Freddy and the Log Cabin, by David Haas

My Favourite Library?

WHERE I FIRST MET FREDDY!

By David Haas

Glengarry Branch of the Calgary Public Library

Early 1950s, Not A Log Cabin

Photo Credit: Calgary Public Library

Colouring added by author

I met Freddy in a log cabin in Calgary on the Western Canadian prairie!

Well, that’s the way I long remembered it. The building was the Calgary Public Library’s Glengarry Branch, opened in 1950. Even in the golden haze of my fond recollection it was not an actual log cabin, rather what we would now call a retro – a cosmetic exterior of partial logs over a more weather proof wall. There still are buildings like that in Alberta.

Alas when researching for this competition I learned the place wasn’t even that. Photographs from the era show that in reality the exterior was just plank siding, probably rough finished and stained a log-like hue.

My mother used to check out books from time to time at the adult department upstairs. And often I tagged along.

The children’s department was downstairs, a treasure trove reached by a separate door and stairway in back of the building. It gave one a delicious sense of entering a place outside the ken of parents. They were allowed in, of course, but not many came. The basement room was paneled in knotty pine, fashionable back then.

I don’t recall my mother being with me the first time I ventured downstairs and checked out my first two books. I’ve never remembered the titles, but I recall a bit about them. One was a story involving a gazillion cats – okay, the internet tells me this must have been the classic Millions Of Cats. The other book involved China and a baking oven (I’m not going to cheat by asking Michael Cart what it would have been).

Nor do I recall a librarian pointing out those books to me, nor later suggesting I try one of their books about a talented porker. I discovered I liked picking out books myself. I cruised the shelves. And Freddy was there!

The Children’s Department of the Glengarry Branch

Showing Shelf Location of Freddy Books

Photo Credit: Calgary Public Library

Colouring added by author

I discovered Freddy on one of those shelves pointed to in the photo. I recall the relevant shelf being about eye level, but the placement of books was not fixed over time. That was I think late 1953 or early 1954, when I was 9 or 10. And over the next year and a half or so – my “Freddy phase” – I went through every Freddy book they had, eagerly watching for new arrivals.

My first Freddy book? Well, that I don’t remember. Possibly Freddy The Detective. I was already familiar with Sherlock Holmes so this one would have rung a bell. The book that really lodged in my mind was Freddy The Magician. I staged a small magic show at my home for my parents. And, four decades later, downhearted over a stage hypnotist not paying his bill for professional services, suddenly the malignant Signor Zingo came back to me. I obtained the book on an interlibrary loan and was soon roaring with laughter! HOW could I ever have forgotten Leo dressed up in Freddy’s buckskin jacket and feather headdress?

My first Freddy book wasn’t Freddy Goes To Florida, under which title To And Again was on the shelves. I definitely recall checking that yarn out after I already had a few Freddy stories under my belt. I missed what is apparent to the more discerning adult eye, that Freddy is not the central character. The book did however have a long term effect, because Walter R. Brooks had a way of hooking a historical reference into his young reader. For decades, even though I had mostly forgotten the details of the Freddy stories, it was impossible for me to read of Balboa, or see a picture of his famous statue in Panama, without thinking of the Grandfather of the All the Alligators reminiscing fondly about spending half a day chewing on the explorer’s delicious boot of old Spanish leather. Now that is making history come alive – even if I can’t seem to find any evidence that Balboa was ever in Florida. Maybe the Grandfather moved around more in his younger days!

There was another valuable long term effect from my Freddy period, though not attributable to our hero. One librarian stands out in my memory. She was deaf. Children coming up to the desk were told they had to face her when speaking so she could read their lips. In later years as deafness grew upon me (a souvenir of my early army days) I remembered the upfront librarian. If you’re deaf, don’t leave people guessing – tell ’em!

One funny incident occurred late in my Freddy period when I had started to cruise the teenage shelves. I spotted a book titled simply Jinx. I checked it out unread, assuming of course it was about Freddy’s feline sidekick. At home I discovered it was the mildly eye popping (for an 11 or 12 year old) 1951 autobiography of an actress and model named Jinx Falkenburg.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Yosemite (By Nancy Hatcher)

            It was a dreadful, cold dreary day, keeping Freddy and friends huddled and miserable in the barn. Grumbling was not a cure. Freddy began to ruminate about the possibilities of a sojourn to sunnier parts. A trip to California came to mind. The friends thought it would be grand to see a National Park or two, though Mrs. Wiggins fretted about what hat she would wear and Charles wondered about roosters being allowed. Plans were immediately made for another "Perilous Adventure." Freddy procured a hot air balloon. A note was left for Mr. and Mrs. Bean to explain their absence. Everyone hopped into the large basket and the compass was set for Yosemite National Park and they lifted off.

 

            Freddy and his friends considered themselves most fortunate to have found themselves on updrafts taking them over mountains, rivers, and the Great Plains, all with splendid views. The Grand Canyon was spectacular. Whilst taking their afternoon tea with crumpets (though Robert preferred a biscuit), Simon, the lookout atop the balloon, suddenly cried out, "I see California!" Tea cups went flying and several crumpets went overboard as everyone jumped up, Jinx climbing on Hank's back to have a better view. Freddy declared that it was indeed California, and, if one looked very hard, one could see Yosemite's Half Dome! Everyone congratulated each other on this most marvelous adventure that had not been 'perilous' at all. Then, all of a sudden, it happened!

