Library Disciple

Reading history reminds me how impermanent things are.  People, buildings, businesses, countries and, alas, even books can make a huge impact on the world but eventually they die, decay or change and are very often forgotten.  Depressing, but also a reason why history is so important.  

Within a century the landscape of our community, state or country may be radically altered, all it takes is a little invention, like the train or airplane or Internet to create a new paradigm and send everyone and everything scrambling.

Sometimes I think about the men, they were mostly men, who worked so hard to create things; monuments, businesses, museums, that are now gone, or swallowed up by something bigger.  I wonder if they worked so hard because they though their creations would last forever or because they enjoyed the work.

Andrew Carnegie’s mission is a great example of a lasting legacy.  He wanted to help communities build libraries ONLY if they were willing to make a long term financial commitment for continued support.  That one little rule is why town and cities all across the country still have libraries.  The books are no longer in the great stone monuments that Carnegie originally funded but in new library buildings that the community continues to support.  Each town made a  promise that led to the continuation of the Carnegie idea:  help people help themselves and create institutions that would give back to the community.  

Carnegie was looking for a way to create lasting good that would span generations.  His vision became reality.  Practically any 21st century teenager can begin their journey to self-improvement and discovery at the library, or bookmobile,  just like they did 100 years ago.

Compare that to the sad ending of the Arkell’s story in Canojoharie, N.Y. (see June entry).  Both father and son’s great companies are gone, the Beech Nut plant now a decaying memory of what used to be.  But what is left is their collection of art and books, which, thanks to the library and museum, will continue to inspire and delight and remind New Yorkers of their past.

My take away is two-fold:  

• Enjoy the work, or don’t do it.  Life’s too short to spend your days drudging through paperwork or nodding off in meetings.  It’s also to short to try to squirrel away money that you can enjoy ‘someday’. Check in with yourself to find out why you are doing what you are doing. Do you know?

• Spend time on lasting legacies, things that matter and make a permanent difference for the future. This does not include vacuuming, weed whacking or cleaning the garage. If you haven’t noticed, the grass keeps growing and the garage is always full of junk.  It does include connecting, helping and caring for the people you love, creating beauty and doing something that is meaningful to you everyday.

I don’t usually go to Billy Graham for inspiration, but I couldn’t resist,

“Our days are numbered. One of the primary goals in our lives should be to prepare for our last day. The legacy we leave is not just in our possessions, but in the quality of our lives. What preparations should we be making now? The greatest waste in all of our earth, which cannot be recycled or reclaimed, is our waste of the time that God has given us each day.”

Darkest Hour

photo from architekturezt.com

So after learning about all the blood, sweat and tears the Arkells poured into Canojarharie  (see Can-0-what? post) and then discovering that Beech Nut had been moved to Florida and the factory left empty and rotting, 

I was feeling a little depressed.

What would James and Bartlett think if they pulled off on exit 29 and saw that both their great companies had gone to greener pastures?  What would they do?

Because they were both passionate about supporting Canojoharie and the citizens who lived there, my guess is that they’d be depressed too.  But as businessmen they might understand how the world, and certainly Upstate New York, has changed.
Since they were in town anyway, I bet they’d set off for the Arkell Library and Museum to enjoy their passion - American Art.

The library in Canojoharie dates back to 1880, where it was started in the drawing room of the Arkell home.  As it grew it moved to the school and then to rented space downtown.  In 1915, sponsored by Bartlett Arkell, the library was granted a state charter.  

After another decade, and great success at Beech Nut, Bartlett decided to build a library for the town in honor of his dad, the great James Arkell.  The stone used to construct the library came from the building that James Arkell had used to first print his paper sacks for Arkell & Smiths in 1859.   A few years later he added an art gallery wing with his own personal collection.  Bartlett had a passion for art and loved visiting museums in America and Europe.  His gallery in Canajoharie was inspired by trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Walker Art Museum in England and Rijkesmuseum in Amsterdam.  Pretty cosmopolitan for rural New York.  Bartlett began collecting art for his gallery in earnest and particularly loved buying paintings that portrayed landscapes he experienced as a child, student and European traveller.  The result is a collection of art that includes Winslow Homer, Georgia O’Keefe and American impressionists.

The museum and library partnership is unique, they bill themselves as the place where books and art meet and their  motto is “For the joy of it”.  The combo offers the community modern library services and a broad perspective on their past.  Even though the library is public, patrons are encouraged to become members of the museum and support both institutions (if your a member you don’t have to pay fines on overdue books!).

The Museum Collection includes the Beechnut Packing Company Archive and Mohawk Valley artifacts that bring you right back to a time when Canajoharie was booming and James and Bartlett Arkell ruled the valley with optimism for the future of their community and the people who lived there.    

This week current Mayor Leigh Fuller remembers when he first moved to the town in the 1950s and Arkell & Smith was leaving, he reminded citizens that, “Everything changes. Canajoharie will have to change, we'll have to find a way to live better than when Beech-Nut was here and we're working towards that.  I think the board and myself have started moving Canajoharie, at our darkest hours, forward."

I bet James and Bartlett have their fingers crossed.