Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash My new title in the college library was circulation supervisor; two adult women and four college students comprised my staff. We checked books in and out, reshelved them, handled interlibrary loans. My job included arranging schedules, and as students graduated, hiring and training new workers. One of my goals in returning to Ohio was to earn a master’s degree in English and teach at the college level. My alma mater had faculty without doctorates; I assumed as a graduate, I’d have no trouble finding a place among them. I also had no idea what that would mean in terms of salary, but I was not a prudent woman. To that end, I picked up a basic English Composition class, which I taught on my lunch hour. It did not go as I’d hoped, and my evaluations were not stellar. Even so, I was at the library circulation desk one day, poring over catalogs of universities with graduate programs. One of my favorite English department profs came by and asked what I was doing. (There was not a large turnover within the faculty and staff; many of the professors I had taken classes from seven years earlier were still there.) “All of these programs require a language,” I said. “I don’t know whether it would be better to work on my Greek or to go back to high school Spanish.” He grinned at me and said, “There’s no language requirement for library science,” and left. I walked into the library director’s office, smiling at the joke. “Hey, guess what Ron just said.” After I told him, he replied, “Get the degree, and in three years I’ll promote you to reference librarian.” I left his office crying, because suddenly I could get what I truly wanted: I could remain in this beautiful little village, among people I knew, and not have to teach. It seemed a sign of God’s providence that the only library school in Ohio was at Kent State, a mere fifteen miles from where my mother still lived. Granted summers off (without pay) to pursue my studies, I could live with her. Ten years after graduating from college, I was back in school.
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Baptist GirlI was a conservative Baptist girl who grew up to become a career Christian, working first in a Baptist school and then in a Baptist college. For about three decades, it was very good until it wasn’t, and I had to leave. But the Baptists formed me. This is my homage to the good times and good people of the world I left, finally, at forty-three, when I became an Episcopalian. These are my memories; others might disagree with my recollections. So be it. Archives
January 2024
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