November 2023
Page 9
North Douglas Library District, Mildred Whipple Branch is Drains’ Pride and Legacy
Continued from the Front Page
There is a legacy, in Drain, of the
perseverance of its citizens to establish
and maintain a Library for the community.
In 1931 Lydia Eccleston returned to
Drain from Missouri with her husband
Fred. Lydia, being an avid reader since
kindergarten, missed having a local library
and was soon borrowing books from all
over town.
Through the Methodist Church
she met the Whipple family and in a
prophetic turn of events was invited to
use their extensive family library. It was
in 1932 that Lydia and her Sunday school
classmates, including Maude Cowles and
Gladys DeMerrit took on the project of
starting the first Library.
After writing to Harriet Long, the
Oregon State Librarian, the books started
coming in on loan and some donated.
According to Lydia, “Some of the men
from the Church built a nice, big bookcase
with doors that could lock, and we were
‘Open for Business’”. The library was
open two afternoons a week with 2
checkers at a time. The new library was
popular and lots of books were lent out as
the library settled into it’s Church home.
Some years went by before the
librarians were able to secure a small
room behind the Community Hall at the
Fairgrounds. Then in March of 1934 the
Drain Public Library was established there
by the City of Drain. The first Library
Board members were appointed by the
City Council. Winifred E G Whipple,
Mrs. Lyle Kolford, Mrs Edna Kenny, Jim
Whipple and C Robert Miller were on the
first Board and Dorothy Gerauld and Edna
Bowman were added to the library staff.
Drain’s Library went from being
open a few hours a month to a few hours
a week and as the City became more
involved they decided to move to the
City Recorders office on C street. in the
old Drain Creamery Station. The City
Recorders became the book checkers.
Eventually the City of Drain needed the
building torn down for a new City Hall
and the Library moved again, across the
street and upstairs, above the H A Store
building. The new City Hall was finished
in 1954 and dedicated on September 18th
of that year.
Then in 1956 The Drain City Library
became a branch of the Douglas County
Library System. Under an agreement with
the City, the D.C Library system provided
books and materials along with salaries
and supplies, then the City provided the
housing and utilities. Policy and hiring
responsibilities were under the cooperative
purview of a Douglas County Board and a
local Drain Citizen Board.
The Library grew and made many
improvements under the guidance of
Edna Tranburg and Lois Strickland until
1958. Hazel Lamberson and others also
worked towards expansion and increased
hours, including Carol Henderson who
steered the Library from 1959 to 1974.
In the 1970’s, in addition to books and
periodicals, recordings and paperback
books were added to the curriculum. Over
these years of expansion and increased
hours, many Drain citizens occupied the
Library Board seats and contributed to its
success.
Story by Rusty Savage
“It is a place for
everybody, regardless of
color, creed or age.
-Mildred Whipple
The library is truly a place
where everyone belongs”
-Miriam Sisson
In March of 2017 the Library was
struck with a devastating blow when
Douglas County closed the county wide
library system. The doors were closed
with books on the shelves. But when
the going gets tough, the tough get
going. Concerned and determined Drain
residents like Valerie Johns and many
others, some already mentioned, went to
work and forged a new path and breath of
life in the old library. In spite of the odds,
a ballot measure was put up and passed
with a 75% majority. A special tax district
was established which allowed permanent
stable funding for the new North Douglas
Library District, Mildred Whipple Branch.
The Grand reopening was on November
10th 2018.
The Mildred Whipple Library is
still a buzzing center for all ages and
interests today. current Library Director,
Miriam Sisson, says, “The library is truly
a place where everyone belongs”. It is
a rich resource and environment for the
community, which is well utilized and
valued by many patrons. The Civic Center
and Library are cohabiting just fine, a kind
of synergy with community activities. The
City established a Civic Center Committee
in 1985 to assist and advise the City in the
operation of the Civic Center.
So now there is a stable library,
still growing and still relevant and still
community supported.
Patricia Aldous became the Librarian
in 1974 and continued to modernize the
Library with Movie Projector, Screen
and Cassette recordings and increasing
the hours even further. In 1989 the
Branch Librarians were Candy Vickery
and Marlene Lee. The Librarians had
many assistants from the community
during all of those years.
It was the final move of the library
to the Civic Center that established the
location we all know and love today.
The dream of the Civic Center and the
Library is intertwined and surely grown
from the same seeds. The reality started
in 1983 with a Grant of $260,000 from
Mildred Whipple, a former 5th grade
teacher in Drain from 1932 to 1938. As
a community leader, it was a dream of
Mildreds for a long time, and she said
at the time that a library was one of the
greatest advantages a city can have.
“It is a place for everybody, regardless
of color, creed or age.”
This is the same Whipple family that
had been involved with the library for many
years and whose family library was really
the beginning of Lydia Eccleston’s library
aspirations. After the generous donation
from Mildred, the State Library Board
donated another $201,000, leaving a total
of $900,870 to be raised by the citizens and
fundraisers.
To say the community rallied is an
understatement, spear headed by City
officers, local businesses and tireless local
supporters the dream was reached and the
ground was broken. Along the way the old
Drain Community Hall was burned down in
a live fire training with 5 Fire Departments
from the area. Finally a celebration and
grand opening ceremony was conducted in
January of 1985 with Mayor Grant Levins
and Finance Manager Bill Lockyear and
senator Mark Hatfield attending.