Library Leadership: Directors We Have Known

Posted on April 18, 2013 by SCblogger

In honor of National Library Week, we thought we’d take a look at those who have led the Davenport Public Library over the past 111 years.

Even with this brief amount of information, it’s interesting to note how the education, geographical origins, position longevity, and gender-based differences of our directors have changed over the course of a century:

Marilla Waite Freeman
Term: October 1902 – February 1905

The first director of the Davenport Public Library was born in 1870 in Honeoye Falls, New York.   She received her library training at the University of Chicago under John Dewey.  She died in White Plains, New York on October 29, 1961.

Stella V. Seybold
Term: May 1905 – February 1906

Ms. Seybold was born in 1879 in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from the University of Cincinnati.   She assisted Ms. Freeman in selecting German books for the Davenport Public library collection before being named Director, a position she held until she married Frank J. Heinl   in February of 1906. She passed away September 28, 1966, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Grace Delphine Rose
Term: 1906 – March 1920

Ms. Rose was born June 10, 1870 in Pennsylvania.  While Director, she was appointed the president of the Iowa Library Association for 1912 and served as Camp Librarian at Camp Bowie Texas in 1918. After leaving Davenport, she established various library branches at factory buildings and in schools.   Ms. Rose died May 25, 1958, in Kern, California.

Grace Shellenberger
Term:  March 1920 – March 1933

Ms. Shellenberger was born in Bolivar, Missouri, and attended the Carnegie Library School in Pittsburgh, PA.  She taught courses in children’s library work at the State University of Iowa and worked to extend library service to Bettendorf, Eldridge and Buffalo.

She served as our director until her death on March 29, 1933.

Edna Geisler
Term: August 1933 – March 1946

Ms. Geisler was born in Wilton, Iowa, and received her Library degree from Western Reserve University Library School in Ohio.  She was vice-president of the Iowa Library Associate in 1938.  She left Davenport Public Library to marry J. Andrew Davidson on March 14, 1946.   Mrs. Davidson died Alhambra, California, on August 11, 1967.

Elizabeth Martin
Term: April 1946 – December 1954

Ms. Martin graduated from the University of Iowa and worked for the Davenport Public Library for forty years, taking a leave of absence to work with the Library of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, in Washington D.C.  She died May 16, 1983.

Harold Goldstein
Term: February 1955 – September 1959

Mr. Goldstein was born October 3, 1917, in Norfolk, Virginia, and received his Master and Doctorate degrees from Teachers’ College Columbia University.  He married Julia Deutsch on November 4, 1943, making him the first married director as well as the first male director of the Davenport Public Library.  While director, he revamped the building by relocating the circulation department and adopted modern techniques in the circulation department.

He died in Tallahassee, Florida on December 8, 1986.

Oswald H. Joerg
Term: November 1959 – September 1970

Mr. Joerg received his Masters degree from the Columbia University School of Library Service. He was director when the original Carnegie library began to disintegrate and was responsible for securing a $235,000 federal grant for a new Main Library and for hiring architect Edward Durrel Stone to design it.

He passed away August 8, 1996.

Judith Ellis
Term: 1970 – 1982

Ms. Ellis was born in Oskaloosa, Iowa.  She earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of Northern Iowa and received her Master of Library Science from University of Iowa.

She served the Davenport Public Library for seven years as our Administrative Assistant before stepping in as the interim director.  Eventually, she was confirmed in the position.

She passed away in Colorado in 2003.

C. Daniel Wilson
Term: 1982 – 1985

Mr. Wilson served as the associate director of the Birmingham, Alabama Public Library before moving to Davenport.  After leaving Davenport, he served as director of the New Orleans Public Library system.

Kay Runge
Term: 1985 – 2001

Ms. Runge was the Director of the Scott County Library System prior to working for the Davenport Public Library.  She was appointed president of the Public Library Association in 2000 and was later elected councilor to the American Library Association.  After leaving our library, she served as director of Des Moines Public Library.

Meg Sarff
Term: 2001 – 2003

Born 12 April 1946 in Springfield, IL, Ms. Sarff received her Masters  in Library Sciences from the University of Illinois.  She was Assistant Director of our library for twenty years before serving as Director.  In 2003, she became our Customer Service manager before retiring in 2005.

She passed away August 20, 2011, in Springfield, Illinois.  We miss her.

LaWanda Roudebush
Term: 2003 – 2013

Ms. Roudebush first worked at the Davenport Public Library as a reference librarian loaned to the Southeastern Regional Library System.  Later, she was in charge of our Business collection, and spent some years as our HR manager, and then as a branch manager.  She left Davenport in 1992, and, after working at two library systems in the Chicago suburbs and serving as director for the Fort Dodge Public Library, moved back as our director.

