Legacy of a Library and a History of a Library’s Friends

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HERMOSA BEACH
FRIENDS of
the LIBRARY
LEGACY OF A LIBRARY
and a
HISTORY OF A LIBRARY'S FRIENDS
by
Patricia A. Gazin

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Friends of the Library extends many thanks to its
members, friends and organizations for the many hours
of service, book donations and financial contributions
received, to provide valuable assets for our Hermosa
Beach Library.

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CITY OF
BUC-LIBA
THE HERMOSA BEACH PUBLIC LIBRARY
EARLY HISTORY
Hermosa's library is older than the city itself. Before incorpor
ation of the city in 1907 there was a nucleus of a mothers' reading group.
A circle of women friends took turns weekly to read to the assembled
offspring of the several parents. These informal reading sessions were
offered at Ocean View school, located on Manhattan Avenue at Four-
teenth Street, now the site of a city parking lot; earlier the site of the
first St. Cross Church. This maternal reading group also formed a
circulating library which was mostly run by Mrs. Mary Montgomery,
volunteer. This first library was also located at the school.
In 1913 Hermosa Beach became one of the earliest branches of
the Los Angeles County Library System. That very first county appoin-
ted librarian was Alice McDonald. The first shipment of books from
county headquarters to the beach book center numbered fifty-four
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volumes. Hours of available library service in Hermosa were 2:00 to
5:00 PM and 7:00 to 8:30 PM, Monday through Saturday. Within one
short year the collection grew to 632 volumes, regular borrowers
numbered 392 and the library enjoyed subscriptions to twelve popular
magazines.
Circulation that year totalled 4,427. Early librarians included
Mrs. Montgomery and Alice McDonald, Mary Ransom, Ruth Anderson,
and Mrs. Evalyn Morris. Fern Rhein became Librarian in 1923; ten years
later she was to write a brief history of the city.
A chance at a Carnegie Library was tentatively offered to the
city. In 1915 the Hermosa Review relates that the city was offered a
$10,000 grant for a library building if the city would supply a land site.
Discussions revealed that the proposal was based on the contingency
that operating expenses for a new Carnegie library must be borne by the
local system. Hermosa was already part of the County of Los Angeles
library network.
Andrew Carnegie was an early 20th century steel millionaire
who spent his golden years giving away his riches. One source describes
him as a greater benefactor than any other American. His chief aim
was the promotion of knowledge and to this end his foundations dispen-
sed millions to learning institutions, adult education, scientific research
and libraries.
In November of the same year Mr. and Mrs. J. K. Mills offered a
plot near Sixteenth Street and Loma Drive, which was eventually
turned down because it lacked street access.
In February 1916 things had moved to the point where the
Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce wanted to build a library and
started a fund for this purpose. The Chamber committee included Dr. C
E. Hill, A. W. Ellington, W. L. Donohugh, P. B. Guernsey and Charles
Barlow.
Then B. H. Hiss stepped in and offered the city an 85 foot
parcel near Pier Avenue and Loma. This offer was complicated because
he wanted in exchange for city property near the Santa Fe tracks and
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Pier Avenue, $500 cash. Under his plan the site would belong to the city
and not be dedicated as a Carnegie Library. Hermosa muffed its chance.
AT THE PIER
In 1923 the library acquired a new home on the north side of the
new municipal pier. In 1927 the library was moved into larger quarters
on the south side of the pier. It was a banner year for the library in
several ways: a new locale and new heights in circulation. As one of 160
branches in the County system Hermosa library ranked sixth in usage
with a circulation of 50,859, a tribute to the active minds at the beach.
In 1938 a fire in the library was heroically contained by
Kathryn Kerber, a teen-aged page. Years later she was to serve as
Librarian, Kathryn Ditmar.
During the years between 1927 and 1957 readers shared the pier
facility with pigeons and gulls, swimmers and sun worshippers. A
motley scene but everyone adjusted, assimilated. Circulation of books
grew apace as parents waited in the cool shadows of the library's read-
ing corners while their youngsters frolicked in the sand and surf.
By 1957 conflicting demands on the use of the pier, crowding,
smells from the neighboring aquarium and other factors, plus a need for
more shelf space inspired the county to move the Hermosa Beach
branch closer to the center of town. The new location was the old post
office at 1006 Hermosa Avenue, later to be Vaupel's Liquor Store.
Expanded storage space proved a boon but library users com-
plained about lack of adequate space and time for parking. An offstreet
parking district was soon to come, but it was determined that placing
the library in the developing civic center would be more graceful and
appropriate for readers and would release more parking space down-
town for the convenience of merchants and their customers.
Though a member of the county system since 1913, Hermosa was
not high on the priority list for new construction. In 1959-60 Los Angeles
County was booming with an influx of newcomers. John Henderson, chief
county librarian, canny and foresighted, was already anticipating an
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expansive program for new library buildings throughout the county.
Hermosa was expanding too but not at the rate the newer communities
were experiencing, hence other communities received preference.
Meanwhile, the city had a special source of funds, hitherto
untapped. In 1958 an oil consortium paid the city $500,000 to hold an
election to determine if the voters would permit drilling for oil within
the city limits. The voters were adamant and voted against drilling,
