Welcome to Poetry Friday! This week we are hosted by Tricia Here. Thank you, Tricia, for hosting.
Driving back to Syracuse from the Jersey Shore Friday afternoon of Labor Day weekend, I visited the town where I went to school, Port Jervis, on the Delaware River. I lived three miles away in the small town of Sparrowbush.
I hadn’t been to either place for several years and drove through town to see the Carnegie Library where I had discovered books. What was it like now? I wondered. On the outside it looked exactly the same.
Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish American capitalist who made his fortune in steel, felt the rich had a moral obligation to distribute money in ways that help the common man. He spent 350 million, which was a large portion of his wealth, on philanthropy. He helped build 2,500 public libraries world wide and much more, including Carnegie Hall. You can read more about Andrew Carnegie here.
THE CARNEGIE LIBRARY IN PORT JERVIS, NY
Inside my Carnegie Library, it seemed the front desk was frozen in time, unchanged in fifty years. Two librarians were behind it, and the library was otherwise empty that Friday afternoon. I didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures inside because I think the librarians sensed my disappointment at seeing the drab, and frankly, threadbare carpet and the furniture they claimed with pride was “original.” Their funding is through the school and I sensed there is little money available for frills.
Yet, thanks to them, there was an exhibit on Stephen Crane that included a walking tour they were enthusiastic to share. I now know that author Stephen Crane lived in Port Jervis for many years. In fact his relationships with Civil War Veterans there in the 1880’s inspired THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE, which I loved as an adult. It turns out that much of his other writing is loosely based on people and places in Port Jervis. I didn’t have time to take the walking tour, so maybe I’ll have to return. I also hope to read more of Stephen Crane’s writing. Maybe I’ll recognize Port Jervis in his lines.
Here’s a quote I found on the above link. (Hartwood was a nearby town, I think.)
“My idea is to come finally to live at Port Jervis or
Hartwood. I am a wanderer now and I must see enough
but – afterwards – I think of P.J. and Hartwood.”
Stephen Crane’s October 29, 1897 letter from London, England, to his brother William in Port Jervis, New York.
As my husband and I had arrived in to Port Jervis as school had just let out. Busses were lining up. Middle school kids were laughing and chatting on sidewalks. I wondered if any would stop at the library. I hoped so.
IF NOT FOR THE LIBRARY AND BOOKS
We’d know only what we are told
in school
at home
what others think we should know.
Beware of libraries!
©Janice Scully 2021