During her decade as director, she oversaw the construction of two new branch library buildings and the establishment of new library technology and operating systems during uncertain economic times.

We wish her all the best in her retirement!

And finally, we welcome our newest director, KennethWayne Thompson, who took up the directorship of our library April 8th of this year.   We can’t wait to see how his guidance will shape our library in the years to come!

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A Davenport First: Green River Soda

Posted on April 11, 2013 by SCblogger

 As we wait (im)patiently in our department for winter to bloom into spring, we linger a little longer over the warm weather pictures and the senior yearbooks we pull for patrons. And sometimes our lingering leads to a blog topic—especially when we find another Davenport first!

In 1914, a Davenporter by the name of Richard C. Jones purchased a confectionary shop at 1205 Harrison Street from then owner Oscar A. Kelley. The sweets and ice cream shop was within brief walking distance of Davenport High School (now Central High School) and Mr. Jones would serve DHS students and other sweet-toothed locals in his shop from 1914 to 1919. Green River 002

Advertisement from the 1917 Davenport High School Bulletin – Mr. Jones kept it simple.

A Davenport Daily Times article from April 10, 1920 (pg. 7) remembered those days fondly and Mr. Jones’ celebrated creation. In 1916, in was written, Mr. Jones invented “a sparkling green drink that found instant favor and which he christened ‘Green River’”.

That sparkling green soda was an immediate hit and became a favorite local refreshment, the article continued. This was apparently true, as Mr. Jones sold the secret recipe in 1919 to the Schoenfhofen Co., and was able to retire from the confectionary business.

Research shows that Mr. Jones went into local real estate for many years, before moving to Clinton, Iowa with his wife and daughter sometime after 1935. Mr. Jones and his wife Nellie are buried in that city.

The little confectionary shop changed hands several times before being listed as vacant in the 1934 Davenport City Directory. It appears to have been torn down by the late 1930s—the address is no longer listed after 1937.

However, that green, sparkling soda created for thirsty Davenport High School students became a national success for the Schoenfhofen Co. and also for Clover Club Beverages of Chicago, which produced Green River in the 1980s.  In 2011, the soda brand was bought by WIT Beverage Company, which still produces it today.

For all you Green River Soda enthusiasts, or for those who might be trying it for the first time,* give a small toast to Mr. Jones and those Davenport high school students of long ago when you open your next bottle. And remember another Davenport first.

Green River 001

Advertisement from the 1921 Davenport High School Blackhawk Yearbook.
New store owner J. F. Gabathuler stayed connected to the success of Mr. Jones and Green River Soda.

(posted by Amy D.)
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*At the posting of this article, both Lagomarcino’s locations—in Davenport, Iowa, and Moline, Illinois—serve Green River.

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A Pencil-Drawn Snapshot in Time: City Engineering Department Survey Books

Posted on April 4, 2013 by SCblogger

Many of our blog posts in the past year have involved the Civil War period, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the event. One Civil War era primary resource in the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections archives is the City of Davenport Engineering Department Survey Books (Accession #2000-01).

These handwritten books cover the years from the 1850’s into the 1910’s. Street grade levels, street plans, building dimensions, and water levels may be found inside the numerous volumes. Each is a “pencil drawn” snapshot of life in Davenport.

One of the earliest volumes in the collection contains information on Camp McClellan and Camp Kearney.  Dated November 11, 1865, these drawings provide details of the camps buildings and layout.

Following are a few images from the 1865 survey book. The images have not been altered except for slight cropping of the scanned image to allow for better viewing.

Camp Kearney.1A Camp Kearney.2A

Camp Kearney.3A

Camp Kerney.5A

Camp Kearney.6A

Camp Kearney.8A

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Marshal-ing our Resources

Posted on March 28, 2013 by SCblogger

Recently, we explained how we uncovered that the man we—and everyone else—had thought was the first City Marshal of Davenport . . . wasn’t.

But this had us researching what the City Marshal—a position that no longer exists—originally did, and when he stopped doing it.

Luckily, a full range of shelving in our archive is filled with cartons full of City Council papers!

According to several documents, the City Council did a major update on ordinances and job expectations in 1866—and the position of City Marshal, as it happens, was updated quite a bit.

Prior to that year, the Marshal was the official head of the police force, whose responsibilities included upholding and enforcing city ordinances and keeping the peace. When needed, the Marshal was also expected to collect taxes for the city.

But after September 1866, the Marshal’s duties were moved into tax collecting, building inspection, wharf security, and the regulation of weights and measures in the city to avoid corruption to name a few duties. He could still arrest people, but every day police enforcement would no longer be his main job.

