Allison Hanes: Hudson library has been honouring war veterans for 75 years

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For 75 years, almost every day has been like Remembrance Day in Hudson, just west of Montreal.

At the Hudson War Memorial Library, which was inaugurated in November 1949, a list of locals who served in the First and Second World Wars has long greeted visitors. The names of the roughly 400 veterans, both men and women, are inscribed in the hand of artist and calligrapher Vy Bryan on a wooden plaque just inside the library’s front door. A red cross marks those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

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But more than paying tribute to their service, the Hudson War Memorial Library is a living legacy that has been giving back to the community for generations.

“I’ve been a member for as long as I can remember as a child and I’m 70 now. I remember coming as a toddler,” said Celia Joslin, the vice-president and a past president of the library board. “I can remember coming as an elementary child. I’d ride down on my bike any time they were open.”

Despite the name, the library is a typical hub for families run by an army of volunteers, much in the spirit of the military veterans it was established to honour.

“We’ve got a few younger volunteers who have put their heart and soul into it. So now we have a children’s event about every six weeks on a Sunday, and one of the other ones started chess nights once a month so far for young teens,” said current president Andrea Cooper. “We also have a Books on Wheels service. I used it six years ago when I broke my femur and I couldn’t get out of bed.”

Unlike most local libraries, which are public services funded by the municipality, this one is a volunteer-run non-profit. The library’s main source of funding is its thrift store, The Bunker, which operates out of the basement every Saturday morning. It sells used clothing, household items, toys and curiosities at bargain prices.

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“If you’re a visitor to Hudson, you’re probably wondering whatever is going on on Elm (St.) on a Saturday morning, because there are lineups whether it’s plus or minus 25 (degrees),” said volunteer Geraldine Moore.

The Hudson War Memorial Library is steeped in history — one Moore, among its unofficial historians, retold to mark this milestone.

During the Second World War, Hudsonites borrowed books in the basement of McNaughten Hall, a red-brick building on Main Rd. that is still Hudson’s primary municipal outpost.

“After the war, there was a committee to develop a war memorial for the soldiers,” Moore said. “There were other ideas put out for a memorial, like a cenotaph. But the library kind of shone through the whole committee process.”

That set off a number of fundraising efforts and a search for a suitable location. Eventually the committee settled on the Masonic Lodge that was being used as a community centre by the town. There, Hudsonites played badminton, held New Year’s Eve dances, and performed theatre on a stage that later became the children’s section.

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“The Masons were inhabiting the top floor — and they still do,” Moore said.

The Town of Hudson later bought the facility from the Masons, and the library eventually bought it from the town for $1.

The cosy building, with its peaked roof and bright bay window, will itself be 100 years old in 2025.

But the parallel history of The Bunker is critical to the library’s 75 years of existence, said Moore.

“Going back to the war, there was a group of teachers from the high school who decided that they would raise money to create what I would call Red Cross parcels for the soldiers who were from Hudson and serving overseas. So the Red Cross parcel ladies, they had a little store near the fire station. And they used to collect white-elephant-store-type stuff and people would buy it and they collected money. And they made up all these parcels and sent them off to the soldiers,” she explained.

“When the Town of Hudson decided to install the library here as a war memorial, the group who had been doing the parcels decided that they would continue to support the library. And they moved into the basement and set up like a jumble sale.

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“It was one light bulb and a little tin and everything was put up on tables.”

Today, The Bunker (its name giving a nod to its wartime origins) is a thriving vintage shop packed with treasures dropped off by members of the community. It now occupies the entire basement.

While 30 dedicated volunteers work “upstairs” checking out books and organizing activities, about 30 more toil “downstairs” in The Bunker, said co-ordinator Alison McIntosh. They sort donations, price items, winnow stock, and take pictures of good finds to promote on social media.

What doesn’t manage to sell is handed off to other charities. Last week, the stairs were lined with a mountain of garbage bags stuffed with clothing waiting to be picked up by Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

“Very little gets thrown out,” said McIntosh, who — like many Hudsonites — proudly gets most of her wardrobe second-hand.

“Everything down to the shoes,” she said. “Not the socks or underwear, though — that’s where I draw the line.”

The Bunker gives away more than surplus merchandise. Enough money is raised over and above what is needed to maintain and operate the library that an estimated $700,000 has been redirected to other good causes over the years, be it the local food bank or the nearby hospital.

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Some weeks, all proceeds go to disaster relief. There have been fundraisers dedicated to earthquake survivors in Haiti, refugees in Ukraine, victims of hurricane Fiona, and the effort to rebuild Hudson’s historic St. James Church, which was struck by a devastating fire in April.

“We always say that for every dollar you spend downstairs, 40 per cent goes back to the community,” said Donna Seaman, another past president and keeper of library lore.

Over the weekend, Hudson celebrated 75 years of giving back in the name of its war veterans.

On Saturday, The Bunker gave a $75 gift certificate to the 75th customer to walk in the door, and some items were marked down to 75 cents.

The uniform and medals of Lt. Maxine Llewellyn Bredt, a nurse who served in England and Italy during the Second World War, were proudly on display.

On Sunday, after veterans, dignitaries and cadets laid wreaths at the cenotaph at the legion, the library held an open house.

Cupcakes were served. A music ensemble played. A 75-day reading contest for children was launched. Cooper gave a short speech.

The plaque bearing the names of Hudson’s World War veterans gleamed in a more eye-catching position, illuminated by new lighting.

“The feeling walking in the door … now it’s so bright,” said Joslin. “It’s only been lowered 10 inches, but it makes a world of difference in it being visible.”

And to mark the 75-year war effort that has kept this act of remembrance thriving, a new polished granite monument was unveiled on the front lawn, hidden, until the ta-da moment, under a black blanket reused from — where else? — The Bunker.

ahanes@postmedia.com

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