but the city got its reward just the same.
At the suggestion of this author a plan was developed to
finance a new library building by borrowing some of this tidelands oil
money. City Attorney Paul Loveridge was instructed to seek a declara-
tory court judgement to certify that Hermosa Beach might use the
money thus. Upon approval, the city council proceeded to do just that
with enthusiastic support of the Friends of the Library and the
community.
Later, the this loan was repaid when the county purchased the
library building from the city, and the recovered oil funds were used to
build a new municipal pier and other shore front improvements.
OUR PRESENT LIBRARY
Ground was broken for a new library at the civic center, facing
Pier Avenue, on November 17, 1961. Designed by Savo Stoshitch, also
architect for the civic center, it is built of brick, concrete and stucco to
harmonize with other civic center buildings. The completed building
was dedicated on August 10, 1962. The city council which had made
this possible included Patricia Gazin, Mayor, and Councilmen Pat
Anderson, Jack Belasco, John DeGroot, and Frank Sasine. Adding lustre
to the dedication ceremony were the late Supervisor Burton Chace; the
late Assemblyman Charles Chapel; Hon. Mayor of Manhattan Beach,
Robert Beverly; Chief County Librarian John Henderson, and Dorothy
Olney. The incumbent librarian had her new building!
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FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY
In September, 1959, a founding meeting was convened at the
home of Myron and Patricia Gazin, 615 Twenty fourth Place. A special
guest was Dorothy Olney who had been the Hermosa librarian for
eight years. She had started service in 1951 while the library was still
at the Pier. Mrs. Olney was a missionary librarian: she felt the librar-
ian's purpose in life is to bring books and people together. She felt the
community needed to be more aware of and sensitive to the presence of
the library, the availability of its stock and the accessibility to the
riches of the Los Angeles County system.
During this founding meeting a consensus developed, that the
city did indeed deserve a new library. The site on Hermosa Avenue had
no parking privileges to encourage readers to linger at the library; the
only parking available was on-street, chiefly for shoppers on short
visits.
Library angels present at that first organizational meeting
included Bea Bond, Miss Susan Behrman, Mmes. David Burt, John
Hales, Frederic Flake, Kay Etow, Marguerite Russelle, Willa Rogers,
Helen Tracy, Ruth Treadgold, Mary Tyson, Naoma Valdes. They all
are founding members as are other early joiners Mary Edgerton, Vivian
Bordelon, Gloria Fredericks, Hisako Miho, Carol Tanner and Kenny
DeGroot.
The first formal meeting of the group was convened February 1,
1960 at the library on Hermosa Avenue. Helen Tracy was elected
president. Treasurer, Naoma Valdes; Recording Secretary, Barbara
Dennis, and Corresponding Secretary, Kenny DeGroot. President Tracy
had the pleasure of knowing Hermosa's was the largest Friends group
in the county library system.
The Friends quickly proved a catalyst for the library,
themselves donating and attracting gifts from the community. The
Friends supplied a large globe, a giant dictionary, reference series on
American history, books and gift subscriptions. They also focussed
energy and public opinion on a successful crusade for a new building at
the civic center to house the Hermosa Beach Public Library.
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Through the years the Friends of the Library support never
flagged. Children's entertainments, art and writing contests, reading
awards, special events, holiday decorations and retirement recognition
for librarians Olney, Ditmar and Carlotta Hoye have all been
underwritten by funds supplied by the Friends. Most recently, in 1988
and 1989 the Friends provided $6,000 toward the purchase of two and
one-half computer catalogs, the Le Pac System to usher the Hermosa
Beach library into the 21st. century.
A sustained program of quarterly book sales has provided the
chief source of income which makes possible the Friends' gifts to the
library. Over the years the Friends has donated over $50,000 in gifts to Hermosa readers. Donors of books and marvelous help from schools,
donors of muscle (books are heavy too) and others helping to set up the
book sale tables and manage the sales have contributed to the continued
success and wide recognition of the sales.
Donors of books and volunteers at sales over the years include
Frances Stoneman, the late Kolma Flake, Isolde and Bernard Whitney,
the late Evy Belasco, Charlotte and Bill Malone (treasurer for years),
John and Lorraine Hales, Jack and Pat Wooley Belasco, Gordon and
Betty Evans, Mr and Mrs Robert Payne, Al and Naoma Valdes, Mary
Tyson, Betty Ryan, Steve Hoffman, Toni Empringham, Leon Ragonesi.
Current officers, 1991, are: President, John Hales; Vice Presi-
dent Al Valdes; Treasurer, Bill Malone; Recording Secretary, Nikki
Humbarger; Corresponding Secretary, Bertha Dorsey.
Ancillary activities are managed by Steve Hoffman, newslet-
ter; Betty Evans, California collection; Jack Belasco, writer's boutique;
Pat Wooley Belasco, historian; Charlotte Malone, book sale; Anna
Maria Gallo, membership; Patricia Gazin, regional library commission
representative and publicity.
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Presidents of the Hermosa Beach Friends of the Library
1959, 60
Helen Tracy
1961
Bea Bond
1962
Mary Edgerton
1963
Kay Pontius
1964 Charlotte A. Malone
1965, 68
Lorraine Hales*
1966
Beverly Corben
1967,71
Patricia A. Gazin
1969,70
Dorothy Olney*
1972
Mary Tyson
1973,74
Betty Ryan
1975
Naoma Valdes
1976
Evelyn Belasco*
1977
Patricia A. Gazin
1978
Delma Peery*
1979
Clyde W. Malone, Jr.
1981,82
Joan Greenwald
1983, 84
Stephen Izant
1985,86
Curtney Harris
Charlotte A. Malone
1987, 88, 89, 90
1991
John Hales
* Deceased
Patricia A, Gazin
May, 1991
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HERMOSA BEACH
? ?
FRIENDS of
the LIBRARY
550 Pier Avenue, Hermosa Beach,
California 90254