In his place, the Chief of Police position became the official head of the police force. Interestingly, we find in the 1863 Davenport City Directory Mr. Daniel H. Severance listed as Deputy Marshal and Chief of Police while James W. Means is listed as City Marshal. 

It is beginning to appear that the separation of the duties of City Marshal had begun a few years prior to 1866, but wasn’t officially written into the ordinances until that year. 

We certainly aren’t done trying to find when the title of Chief of Police came into existence. We are hoping more documents in the City Council papers will shed light on this question. 

What is clear is that these ordinance changes in 1866 helped to create the Davenport Police Department as we know it today.

Police Chief Doc

November 8, 1866–Daniel H. Severance is sworn in as the Police Chief of Davenport, Iowa

(posted by Sarah and Amy D.)

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Library Closed this Friday

Posted on March 26, 2013 by SCblogger

The Davenport Public Library—and therefore our Special Collections Center—will be CLOSED  on Friday, March 29, 2013.

We WILL be open our regular hours Saturday, March 30!

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Genealogy Night is Coming!

Posted on March 25, 2013 by SCblogger

Family Tree NutHave you been looking for your Great-great grandfather’s gravesite for so long, you suspect he’s still alive somewhere, snickering at your efforts to find him?

We in the Special Collections Center of the Davenport Public Library understand. And we are once again opening our Center to give you a little extra time to root out those difficult ancestors and tie them to your family tree.

For $10.00, you’ll have the run of the Special Collections Center between 4-9pm on Sunday, April 14th. You’ll be able to use our resources, pick the brains of your fellow genealogists, socialize with those who share your obsessions . . . and we’ll feed you, too!

Registration is limited, so please call us at 326-7902 for more information, or drop off your registration fee at the Special Collections Center at our Main Street location to secure your spot!

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Davenporters of Note: Lottie Boies Clapp

Posted on March 20, 2013 by SCblogger

Women’s History Month provides reminders of the importance of the contributions of women to our present society, culture, and communities.  Many women did this by filling traditional roles, but others took on non-traditional, necessary tasks—and some of them were the first to do so.

One such Davenport woman was Lottie Bois Clapp.

Lottie’s father, Morse Boise, was an embalmer who ran a mortuary at 323 Perry Street in 1857.  When he died in 1890, Margaret Boise, Lottie’s mother, ran the business with the help of the Clapp family, including Seldon B. Clapp, whom Lottie married in 1895.

When Seldon died in 1911, Lottie not only followed her mother’s example and took over the management of the mortuary, she earned her embalmer’s license, becoming the Tri-City area’s first and — at least until her death—only female embalmer.

This was, according to newspaper advertisements of the time, something of a reassurance to ladies who were uncomfortable with the idea of their remains being “seen to” by a gentleman embalmer.

Lottie Clapp knew about networking long before it became a buzzword:  she retained memberships in the Women’s Relief Corps, the Order of the Eastern Star, the Oriental Shrine of Jerusalem, the Scott Zedoka Lodge, the Mississippi Valley Funeral Directors Association, the Business and Professional Women’s Club, and the King’s Daughters.

And she remained in charge of the family business until her death in 1933.  Her body was held in state at the Clapp Mortuary until the funeral at St. John’s Methodist-Episcopal Church.  She was buried in Oakdale Cemetery.

The business was run by her sons, Seldon and Alan Clapp—who had followed in their mother’s footsteps to become embalmers themselves—for only two years.

We suppose it just wasn’t the same without Lottie.

The Daily Times, Monday, 04 December 1911 p.4

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Sources Used:

Davenport City Directories, 1890-1937.

“Clapp Mortuary”, Davenport Democrat, 8Aug1928, p.6

“Mrs. Lottie Clapp, Only Tri-City Woman Embalmer, Dies; Directed Mortuary.” Davenport Democrat, 1Jan1933, p.8.

 

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If At First You Don’t Know . . .

Posted on March 14, 2013 by SCblogger

Sometimes all it takes is one misprint to throw our sense of history off for over 131 years.

For at least that long, it was believed that George Colt was the first City Marshal of Davenport.  This was reinforced by page 721 of the 1882 History of Scott County, Iowa, which, under the List of Officers From the Date of the First Charter To The Present Time, names Mr. Colt as the 1839 Marshal.

However, if one was to read the two paragraphs right above that list, one would find a brief explanation of the incorporation of Davenport, including a discussion about the persons elected at the first council meeting on April 20, 1839. Interestingly, it states that W. H. Patton was elected Marshal.

So who was the first Marshal of Davenport? Was it George Colt or W. H. Patton?

