We’ve finished looking at the South Team and are ready to move on to the Central Team. First up, as you may know, just down the road from Hensall, we have Zurich.
The first public library in the village was established in 1919, which means that, in a rare turn of events, the library did NOT start out as a Mechanics’ Institute. Imagine that.
As for the location of this first library, it was housed in the private residence of Mrs. Lydia Faust on Goshen Street directly across from the St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. The library collection was located in the north room on the main floor and Mrs. Faust was Zurich’s first librarian.
The membership fee of $1 granted borrowing privileges for the year, but this wasn’t a requirement to use the library. If they wished, library users could forego the annual $1 fee and instead pay .5 cents per volume. Quite a handy setup if you only took out the occasional volume here and there.
In 1934, 15 years later, Mrs. Faust retired at the age of 77, and was replaced by one Mr. Albert Hess. This saw the library collection relocated to the rear of Hess’s Store, which was on the south side of Main street opposite what is now Victoria Lane.
This arrangement, however, did not last long. The Great Depression was taking its toll, and the library closed in approximately 1937. Efforts to open up another library in the village began after the end of the Second World War, but at first, they struggled to find a building.
It wasn’t until either 1947 or 1948 that Zurich businessman Mr. Keith Westlake offered to make his furniture store the library’s new home, which was located at the northeast corner of Zurich’s busiest intersection, Goshen and Main. The library collection was held on two bays of shelving at the back right-hand corner of Mr. Westlake’s store. Books to be checked out were taken to a table in another part of the store, where Westlake and his family looked after the circulation records.
Just a few years later, in 1952, Mrs. Lennita Oesch, or Nita for short, took up the job. As a result, the Zurich Library was on the move again, but not very far. From Westlake’s, it moved just across the Goshen to the Oesch residence. The building included the family home, Nita’s flower shop, and Oesch’s Shoe Store, which was run by Nita’s husband. The library room was a cozy 10×12 feet.
Over 20 years later, in the mid-1970s, the cozy room was packed. I’m picturing shelves filled to the brim with old, leather-bound books. By this point, it had become clear that the library needed room to grow.
In 1974, the village proposed to move the branch into a new, $45,000 Zurich Municipal building at the corner of Frederick and Main. A petition was circulated in opposition of the building, but ultimately, Zurich voters endorsed the proposal. Zurich’s Administration and Public Utilities Commission was housed in the upper level, while the library resided in the lower level. The building was completed in 1975 and the library collection was moved in. For the first time in its 56 year history, the Zurich Library had a designated public space for its own use. Hip hip hooray!
Shortly after the new library opened, in 1977, Nita Oesch retired at the age of 65 after 24 years of service as Zurich’s librarian.
Over the next couple of decades, the Zurich Library saw increased usage, so much so that by 1991, in a report that recommended more square footage and full accessibility (which was not possible due to the staircase), the Reeve at the time said, “the building is sadly undersized for its needs.” Thus began a long-term conversation about moving the library once more.
How quickly things can change. Less than 20 years after moving the library into its first designated public space, this new location was already proving too small.
Over 10 years later, in 2003, it was noted that discussion of a new library building was still ongoing. As the years passed, the community continued to push for a new library.
Many years, lo and behold, the community got what they wanted. Near the end of 2013, the demolition of a 3-story grocery store marked the start of a construction project that saw a brand new library being built in Zurich. This was made more feasible thanks to a multi-million-dollar grant from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. In 2013, the Ontario government dedicated $100 million in one-time funding specifically to help small and rural communities repair or replace “core infrastructure”. Huron County received $7.5 million from the grant, and $800,000 of that covered the $1.04 million dollar budget that was set for the new Zurich library. Part of that grant also went toward the construction of the Bayfield library earlier that same year. But that’s another story we’ll get to.
In September of 2014, the new library opened to much fanfare, where it remains to this day. Let me tell ya, it’s quite the size upgrade. If you’ll recall, the library was 10×12 feet when it was located at the Oesch residence. In comparison, this new location is 3,500 square feet. Quite a bit more than 120 square feet!
And you know what? After several moves, the library is now situated at the exact same intersection, Goshen and Main, that the libraries of old had stood on up until 1975. Talk about full circle.
