Celebrating 100 Years of the Memorial Public Library!

On July 22, 1917, a Boston Globe article stated, "The Memorial Public Library given to this town by Granville F. Dailey of New York, in memory of his wife and younger daughter, who for many years made their summer home here {Medfield} will be dedicated Wednesday afternoon". The article went on to describe the style of the building, the colors of the paint, the gilt memorial clock above the inside door, and the "touches of gold and color give an attractive brilliance to this room." The Dedication included a presentation of the keys to the library to Granville Dailey from architect, William G. Perry, then presented to the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Richard M. Smalley.

Similar to the 1917 Library Dedication, Sunday's Centennial Celebration included "Granville Dailey", his daughter, "May Belle" and Medfield Board of Selectmen Chair, Osler "Pete" Peterson and Mike Marcucci.

On 2pm, Sunday, October 1, 2017, the Centennial Celebration began with these four people standing on the original front steps in front of the crowds gathered on Main Street. Emcee and Medfield resident, Jim Feeney introduced them and thanked everyone for attending. "Granville" then spoke briefly and with humor, explaining how he was happy to be back in Medfield after such a long time and gave a brief history as to why he chose to fund the building of this iconic place. In reenacting the events of 1917, he gave the key to the Library to Selectmen Chair Peterson, followed by a ribbon cutting.

It was a once in a century event!

The Library Centennial Celebration committee, consisting of Library Director, Kristen Chin, Board of Trustees, Maura McNicholas, Lauren Feeney, Geena Matuson and myself, as well as Library staff member, Terri Wickham, and Friends of Library Bookstore President, Carol Wasserman were thrilled with the turnout of the townspeople and would like to thank everyone who assisted in making this event special.

We must first thank "Granville and May Belle Dailey" for returning to Medfield to take part in this 100th birthday celebration. Medfield is very lucky to have talented actors like Steve Small in the role of "Granville Dailey" and Cynthia Small as his eldest daughter "May Belle Dailey". Their performances throughout the day added greatly to the festivities.

Thank you to Selectmen Peterson and Marcucci for attending and accepting the key to the 100 year old Library. Thank you to Town Historian, Richard DeSorgher who joined us to recite many interesting facts of life in Medfield in 1917 and Library Director, Kristen Chin who gave us an overview of libraries today and her vision of the future of libraries.

As the Memorial Public Library is a place for people of all ages, we wanted this celebration to encompass everyone.

Medfield TV, under the direction of Brett Poirier created a wonderful video which was shown on the Library monitors throughout the event . Long time residents, Ann Thompson (she held one of the busiest library cards in Medfield), Barbara Leighton (almost 100 years old, and a great Medfield historian), and library Charlotte Reinemann (whose Mom was the head librarian in Medfield decades ago) and Connie Jones (former Children's Librarian) as well as Historical Society President, David Temple were all interviewed by Director Chin for this video. Thank you to all who participated in this treasure!

Thank you to beloved Storyteller, Kurt Jackson, who entertained the youngsters with his talents and exciting tales. The meeting room was filled with children and parents listening to this master of storytelling.

In addition, this event would not have been possible without the assistance and support of Police Chief Bob Meaney, Medfield Police Department, Superintendent of Public Works Maurice Goulet, Medfield Highway Department, David Temple, President of the Medfield Historical Society, the Postal Center of Millis, the Library Board of Trustees, the Friends of the Library, Event emcee, Jim Feeney, and Kate Smith of Walpole Footlighters for supplying costumes.

We are thankful to all who attended and enjoyed this very special 100 year celebration of our town's library.

Enjoy the Gallery of Photos HERE and a 2nd Gallery in a separate post with many more photos!