We found both men living in Davenport during the 1840 census. Our next step was to check the April 20th city council minutes. In original handwriting, W.H.H. Patton is written down as the first Marshal.

It was possible that Mr. Colt replaced Mr. Patton before the next election, which would explain his name in the list . . . but a quick review of meeting notes from April through June 1840 doesn’t show a change of Marshal.

But we were still uncertain.  Sometimes we just want a little more proof.

Then we finally received it.

The Iowa Sun was the local paper of the late 1830s into the early 1840s. It would certainly mention the election . . . but unfortunately, our Center had never been able to secure a microfilm copy.

Recently, though, a reel became available and we jumped at the chance to purchase a copy. And on that specific reel is an April 24, 1839 account of the April 20 town council meeting, during which   W.H. Patton was elected Marshal.

We now have two primary resources stating that W.H. (H.) Patton was elected Marshal of Davenport in 1839. The only source we find stating it was George Colt, a well-to-do Davenporter, was written in 1882, over forty years later.

So why wasn’t this mistake noted and corrected sooner?

We all admit looking at a broken down list is quicker than reading a short account of Davenport’s incorporation and once the discrepancy was noticed, we had no way of confirming the information—for many years the original council book was difficult to read and The Sun was not part of our collections.

But now the original council books are on microfilm along with The Sun are easily accessible in our Special Collections department.

And now we can correct our timeline and confirm the name of the first elected Marshal of Davenport : Mr. W. H. Patton.

(Posted by Amy D).

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The Rise and Fall of the Hickey Brothers

Posted on March 7, 2013 by SCblogger

In 1901, William Hickey and his kid brother Dennis pooled their savings and opened a little cigar store at 123 East Third Street.

It did pretty well.

So well, in fact, that in five years, they opened a second store at 424 Brady Street.  And in ten, they were operating a beautiful stand at the Kimball Hotel and a fourth location at the corner of Third and Brady.

And then the brothers rolled up their sleeves and got to work.

Hickey No 8In 1917, Hickey Store No. 8 was built on Second and Brady, and it was a beauty.  There were lunch counters and a commissary in the basement, neon lights for the evening shoppers—even air conditioning, the first building in Davenport to offer such comfort.  Bill Hickey took personal interest in the running of No. 8, promising superlative customer service and guaranteeing that if you weren’t thanked for your business, your purchase was on the house.

Hickey Brothers soon expanded outside of the Quad-Cities, opening stores in fine hotels in Chicago and New York, and eventually boasted at least one store in sixty-eight cities and nineteen states.  In 1943, Store No. 66 opened in the Hotel Nacional de Cuba in Havana.

An Iowa cigar store in Cuba—who would have guessed it?

Employees in the eventual 150-store company were expected to do a full, hard day’s work for their wages, but there appeared to be very little turnover—some workers started right out of high school and stayed with the company for decades out of loyalty.

Customers were loyal, too.  The merchandise was varied and of the best quality for the discerning gentleman: cigars, pipes, tobaccos, candies, electric shavers, stationery, cards, and newspapers from around the country.

William HickeyBill Hickey was director of the Retail Tobacco Dealers of America for over a decade and was elected president  in 1949.  By Hickey Brother’s fiftieth anniversary, it was the third largest retail cigar company and had a big percentage of the wholesale tobacco business in the Midwest.

However, times were changing, as they do, and the pre-World War business practices that had sent Hickey Brothers flying high—expansion, buying and employment policies, etc.—were eventually their downfall.

William Hickey invested more than $350,000 of his own money in order to keep the company running, but was forced to declare bankruptcy.  The company announced its closing on March 10, 1957, and closed its last store nine days later, to the shock of Davenport customers, for whom the stores had been a backdrop and mainstay almost all of their lives.

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Sources used:

Farber, Glyn.  Hickey Brothers Cigar Store Tokens. [Lake Mary, Fla.: Token and Medal Society], 1992.

Svendsen, Marlys.  Davenport: A Pictorial History. [SN, sl: G. Bradley Publishing Co.], 1985.

Wundram, Bill.  A Time We Remember. [Davenport, Iowa: Quad-City Times], 1999.

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Second Sunday is Coming Up!

Posted on March 7, 2013 by SCblogger

Our Special Collections Center will be open this Sunday (March 10th) from 1-4 pm for genealogy and local history research only—the rest of the Main library will not be open.

Walk in through the Fourth Street door (behind the big metal book drop) between 1 and 1:30, or call our Center at 563-326-7902 and a staff member will run up to let you in.

As every genealogist and historian knows, three hours of extra research time is not to be missed, so we hope to see you there!

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