I met Martha when I started working at the Croghan Library in November of 2013. Many of the people knew that I was simply the person hired to replace the director who was retiring. Often times I was asked what my name was… which meant what my LAST name was so these curious minds could find out who I was related to in the county. When Martha asked me that question, I responded with giving her my last name which she quickly dismissed not caring who I was related to, but wanting to know who I was. That made me feel seen. It made me feel welcomed as I recalled being drilled about my name when I attended a new church in the county. My husband calls these Lewis County conversations.

Martha would stop and talk to anyone and everyone in the library, regardless if she knew them. I think she liked driving herself down so she wouldn’t feel rushed having her husband in the truck waiting outside for her. If he was waiting in the parking lot and I had a minute, I would always go outside and say hello. She especially liked seeing children in the library. She would ask them their name and how old they were, then remark that they were the same age as whatever particular great-grandchild was closest in age. She would talk about her love of books with the parent and mention something about all her kids, grandkids and great-grandchildren being readers too. Her love of reading was definitely passed down, as I have seen two or three family members in the same day.

She would often snip out the New York Times bestsellers list from the paper and circle or highlight the books she wanted me to reserve for her. We would jokingly call these her love notes. There was one Nicholas Sparks book that she didn’t care for because he went “on and on about beekeeping” but she circled it on her list several weeks in a row. I joked with her that if she circled it one more time I was going to make her read it again so she could remember why she disliked it so much. She laughed and said that she was thankful that I always took such good care of her. My favorite Martha memory is when she returned a book to the library and slammed (not that loud, but not gentle either) it on my desk saying “I can’t believe he got away with it in the end!” I looked at her with shock and said “MARTHA, I haven’t read that one yet!” She was mortified that she gave away the ending to a book I hadn’t read yet.

If one of the books would come in that she asked me to get for her, she would often rush down, then apologize for how she was dressed. I’ve never been to her house, but she was always cleaning something (usually before the cleaning lady came) or outside in her garden. If I hadn’t seen her in a week, I would often call and check up on her… even if just to visit over the phone. She would usually give me a quick review of what she was reading or had just finished. Not one to be very discriminatory of what she read, she loved reading certain authors who wrote about the ‘rich, beautiful, and famous’ joking that they were writing about her. She preferred a mystery to any other genre and disliked books with too many characters. She thoroughly enjoyed our book club and we loved having her. My favorite book club memory was when a new member thought she was my mom. I was tickled pink! She said that becoming a member of our group encouraged her to read books that she may not have chosen on her own. She loved to chat among all the members. I often view many of the library patrons as a larger extension of my own family. Martha will always hold the title of my favorite library patron, even posthumously. As her husband Rich said, the library will be a little quieter without her there, but I know if I listen closely I can still hear her laughter and her voice when I’m alone and thinking of her.