The Chicago Tribune has this fantastic article about a high school librarian who turned 100 years of age. Her gifts include Willard Scott announcing her name on NBC, she had a big party, and she had a library named after her.
I love reading these stories.
\”\”Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass,\” Timuel D. Black, another former DuSable student, said. \”She gave us not only the books to read, but the personalities to guide us.\” On her birthday last year, DuSable renamed its 25,000-book library for her.\”
The Chicago Tribune has this fantastic article about a high school librarian who turned 100 years of age. Her gifts include Willard Scott announcing her name on NBC, she had a big party, and she had a library named after her.
I love reading these stories.
\”\”Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass,\” Timuel D. Black, another former DuSable student, said. \”She gave us not only the books to read, but the personalities to guide us.\” On her birthday last year, DuSable renamed its 25,000-book library for her.\”
\”Former DuSable students and colleagues say Clarke was the very model of her profession: stern yet gentle, soft-spoken but always encouraging. She would give teens reading suggestions, pep talks and generous praise.\”
\”If you had a problem doing a research project or finding a book, she was right there to help you,\” said Wanda Bridgeforth, a member of the first class at DuSable.\”
\”With Mrs. Clarke, you can\’t forget that infectious smile,\” Dempsey Travis, a local historian and a DuSable graduate, said.\”
\”But former students also said that if they were acting up, they\’d soon find themselves on the receiving end of a stop-your-foolishness glare that was as withering as it was effective. Even Clarke\’s niece was not exempt.\”
\”I got kicked out many times because I was talking and laughing,\” Evelyn Clarke said.\”
\”Now Clarke spends her time relaxing with friends, assembling jigsaw puzzles and going on shopping excursions.\”
\”Soon after Clarke arrived at her birthday bash, guests surrounded her wheelchair, hugging her, kissing her, posing for pictures, talking about her. Then they handed the microphone to Clarke to see if she had anything she wanted to add.\”
\”You all have heard enough,\” she said.
Just like a librarian to appreciate the value of silence.
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