Blanchard Community Library: Yearlong centennial celebration starts Saturday
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Published: March 03, 2010
It took $13,000 to construct and had 800 books when it opened and now, 100 years later, the community treasure known as Dean Hobbs Blanchard Memorial Library is celebrating a century of accomplishment.
To commemorate the opening on March 1, 1910 of what is now commonly called Blanchard Community Library, staff and Friends of the Library are hosting a gala reception with a barbershop quartet, refreshments, stories and library history presented by Librarian Dan Robles as well memories by patrons past and present.
The commemorative reception to open the year-long library centennial celebration will be held Saturday, March 6 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the library, located at 119 N. 8th Street. The Friends of the Library-sponsored reception will also feature a birthday cake, as well as musical entertainment.
Nathan W. and Sarah Blanchard gifted the library to the community in exchange for the city’s banishment of bars and to honor their son, who tragically died as a child. The original building on the corner of East Main and 8th Streets was torn down in the early 1970s, after being vacant for several years.
At one time City Hall and the jail shared space with the library, home to an 1880 clock that hung on the Council Chamber wall. The library is home to the California History Room, which contains volumes centered on the past, as well as the famous Boosey doll collection, among other attractions.
During the entire month of March, the Santa Paula Society of the Arts will present an art exhibit on the Douglas Shively Memorial Wall. The society and the library have long partnered in bringing fine art exhibits to the public, and BCL is the scene of the annual Santa Paula Art & Photography Show, the oldest such juried exhibit in the state.
On Sunday, March 7, a display centered on the library and its history will open at the Santa Paula California Oil Museum, prepared by Santa Paula High School students under the direction of their teacher, Ed Arguelles.
The centennial celebration will continue for one full year: April will feature a special display of nostalgic books, May will be Children’s Month (and don’t forget the Friends’ Big Spring Book Sale), June will highlight Cookbooks & Cooking, July will center on Mysteries, August will entertain with Library Memories, September will focus on Latino History, October will be devoted to Poetry, November will be the Friends’ Big Fall Book Sale, and December will feature Holiday Celebrations. January 2011 will highlight the California History Room, and February will showcase the famous Boosey Collection and the Murals of Santa Paula, especially the riveting Chumash mural and native plant garden.
In addition, displays from other local organizations will also be featured throughout the centennial year, and monthly articles will appear in the Santa Paula Times that will chronicle the library’s history, from its inception to the present time.
To help celebrate this milestone, The Friends of Blanchard Library have instituted The Century Club for financial donations they receive in 2010. If you would like to make a monetary donation to the library to help support its centennial celebration activities it would be much appreciated, and those who donate $100 or more will become a member of the Century Club.
As a thank you for their generosity, a plaque with the donors’ names will be placed on a designated library wall. Write Century Club on the memo line of the check, which can be mailed or delivered to the library, 119 N. 8th St., Santa Paula, CA 93060.
The Friends of the Library, led by President Pat Alderson, continues to welcome volunteer help and book donations for their semiannual sales, and encourage patrons to share their library memories.
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