75Stories - Celebrating 75 Years of Service

Fontana Regional Library is celebrating 75 years of service, providing resources and support for Macon, Jackson, and Swain counties. Read more about our 75th Birthday and check out just a few of the over 75 services offered at your library!

We want to hear your stories about how libraries are positively impacting your life. Please share your stories with us and check out some of the stories others have shared. Email us at 75Stories@fontanalib.org to share your story.

You can also become a supporter and help the library move forward for another 75 years. Your donation of $7.50, $75, or any amount, will help Fontana Regional Library continue to adapt and serve the public now and into the future. You can donate online or for more information or to make a donation in person, visit your library.

Summer Learning Program 2024 - Adventure Begins in Your Library

Hudson Librarian, Gert McIntosh - Children's Storytime, 1981

Displaying 16 - 20 of 21

Joan (of Arc) DeHart

The Savvy Librarian

I can think of many ways the library influenced my life while growing up in Franklin. As a teenager, when the Macon County Public Library was located on Wayah St., I used to walk from the high school to the library to finish up homework and decompress after class. The library was and, in many ways, still is one of the most intellectually stimulating places to retreat.

That being said, one of my defining moments as a child was the day I went to the library after a conversation with my second grade teacher about one of my favorite historical figures...

Snakes?!

Hannah

Roughly 20 years ago I attended a library program called Snakes Alive. This was back when the library was in what is now the senior center. I remember it quite clearly despite only being around 7 years old. I recall touching and even holding snakes and being surprised at the way they felt! This year, in a different library, in a different state, Snakes Alive is still going strong! And I was the one to hold the snakes to bring around for all the excited (and sometimes nervous) children to touch. And yes, the man who does the program remembered the Franklin ...

Stories from Our Friends - Macon

Sally Payne

I always felt at home in the libraries of my childhood. Twice per week after supper my mother drove my sister and me to a library. Early in the week we usually visited the main library which was housed in a fairytale-like limestone "castle" bequeathed to the town by a wealthy lumberman, Later in the week we headed to a branch library of more modest demeanor but closer to home. Once our books from the previous week were safely deposited in the return box, we were free to roam the children's bookshelves in our best whisper-voices. My mother headed to the adult...

Stories from Our Friends - Macon

Barbara M.

While growing up in the country side of York County Pennsylvania, I was able to find a treasure of learning and adventure. This beautiful old (built in 1935) building offered that chance to learn and experience lots of places. The Library was named after a founding member of the community who requested it be named Martin Memorial Library. York Pennsylvania is a historic city located in the southeast area of the state.

The three (3) tiers of many, many books opened a new world for a 10 year old girl. The experience of walking into a large, quiet...

Stories from our Friends - Cashiers

Charlotte

For me, the library has been a place for me to read, escape and achieve. I grew up in Baltimore near a busy intersection that you might have seen. It was seen all over CNN back in 2015. A young man named Freddie Gray died in police custody and crowds of people took to the streets to protest. Ground zero was the corner of North and Pennsylvania Avenues, where a CVS drug store burned as news choppers hovered and filmed the scene from above. Just across the intersection is a branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, part of one of the oldest free public library...

75Stories - Celebrating 75 Years of Service