Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky by Kathi Appelt & Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer

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Mighty Librarians


Every once in awhile I pick up a juvenile book, not to read to my grandkids, but just for me because they’re so interesting.  This is one of those books. 

This 55-page book is about the Pack Horse Program that was started under the Works Progress/Projects Administration during the Great Depression in 1935.  The program was an extention under the New Deal Initiative designed to restore prosperity in America during that devastating time period.

In this program, librarians were paid $28 a month to deliver books to people in isolated areas of the Cumberland Mountains.  The librarians provided their own horses using saddlebags, sacks, and pillowcases to carry books to people who had no way to get to libraries. Through rugged terrain and in all kinds of weather, these hardy librarians delivered books that were donated from womens’ clubs, PTAs, schools, churches and universities.

In gratitude for their service, recipients would often give the librarians little tokens of their appreciation in the form of family quilt patterns, recipes, and stories cut out from worn-out magazines. It was common practice for librarians to make a scrapbook with those items.  One of those scapbooks now sits in the archive collection at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, NY.  The program ended during WWII in 1943, and it wasn’t until the late 1950s that the bookmobile program stepped in to take its place.

I had never heard of this Pack Horse Library Program.  Someone had mentioned the book on my Little Free Library Facebook site, and I was so intrigued I went right to my own library website and placed a hold on it.  Through the Cooperative Information Network which my library participates in, I was notified via email when the book was delivered to my library from a nearby town. I think the librarians of the 1930s would have been amazed how much the library systems have progressed.  But their work will not be forgotten.  Almost every page of this book has photographs of the librarians.  I hope to remember those images and never take for granted how lucky we are to have easy access to thousands of books through our own libraries.

Very interesting book, definitely worth checking out!

Happy Reading,

Annette



Questions or comments?  Email Readinginthegarden@gmail.com

Comments

~Trema~ said…
Wow! I've never heard of these woman or the program before. My family actually lived near Cumberland at that time. I wonder if that's where my love of reading came from? Ya, never know!
Thanks for the post. I'm going to look the book up now!
August 3, 2018 at 6:10 PM
Reading in the Garden said…
I hadn't heard of the program either until this book....it would be interesting to see if your family had ever used their services at that time or better yet, what if someone in your family had been one of those remarkable ladies! Either way, cool program and ladies.
August 4, 2018 at 8:28 AM
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