Forty years of barbarians and books in Cross Plains

CROSS PLAINS – Even in the smallest of towns, a library is an open door to the whole, wide world.

In February, the Cross Plains Public Library is celebrating 40 years serving the community. Board member Michelle Kaiser said they aren’t exactly sure what date in February 1979 the library opened, just that it did and that the institution still is going strong today.

“I remember seeing a page that somebody wrote of how in 1978 a group of people got together and decided we needed a library,” Kaiser said. “So, they went to gather books from different places.”

Maybe having a library doesn’t strike you as that big of a deal. After all, everybody’s got one, right?

Think again. Cross Plains didn’t have a public library, according to Kaiser, before 1979. Given the literary history of this small Callahan County town, that might surprise you.

That’s because Cross Plains was the home of celebrated pulp fiction writer Robert E. Howard. His most famous creation, Conan the Barbarian, made Arnold Schwarzenegger into an international movie star.

More broadly, Howard’s character defined a large swath of fantasy literature for most of the 20th century.

A home to literary history

Howard died in 1936, long before his stories of Conan and his Hyborian Age exploded into popularity after the 1960s, thanks to paperback reprintings and Marvel’s Conan comic books. Each year in June, Cross Plains is host to a festival that celebrates Howard and his creations.

“The most valuable thing we have in our collection are the original Howard manuscripts in the vault,” said Rebecca Collier, the current library director. She is a sixth-generation Cross Plains native.

Each year during the festival, the library brings out manuscripts for Howard scholars to peruse.

“When I first joined the board, and I don’t know why, they didn't bring those things out every year,” Kaiser said, adding that soon changed. “People are traveling from all over the world to come here during Robert E. Howard days, we think they're entitled to see the original manuscripts.”

In the park outside of the library’s north wall at 149 Main St., a wide mural depicts an open book with the barbarian holding bloody sword on one side and Howard’s home on the other. But if the Cimmerian is a big draw for the library, it also means he’s the stepping-off point for so much more.

Reaching hearts and minds

Collier recalled the library when she grew up and Billie Ruth Loving was the librarian.

“When I was a kid she would come to the school promoting the summer reading program,” she said. “Whatever the theme, she was either in costume or had her puppets to illustrate what she was going to do.”

Sitting at a table in the library’s office, Collier cradles a female pug named Puggers. The dog was snoring so loudly that for a moment I worried the noise would drown everyone out on my recording.

Having been director for 18 months, Collier is making her own mark on the library’s reading programs. During the holiday season, Kaiser said Collier turned the library’s children’s section into Whoville with depictions of the Grinch from the Dr. Seuss classic.

“Since she's been here, we've started a book club called the Novel Bunch,” Kaiser added. “The people in it take turns choosing a book.”

She said they try to ensure their choices are guaranteed to spark discussion, even controversy.

“We decided when we set this up that you couldn’t just read ‘fluff’,” Kaiser said.

Relying on the community

Each year brings challenges for the library and funding is always one of them. Kaiser said transparency is a priority for maintaining trust.

“I think it is important for people to realize the value of what they are getting for the money that we spend,” she explained. “We're going to be $7,000 realistically in the hole if we don't get more money this year than we did last year.

“Last year was very lean, with the transfer $7,000 out of our savings account to cover expenses.”

Keeping it transparent, she went on, ensures that those looking for a charity to assist will be assured of their fiscal responsibility. Kaiser said every month they plan to publish their budget, adding that she hoped it will result in more grants and donors.

“This has really become my life, but I can't imagine volunteer in any other group,” Kaiser said. “We have such a good relationship between us and the senior center, the Chamber of Commerce and the food pantry.”

Collier said tshe started a Books on Wheels program. Clients fill out requests for books and then get them when their Meals on Wheels delivery comes.

“You can pay your fine with canned goods for the food pantry, too,” Kaiser added.

Now that really is food for thought.