Discovering secrets in Scoville Memorial Library

SALISBURY — Curious patrons of the Scoville Memorial Library got an extensive look at the areas of the building that visitors don’t often see Thursday, Dec. 28.

Well over 50 people showed up and were divided into groups by library staff.

The blue group started in the reading room, which is not one of the “hidden” spots. Guide Macey Levin discussed the stone carving in the wall, from Salisbury Cathedral in England, the Oak Room and the map on the wall showing the old 14 school districts within Salisbury.

The group then descended into the basement, where Lakeville native Kendra Percy, now head of children and family services at the library, showed off a display of miniature books donated by the late Whitney North Seymour.

Percy said the display used to be in the main room, migrated to the director’s office, and was then relocated downstairs during the most recent renovation.

Percy then focused on bound copies of The Lakeville Journal, pulling out the volume that contained 1987 and the graduation photos from Housatonic Valley Regional High School.

“And there I am,” she said. “I’m so grateful I get to work in my town.”

Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

Scoville Memorial Library’s archives reveal the past.

The blue group then went up the narrow stairs into the room just below the bell tower, where David Rogers awaited, tenor saxophone at the ready.

Rogers explained that there are four bells in the belfry, plus a bigger bell that chimes the hour.

The four bells that chime on the quarter hour weigh 300, 450, 700 and 1,200 pounds respectively. Rogers wasn’t sure about the fifth bell, but it is more than 1,200 pounds. He played the sequence of tones, called the “Parsifal Peal,” used on the quarter hour on his sax as the bells are not currently working.

Back in the main room, library director Karin Goodell asked “Ever get the feeling you’re being watched?”

She then directed everyone’s attention to the Ellen Emmet Rand portraits above the circulation desk.

In the main hallway, the portrait of Andrew Warner, one of the founders of Hartford, was displayed temporarily. Goodell recounted the story from August 2023, when Jeremy Warner, the 10th great-grandson of Andrew Warner, came to see the portrait of his ancestor. The current Warner is a sculptor, and plans to make a bust of his ancestor.

The grand finale of the tour for the blue group was a small room above the director’s office, reached via a narrow spiral staircase.

Here awaited Karen Vrotsos, who runs adult programming and was armed with a sword.

Yes, a sword, engraved with the name “Klingenthal” and the legend “Victory or Death.”

Vrotsos subsequently sent some additional information about the sword in an email.

She wrote that the library has no information on the sword, and indeed she just noticed the “Klingenthal” when looking at the sword with a visitor just before the tour.

“A search on Klingethal revealed that the sword may be a French Grenadier hanger, manufactured in France in the late 1770s, and possibly imported for use in the Revolution, as many of its kind were. The style of the sword and all of its inscriptions match museum descriptions of the Grenadier, including the inscription ‘Grenadeer’ with two e’s, and a hallmark, just decipherable, near the hilt.”

“If it is a Grenadier hanger, it is likely to be valuable. We’re storing it safely until we can get an expert to take a look.”

Less dramatic was a collection of children’s books donated in 1803 by Caleb Bingham. The books are kept in protective boxes and are in excellent shape.Vrotsos pulled one out. It dealt with the proper approach to prayer.

There was also a painting of a fox, done in 1859 by one J.B. Spencer. Vrotsos said it used to hang in Town Hall, and was damaged in the 1985 fire.