Library 193: Solomon Wright Public Library (Pownal)
The sound of victory
Library 193! The Solomon Wright Public Library in Pownal was the 193rd stop on my quest to read, write, and knit in every public library in Vermont.
I read: Is this a Cry for Help? By Emily Austin
I wrote: notes on the library
I knit: a classic ribbed hat in making tracks scraps by Junction Fiber Mill
The town of Pownal has no village. The library sits next to a trailer park, across from a church, and about halfway between Bennington College and Williams College. It would be nice if every trailer park and every church had a library next to it. And every town in Vermont sandwiched by institutions of higher education.
POWnal (paʊ-nəɫ) is pronounced with emphasis on the “pow,” like “bam pow whack,” followed by a de-emphasized “null.” Julie, one of thirteen volunteers that keep this place running, reported that if you live here long enough and work very hard at it you can learn to say Pownal in one syllable. I tried. I see how it would take some effort.
The gardens and multiple pride books on display were highlights, in addition to the most quilts I have ever seen in one library. The exhibit from a local quilter’s guild included a backgammon quilt with a zipper pouch for game pieces, and quilts with poems made from old fabric labels sewn into them.
Another highlight in this library was the lighting. It was sunny, and the track lighting and big windows lit up every book. I naively proclaimed “my pictures are going to be great!” and then immediately took a blurry photo of director Emily outside holding Alison Peckdel.
I was happy to run into Linda, the children’s librarian at the Bennington Free Library (Library #176) who fished the Eric Carle drawing out of the basement and framed it in the children’s space. She now works at the Solomon Wright, and in no surprise, the children’s space was beautifully curated here, too.
The back room permanently houses a collection of historical items, and during my visit housed a few patrons using it as a working space, so I didn’t spend too much time there. I did get a photograph of a giant painting of a Vermonty landscape with some sheep on it, which felt like a prize for a fiber artist. I also read a few pages of a historical book about Pownal’s history, which included one photo of a class from a one-room school house in 1908. The caption’s description of the curriculum focused, not surprisingly, on wars and presidents. Sigh.
This photo caption made me stand in the historical room and think about the social studies discussion that took place in that school room. I wondered how they talked about colonization; imperialism; the transatlantic slave trade; Jim Crow laws; gender equality; voting rights; segregation; Indigenous culture and heritage; cultural genocide. At the same time this school existed, so did the Carlisle Indian School. With a sigh, I set the book back on the table with an assumption that those conversations were likely absent. I could be wrong. I hope I am wrong.
When we arrived at this library, two service people were setting up a new printer the size of an oven near the knitting chairs. They finished. They shook hands with Emily. They left instructions. They said goodbye. Two minutes later, the printer would not print. For the duration of our visit, the background sounds that accompanied my knitting and reading and chatting and poking around included failed attempts at printing on different devices, a few phone calls, and some understandable groans. As Lisa and I stood up to gather our things and leave, a single page emerged from the new machine, making a four-second whirring noise that Emily called “the sound of victory.”
On our way out, Emily said that everyday at the library is a sitcom. On this day, I was happy to be an extra.
As always, so many unique nooks and crannies in your photos. Beautiful library. I especially appreciated your reflection on the kinds of conversations teachers and students may have had in that one room school house. I like to think there were progressive teachers then as now who challenged their students to think inclusively—perhaps by reading books like Caddie Woodlawn to them in 1935 when it was published (in support of the indigenous people in the nearby Wisconsin woods).
I love how the Vermont libraries double up as galleries to showcase the incredible quilts made by very talented locals.