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The Mason County Quiz is presented by Lake Michigan Senior Living, located on the bluffs of Lake Michigan in beautiful Summit Township.
How much do you know about Mason County?
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
- In what year was the first library established in Scottville?
a. 1899
b. 1907
c. 1941
d. 1995
A. 1899
In 1899, retired banker Charles Blaine donated a lot on South Main Street in Scottville for the purpose of establishing a library. The Blaine Library Association raised money to build a building and purchase books through subscriptions and by holding socials. The new library was located at 113 S. Main St. with parts of the building being leased to various other businesses. In 1940 the building was torn down and replaced with a new two-story brick building. This building served as the Scottville Public Library until 1953 when the Scottville library combined with the Mason County Public Library and a new building was erected at 204 E. State Street. The previous building was sold and served for a few years as a dry cleaner before becoming Smith & Eddy Insurance.
2. In what year was the present library building in Ludington opened?
a. 1872
b. 1906
c. 1995
d. 2016
B. 1906
In 1872, James Ludington donated $100 for the establishment of a library in the newly chartered City of Ludington. His company, Pere Marquette Lumber Company, allocated space to start the first library. In 1874, 300 books were moved to the Gebhardt Building, 202 E. Ludington Ave. Later it was moved to Temperance Hall, 208 S. James St. In 1881, the building was destroyed by fire. That location eventually became the site of the Lyric Theater.
In 1905, the Pere Marquette Literary Club secured a grant from the Carnegie Institute for the construction of a new building. In 1906, the building opened at 217 E. Ludington Ave. and has remained in that location since.
For many years, two branch libraries were operated. One was located at Pere Marquette School and the other, opened in 1941, was located in the basement of Lakeview School. The branch libraries served both adults and children.
3. Where was the original location of the Mason County Library?
a. In the carriage house of the Warren Cartier mansion
b. The second floor of the Scottville library
c. The basement of the Ludington library
d. Warren Darr’s farm in Free Soil
C. The basement of the Ludington library
In 1941 the Mason County Board of Supervisors established a county library, which started in the basement of the Ludington Public Library, 217 E. Ludington Ave.
The county library provided service to rural residents of the county from the bookmobile. The first bookmobile was a second-hand ambulance that was used by the Civilian Conservation Corps. That vehicle was replaced in 1958 by a custom Gerstenslager bookmobile, which was used for 12 years. In 1977, the county library requested federal revenue sharing funds for a new bookmobile, which went into service that year until the bookmobile service was ended in 1999. At one time, the bookmobile served over 50 rural schools, along with many rural neighborhoods. The last two bookmobile librarians were Jody Morton and Sandra Sheppardson.
In 1952, the county library merged with the Scottville Public Library and moved into its new building at 204 E. State St., which opened in September of that year.
4. In what year did the Mason County Library and Ludington Public Library combine?
a. 1965
b. 1975
c. 1994
d. 2006
C. 1994
In 1991, the library boards of the two libraries formed a group to study the idea of merging the two public libraries that served Mason County residents. The outcome was the creation of the Mason County District Library on April 1, 1994, which equalized the tax burden for library support. This also allowed major improvements to the county’s library system. County voters gave final approval of the merger following a millage vote on Aug. 2, 1994.
Today, the libraries in Ludington and Scottville are now part of the same system. Officially, each library is considered a branch of the Mason County District Library.
Lake Michigan Senior Living, 4895 S. Lakeshore Dr. in Summit Township, offers beautiful views of Lake Michigan, activities and exceptional care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The facility consists of four housing units on the bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan. For more information, call 231-843-9963 or go to www.lakemiseniorliving.com.
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