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Thursday, April 17, 2008

Celebrating A Century

By By Laura Nesbitt /
Mountain View Telegraph
      One morning years ago his sister told him about a “crazy dream” she’d had the night before, remembered Willis Williams, whose sister’s dream became a more than $1 million dollar bequest to build Estancia’s library.
       Last Saturday the town celebrated 100 years of library service, along with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Corinne Williams French, whose bequest provided building money for the Williams Memorial Library that opened in September 2005.
       “It really is a dream come true. It’s a miracle,” Williams said in a phone interview.
       Williams himself donated the rest of the construction cost of the $1.5 million library.
       The library is named in honor of Corinne and Willis’ parents, Henry Clay Williams and Jennie Gertrude Call Williams, who homesteaded about 2½ miles southeast of Estancia in 1904 and moved into town several years later where they lived until 1940, Willis Williams said in a prior interview.
       “I’d like to use this centennial for planning for the next 100 years,” Willis said about last Saturday’s birthday party.
       The 5,600 square foot library in Arthur Park in Estancia has a wall of windows that look out over the shady Arthur Park and nearby swimming pool.
       “I got a call from Willis in the early ’90s and he said I’d like to build a library,” said Morrow Hall, former Estancia mayor, editor of the Estancia Valley Citizen newspaper from 1985 to 1998 and current executive director of Enchantment Legacy.
       “When we built this new library the architect just drew circles (on a page) and we said we want a southwest room, young adults room and a storytelling place,” Hall said.
       Elaine Ramsey, who moved to Estancia from Indiana to fill the job as head librarian, said the plan s for Saturday was a “low-key” birthday party celebration.
       About 100 townspeople dropped by to celebrate, Ramsey said.
       The full-size sheet cake was made by Wendy Moore and included purple flowers because “Corinne liked purples and blues,” Ramsey said.
       Mayor Martin Hibbs plans to meet with Willis Williams in Irvine, Calif. to discuss the benefactor’s plan to make another bequest to Estancia that could include a scholarship fund, a community auxiliary building and a homestead research program.
       “It’s Willis’ wish to have the town build a library community building — a multipurpose building for plays, lectures and entertainment — with really comfortable seating,” Hibbs said.
       If that wish becomes reality, the new building might be up to 4,000 square feet and could house arts presentations by the schools and professional groups from Albuquerque, Hibbs said.
       Hibbs will take preliminary plans by a draftsman to the meeting that include a footprint and an elevation.
       “We’re trying to develop a good footprint of what we want,” Hibbs said about the upcoming meeting with Williams.
      

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