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During the yearlong commemoration of its 130th anniversary, Lanier Library is celebrating members; not only those familiar to many from years of active involvement but also those who just helped the Library get much closer to the goal of 130 new members during 2020. 

Throughout the year this monthly column will help members and the community get a better idea of 

The neighbors who carry the Lanier card and are helping preserve a cultural tradition started in 1890. 

BILL McCALL

“I came here as a kid,” says Bill McCall, retired Tryon dentist. “My earliest memory was mom bringing me to Miss Sprinkle’s reading group on Saturday. Later I walked by myself, then I came on my bike, speeding down Melrose.”

Bill thinks the renewed emphasis on children’s reading is not so much a return to the past as an important step forward for his Library and his town.

“Got my membership card in 1952 and was so proud that the number was 70. That was my number at my library, in my town, my neighborhood…wasn’t fair when I got reassigned 1140 because a computer system came in.”

“As boys, we hung out on the corner of Melrose and Chestnut,” remembers Bill. “This is my library all my life…in my youth and in retirement with my pal Coffee. The bust of Sidney watches over members. His eyes move with you.”  He smiles at that, before adding, “I feel the history of Tryon here.”

Bill McCall comes to Lanier Library with his buddy Coffee, carrying on a dog-friendly policy that started in at least 1967 based on a vintage photo showing an early canine visitor. 

Submitted by Vince Verrecchio