Public buildings should be inspiring! Monumental! It is good for the collective soul to have awe inspiring court houses, schools and libraries. But should public libraries, which are often charged with being all things to all people, attempt to take on the responsibility of an historic old building which is often expensive to maintain and not suitable for modern use even if said building is inspirational and awesome? People expect libraries to provide books, information, meeting space, local history information, literacy classes, story times, book discussions – the list is long and varied, and resources are limited. So when in 1982 the “old” National Bank of Summers building became available, the Board of Directors of the Summers County Public Library hesitated, although they recognized that the Library had outgrown its rented space on the corner of third Ave and Temple St.
The National Bank of Summers building was elegant and inspiring with floors strong enough to hold the weight of tons of books, but the estimated cost to turn just its first two floors into a modern public library was in excess of $100,000. In 1977 when the Library had first opened its doors, the Board had established a building fund but by 1982 had managed to save only $3,000.
And that is why in 1982 the Board of Library Directors of the Summers County Public Library decided not to purchase the former National Bank of Summers building even though the selling price was only $5,000.
Instead the building was purchased by the City of Hinton, and the then Mayor announced plans to tear it down and put a fire station on that site. Most folks thought that was a terrible idea. There was a huge ruckus with folks packing City Council meetings to express their dismay – one of them who came was a man named Hume Nowlan.
Hume had long been a distinguished citizen of Hinton but by 1982 he was 85 years old, very deaf, mostly blind and crippled with arthritis. Still there was nothing wrong with his mind. He did not approve of the City’s plan and decided to do something about it. He went to the
City Council meeting where the discussion about the bank building was going on and presented a check for the building for $6,000. The City accepted his offer and he signed the deed over to the Library Board of Directors. He gave the building to the Library as a memorial to his wife, Pearl, who had been an educator in Summers County in 1930s and 40s.
That was December 1982. The Library Board now needed $100,000 to turn that leaky old building into a library. What happened next was beyond surprising!
When the WV Legislature met that winter, the delegate from Weston tried to slip an appropriation into the State budget for $800,000 to build a new library in his district. That amount was reduced to $80,000 during the final budget negotiations in Charleston. Rockefeller, who was Governor at that time, noted that $80,000 was insufficient to build a new library anywhere, but it would go a long way toward the renovation of the bank building in Hinton and directed that $50,000 of it be sent to us!
That appropriation made the Library eligible for matching federal dollars. Renovations of the first two floors followed, and by February of 1984 the Library had moved into its new (and current) home.
For a more detailed and entertaining account of all of the above read Fred Long’s book My Autobiography. Pages 210 – 220. You can find a copy at the Library on the Corner of 2nd Ave and Temple St!
