Now You Know: Story Time

Story Time

With Miss Ruth Winifred Brown

by Debbie Neece, Bartlesville Area History Museum

What did Benjamin Franklin and Ruth Brown share in common…no, not the kite and key. They both had a common goal of sharing education and conversation through library access, benefitting people who might not have had access to books otherwise.

Beyond being one of America’s founding fathers, Ben Franklin’s name has been etched in history for his many “firsts,” including the establishment of the first lending library, the Library Company of Philadelphia in 1731, where he served as librarian from December 1733 to March 1734. Franklin adored philosophical conversation and the ability to freely share with others in search of intellectual improvement. This became his inspiration for the Library Company of Philadelphia, America’s oldest library at 290 years.

In Bartlesville, organized access to reading material, outside the daily Magnet newspaper, was found in Mrs. Filkin’s Millinery Store on East Second Street. On June 1, 1898, the reading room was established by the ladies of the Fortnightly Club, later known as the Tuesday Club. In 1908, the Tuesday Club Public Library Room had limited access; open Friday’s from 2:00-5:30.

Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American who granted funds to establish over 2,500 Carnegie Libraries; among them, one in Bartlesville through the work of the Tuesday Club. Carnegie believed in granting enough funds to construct the building but required a “buy-in” from the community to create a sense of pride in the library. Thus it was, November 1908, the Bartlesville City Commission, the Tuesday Club and a selected Grant Committee requested a grant from the Carnegie Foundation for a public library building. A site was designated at the southeast corner of Seventh Street (Adams Blvd.) and Osage Avenue. By 1912, the funding and construction contracts for the new library were secured and March 1913 Bartlesville’s Carnegie Library opened with 1,250 books on the shelves. This building is currently the Kane law offices and the Tuesday Club has since disbanded.

In 1919, 28 year old Ruth Winifred Brown was hired as librarian on the heels of World War I. At that time, the Carnegie Library held just over 2,000 books and within eight years, the collection swelled to over 10,000 books. Rapidly outgrowing the Carnegie building, the City Commission and the Library Board moved the library to the north wing of the Bartlesville Civic Center in 1927 where the collection flourished to 25,000 volumes by 1936.

Miss Brown addressed Bartlesville Public Library patrons by name as they entered the library because they were her family. She never married, preferring to focus on her service to the library visitors often crossing the lines of segregation to help children learn to read. She had long worked to bring equal rights to all citizens and shared story time with children of all races.

According to my dear friend, Flo Messall, “It didn't matter what color you were…

white, black, blue or green, Miss Brown was always kind, helpful and well liked.”

In 1950, a group of citizens became the proverbial “squeaky wheel” and brought activities at the Young Women’s Christian Association (Y.W.C.A.) and Bartlesville Public Library to the attention of the supporting boards and the City Commissioners, citing an effort to promote integration. As a result, the Y.W.C.A. board established an interracial program welcoming all teen students to hold club meetings at the facility. However, the outcome for Miss Brown was much different.

The citizen committee appeared at a meeting of the City Commissioners to voice their concerns that Miss Brown had also purchased “subversive” material for the Library which had been banned by entities like the New York City Board of Education. When the governing body supported Miss Brown, a near riot ensued. After review of the three publications in question, two were retained and one removed. But this was not the main goal of the citizen committee; they wanted Miss Brown fired for befriending black children and promoting equality. Through a series of political maneuvers, Miss Brown was indeed fired on July 25, 1950.

Ruth Brown’s situation became a case study and received national attention in newspapers across America. In 1956, the movie, Storm Center, featuring Bette Davis, portrayed the events that tarnished our community. And, in 2000, Louise Robbins wrote her book detailing “The Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown.” Then, finally tributes came. In 2007, a bronze bust of Miss Brown was unveiled at the Bartlesville Public Library and the Bartlesville Women’s Network established the Ruth Brown Memorial Scholarship recognizing her 30 years of equal rights service to the community.

Libraries are the nucleus of a community. The modern library has evolved to be much more than a place to check out a book. It is a quiet place to study, a place for children’s activities, a place to gain citizenship or learn a new language, a place to hold a meeting, a place to get help with your taxes, a place to read a magazine or newspaper, a place to research your genealogy, a place to borrow “things” that you might only need once in a while, a place to borrow entertainment or educational DVDs or books on tape, a place to access free Wi-Fi or use a computer for email or research and much, much more.

In appreciation of Miss Ruth Brown and her passion for surrounding all library patrons with literary opportunities, the Bartlesville Public Library and Phillips Petroleum Company have designed and installed a wall mural tribute to Miss Ruth Brown’s vision of story time for all children.

Ben Franklin would be proud!

Did You Know?

The honor of being portrayed on the first U.S. postage stamp was Benjamin Franklin’s and he has been on more stamps than any other American, except George Washington.

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