PRISCILLA CLUB members wore dresses such as this when they met for meetings in 1914 that led to the establishment of Ridgefield’s first library.
A reception to celebrate 100 years of Ridgefield Community Library service is planned for 1 p.m. on Sat., Sept. 13, as part of the annual Heritage Day.
The event will be held at the Ridgefield Community Center, 210 N. Main Ave., and light refreshments will be served. In addition, Ridgefield residents who are 90 years old or older will be honored.
The library traces its roots back to 12 women who met and organized the Priscilla Study Club on Feb. 3, 1914. Their goal was to start a book exchange program and make civic improvements.
The club had 500 volumes in its magazine and book exchange as of 1923, when the club opened the town’s first public library in space donated at City Hall.
Euphemia Blauvelt, a charter member of the Priscillas, donated a two-story building to the club with an agreement that it would be torn down and rebuilt, then used as the beginning of a permanent club and library building.
The group had outgrown that space by 1934, and the new Free Library at 112 S. Main Ave. was opened. Priscilla Club members met twice a month in one portion of the building and the library occupied another section.
Club members took turns in keeping the library open Saturday afternoons and Wednesday evenings.
By 1994, the Free Library joined the Fort Vancouver Regional Library (FVRL) and moved from what had come to be known as the Priscilla Building to the new Ridgefield Community Center. Books were passed hand to hand by a chain of people, from the old building to the new one three blocks away.
During the reception this weekend in the community center, mannequins dressed in gowns from the 1914 era will be displayed. It’s a tribute to the time when the library was born.
Extra space is needed even today, and FVRL officials are holding a series of community meetings to learn what features residents want if the library can be expanded.
