Salmon Falls Library

      One of my favorite local places is the Salmon Falls Library, located just on the Hollis side of the Salmon Falls bridge on Route 202 - the actual address is 322 Old Alfred Road. It is in a beautiful location, right next to the Saco River, and next to the new Indian Cellar preserve. A perfect day would be to picnic by the river, do a bit of swimming, and then go hang out in the library. I visited when the library was open one evening. Like many small, local libraries, this one is primarily staffed by volunteers and has limited hours, so it can be tricky to time a visit. The library has a collection of over 10,000 printed items, in addition to audio and visual media. It has a wireless internet connection, and has over 4,000 visits a year. The director of the library is Mary Weyer, a lovely and helpful person who gave me some information regarding the history of the library.

     The library inside feels more like a comfortable, slightly shabby but elegant living room than a public institution. There are old-fashioned couches, wooden tables, a children's room with tiny chairs for the kids, elegant ceiling lights, and an air of time slowed down. Library cards are informal, a number hand-written on the back of a library business card. The place invites you in, and little kids can rummage through a toy box by the front desk and choose a stuffed animal to bring home.

     Before it was the Salmon Falls Library, the building was a tea room and a post office, according to Mary Weyer. According to my husband's family lore, my husband's grandmother was born in the building in 1891, so I am unsure of what other uses the building may have seen, and I was unable to find when it was built, but it is one of the oldest buildings in Hollis. The building was purchased by well-known local author Kate Douglas Wiggin, who said the building at the time was an "eyesore". She established a library there with 2,000 volumes in 1911. The second floor was the library, and the bottom floor was community space, which for at least part of the time was used for a children's summer vacation school. Kate Douglas Wiggin, in addition to writing children's books, was a lifelong supporter of children's education, including starting the first free kindergarten in the West in California.

     When she and her sister Nora Archibald Smith gave the building to the town of Hollis in 1934, she stipulated that it remain a library and a place for community and children's events. The library continues to hold public events, ranging from storytelling hours to shiitake mushroom workshops to summer reading programs to a monthly "Unplug with your Friends at the Salmon Falls Library" series. The library has a history of collaboration with both Buxton and Hollis groups and institutions, and it is a vital resource for the community.

     The library's mission is to bring "people, information and ideas together to enrich lives and build community." The library is supported by the towns of Buxton and Hollis, thirty unpaid volunteer librarians, a memorial fund for children's books, and the non-profit group Friends of Salmon Falls Library, organized in 1983. The library has a five member Board of Trustees appointed by the Town of Hollis.
     One side note regarding my visit - I had intended to take a photo of a bust of Ellis B. Usher, who was an influential citizen in the 1800's, and for whom my road is named. His brick house is right next to mine, and is owned by my landlords. Sadly, the plaster bust was accidentally broken only hours before I arrived! Poor Mr. Usher - this is all that remains of his likeness.

Sources consulted include:
http://www.librarytechnology.org/lwc-displaylibrary.pl?RC=19260
http://www.maine.gov/msl/libs/directories/displaypub.shtml?id=41056
https://www.facebook.com/SalmonFallsLibrary