Wisconsin Libraries - Part 3
Grafton, Cedarburg and Mequon-Thiensville
This is my library. Ever since I moved to Grafton 21 years ago, this is my sanctuary.
The first Grafton Public Library opened in April 1956 in the building that is now the Town Hall. It outgrew this space by the early 1980s and moved to its current location which was built as an addition on the old 1927 Grafton High School building on Broad Street. In December of 1987, after giving a donation of $250,000, brothers Benjamin and Theodore Grob were granted the right to name the library. They chose to name it the USS Liberty to serve as a memorial. The USS Liberty was a US Navy ship that was attacked by the Israeli Navy on June 8, 1967, in international waters off the Sinai Peninsula. The dedication ceremony in June 1989 was attended by sixty survivors of the USS Liberty.
The naming of the library was not without controversy due to Israel being involved in the sinking of the ship. Divisions were along political lines, just as it would be today for all the current world events.
Cedarburg is Grafton’s neighbor to the west. If you’re familiar with the two towns on The Simpsons (Springfield and Shelbyville), that’s Cedarburg and Grafton. Some of them view us as living on the wrong side of the tracks. And both towns give a bit of a side eye to Saukville north of us.
The Cedarburg Woman’s Club initiated plans for a public library in 1911. Donated books were organized in the State Bank building. The collection found a more permanent home in the firehouse. The library was open to the public two days each week starting in 1912. Adele Kroehnke was the librarian, with three assistants hired to manage the collection and services. Approximately 243 library cards had been issued and 200 books donated. The library remained in the firehouse, occupying 2,182 square feet of space, for 59 years! In 1971 it was moved to a building on Hanover Avenue with 10,812 square feet in which to spread out. I remember the excitement on July 12, 2014, when the new 25,500 square foot library building opened. It is full of local artwork throughout the two floors. The children’s library is on the first floor and the adults on the second floor.
Mequon and Thiensville are to the south of Cedarburg and Grafton. The company I work for is in Mequon which makes my commute very quick and easy!
The Mequon-Thiensville Library opened in 1953, in a small storefront at 188 S. Main Street in Thiensville. Philanthropist Frank L. Weyenberg* donated the funds to construct a new permanent structure. The Frank L. Weyenberg Library opened at its current location on August 22, 1971. The building was expanded in 1994.
*Who is Frank L. Weyenberg? Frank L. Weyenberg was a self-made man who started the Weyenberg Shoe and Manufacturing Company in Milwaukee. It became one of the largest shoe makers in the country, employing thousands of people from the area. After retiring in 1968, Frank Weyenberg and his wife, Helen, wanted to give something back to the Mequon and Thiensville communities. On Christmas Eve 1969, he phoned Mequon Mayor James Eagan and offered to fund the construction of a new library. Frank Weyenberg lived in Mequon and in Florida until his death on July 4, 1976, at the age of 94. The Weyenberg Shoe Company is today known as the Weyco Group, and is still headquartered in Milwaukee. They manufacture Nunn-Bush and many other high-end leather and dress shoes. -library website
Love the histories!
Very interesting and thank you for sharing, Cindy☺️