1946-1947: In the Beginning
During their first ten years, the Public Relations Committee had a regular schedule of three events per year - the open house in the In November 1946, having learned that the endowment was no longer sufficient to cover the operating budget of the library, the Trustees of the Farmington Village Green & Library Association appointed a special Public Relations Committee. Its functions were to publicize library services and conduct a financial campaign.
The original members of the committee were:
- Lydia Hewes, Chairman
- Sally Smith, Secretary
- Mrs. Walter Wilson
- James Soby
- William Camp
This group solicited 750 First District families by a letter in December, followed by another one in January 1947. Anyone who responded with a contribution was designated as a “Friend of the Village Library”. There were 477 individuals from 119 families who became the first “Friends”. Memberships were $1, $5, $10, and 25 cents for children. The committee received $1545 from the first appeal, then another $1486 from the second letter. With that money, they balanced the budget, built the outside fire escape stairway, and fixed up the basement.
The committee sponsored its first public program in January 1947, a lecture by Mabel Hurlburt on “Old Farmington Houses”, with colored slides, held at the Porter Memorial. They also decided to hold annual open houses at the Village Library, each one to have a popular theme. The first one was March 1, 1947, and featured exhibits on “Old and New” in books, travel, and occupation.
There was also a newsletter, untitled, edited by Lydia Hewes, and published in May 1947. A contest was held to name future issues; and when the second one appeared in October, it was called “Book Ends”, the name it still bears.
Fund-Raising by Public Relations
The membership drive was the sole method of raising money for the first nine years. Each year that earned about $1500. The first mention of any other fund-raising event was in 1955, when a benefit performance of monologue sketches was given by Miss Ruth Draper at the Porter Memorial; it earned $400. Other events were held just for fun. In 1953 Farmington challenged Avon to a spelling bee and then lost!
During this entire decade, Lydia Hewes served as Chairman of the committee and Sally
Smith was the Secretary. In 1956 Mr. Camp relieved Lydia as editor of “Book Ends”. At left
are photos of Lydia and Sally, taken later.
The First Decade, 1947-1956
The Public Relations Committee
During their first ten years, the Public Relations Committee had a regular schedule of three events per year - the open house in the spring, one spring event, and one fall event. They also sponsored movies for children at Thanksgiving time.
The open houses were a big deal - featuring popular themes, attracting hundreds of people,
sometimes famous ones. Those for this decade had the following titles:
1947 — “Old and New Farmington”
1948 — “Local Artists”
1949 — Old glass, china, and photographs
1950 — Costume show
1951 — “Italian Festa”
1952 — “The Children’s Hour”
1953 — “Meet the Authors”
1954 — “Farmington Goes Abroad”
1955 — Photography show
1956 — “Farmington Hobbies”
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