Oradell Library kicks off centennial celebration with look back

Town News

Natural disasters, wars, controversy and government conflict. An influenza pandemic.

William 'Pat' Schuber discusses an historical book with Katherine following a presentation to kick off the Oradell Public Library's centennial celebration.
PHOTO/CHARLENE WISNEWSKI
William 'Pat' Schuber discusses an historical book with Katherine following a presentation to kick off the Oradell Public Library's centennial celebration.

Sounds almost like a present-day newscast, but those events actually took place in 1913 and were detailed at the beginning of William "Pat" Schuber's story and presentation at Oradell Public Library on Jan. 14.

The event, complete with a birthday cake and Schuber's slideshow of the happenings of 1913, kicked off a string of centennial events occurring throughout this year.

"What brings us all here tonight in this wonderful building - and it truly is a wonderful staff and wonderful collection in a wonderful town - is the public library here in Oradell, which was pioneered by a small group of people 100 years ago," Schuber said.

Schuber, the former mayor of Bogota, county executive and a professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, took the audience back to a time that was a critical year for the nation and, of course, the library itself.

Schuber noted that a group of local citizens met in February 1913 to form the Delford Public Library Association. Later that year, the library opened in the back room of the post office on Oradell Avenue. The library has come a long way in 100 years. In May 1913, the library's book circulation was 214. Today, the circulation is more than 14,000.

Schuber said that "1913 was a watershed year not only for Oradell, but the life of the nation as well. It had its share of triumphs and tragedies, technological change, natural disasters, heroes and villains."

Schuber began his presentation with some economic statistics from 1913, which he said was |one of the earliest years that the government started to track some of the figures. The federal budget was $715 million, while today it is approximately $3 trillion. The cost of a first-class stamp back then was 2 cents.

Schuber then highlighted some other major events from 1913.

The Armory Show opened in New York City and displayed works of artists and the most influential painters of the 20th century, including pieces by Pablo Picasso, John Sloan and a cubist painting by Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, which caused controversy during the exhibition.

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