1962, who had started as an assistant librarian in 1958 and is still on the job.
Turner oversaw the move of the library from the school to a vacant house owned by the Presbyterian Church at Easton and Second streets in 1937.
In 1942, it moved to the second floor of the old De Soto City Hall at 413 S. Second St.
After Olson was appointed librarian, she led a remodeling of the second-floor quarters. In 1965, it moved to the site vacated by the Gillman Department Store at 124-126 Main St.
The library moved to its current home at 712 S. Main St., the site of the old De-Gee’s Super Market.
LOOKING BACK is a Leader online feature that highlights historic photos. Readers are invited to submit their historic Jefferson County photos for online publication. Send submissions to LOOKING BACK to nvrweakly@aol.com or bring or mail them to the Leader office, 503 N. Second St., Festus (P.O. Box 159, 63028). Please include your name, phone number, a brief description of what’s in the photo and tell us how you came by it. Please also include when it was taken, where and by whom (if known). A new LOOKING BACK feature will be posted each week.