 

            A blustery, gust of wind came blowing off the Sierras, sending the balloon this way and that, up and down. Freddy took command immediately, shouting above the howling wind for everyone to get down quickly as he consulted his navigation guide and determined that the balloon must land immediately. The balloon landed with a thud, not in Yosemite, but a few miles south in the play yard of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno.

 

            Crawling out from under the balloon, Simon took charge of exploring the yard, taking Robert along for protection in case they came upon any suspicious characters, and Jinx for his ability to leap upon window sills to peek inside. Mrs. Wiggins was more interested in finding her hat. Hank decided to wander off in search of fresh grass to chew.

 

            Simon, Robert and Jinx returned with some exiting news! They had discovered a door with a sign, "Welcome to the Norelma Walker Youth Library. Please Come In." "What are we waiting for?" exclaimed Freddy.

 

            Freddy and his friends found themselves in a small, cozy library that appeared wonderful and captivating for any young reader, even older ones, and even intelligent barnyard readers! Jinx found himself staring straight up to a top shelf where there sat another cat, the Cat in the Hat! From a rocking chair came, "Hello, please look around," from Paddington Bear. A small inquisitive monkey, swung down from atop a bookcase, introducing himself as "Curious George" and asked, "Where did you come from and how did you get here?" It was astonishing! The stuffed animals began talking, just like Freddy and his friends!

 

            After many "how-do-you-do's," Peter Rabbit hopped over from his window sill where he had been looking longingly at the Community Garden and offered a tour of the collection. There were fiction and non-fiction alike, biographies, poetry, shelves and shelves of beautifully illustrated  picture books and thick "chapter" books. Freddy gasped when he saw the complete collection of books about himself and his adventures! And the complete set of first edition facsimiles of the "Oz books," all of "The Adventures of Tintin," Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, and the Harry Potter books, and more. "We are computerized, all 1600 books are catalogued, everyone has a library card, and we have a 'dot' system," explained Peter, "where books have a colored dot on their spine to indicate green for the environment, blue for peace, purple for women's history, red for civil rights, yellow for the labor movement, pink for LGBT, and orange for local authors such as William Saroyan, Leo Politi and Margarita Engle."

 

            "Most impressive," observed Hank. They all loved the round, hooked globe rug upon which to curl up to read, the small blue table and yellow chairs, the handmade, quilt map on the wall, the windows through which the sun lit up the collection, and finally, a great poster of Freddy the Pig himself! Everyone agreed that this was a most, marvelous library. "Good things come in small packages!" said Freddy.

 

            Alas, it was time to get on with their journey. The balloon was filled with air, the friends all gathered for a sweet farewell. Freddy and friends made promises to return again. And they did. But, that is another story.

 

The End.

 

           

My Favorite Library: Faxon Branch Library, by Henry Cohn

My Favorite Library 

Faxon Branch Library

Elmwood, Connecticut

Submitted by Henry Cohn

            I choose as my favorite library the Faxon branch because when my fourth grade teacher gave me Freddy the Detective to read, and I enjoyed it, I went to the Faxon Branch for more Freddies.  This is the library which allowed my love of Freddy to be nourished.

            In those days, the early 1950’s, I lived with my parents near Elmwood.  Downtown Elmwood was the working person’s section of more affluent West Hartford. Faxon served that community well.  I frequently visited the Faxon branch, and hardly ever went to the main Noah Webster library on Main Street in West Hartford.  It was closer and had what I needed.  There were times that I didn’t go to the library myself, but told my parents what I wanted to take out.  I would look forward to their return from Faxon with a book for me.

            Faxon had only a few precious Freddies—Freddy Goes to Florida, Freddy the Detective, Freddy the Politician, Freddy Plays Football, Freddy and the Men from Mars and my favorite, Freddy and the Bean Home News.  I must have read BHN at least four times back then. 

            While I remember all the wonderful times spent reading the Freddies, Faxon could also support my teen tastes. I don’t remember all the titles, but they came from the Faxon branch.

            Now I live on the other side of West Hartford from Elmwood, but I go to Faxon when I can get a book more quickly there than from the main Noah Webster library or the other West Hartford branch closer to my home.

Faxon still has a great and helpful staff.  They have searched for a variety of difficult to find items for me through the years.

The branch serves a variety of ethnic groups today as West Hartford has a much larger and more diverse population than it did in the 1950’s.  Now, in 2013, this library features a Welcome Center with books and DVD’s in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Vietnamese.  They have sessions to practice English, and occasional opportunities for their patrons to meet with local community leaders. They have a poetry writing group and adult book discussions.  And they serve the entire West Hartford community with a film and discussion series – RACE MATTERS – where my wife saw the movie Crash a number of years ago, and where she just recently attended a program on the book Elizabeth and Hazel on the Little Rock Nine.

            Sad to say, all the Freddies that I read are now gone, probably discarded.  When I heard about the Friends of Freddy in the 1990’s, my interest in reading the books returned, as well as my desire to make sure that the Faxon Branch had at least some copies.  I donated a couple of books to Faxon at that time. 

            I have entered this contest in hopes of bolstering the Freddy collection at the Faxon Branch.  I hope to benefit my old place of learning and the deserving population it serves.