When I was a kid, the big splurge for our family was to pay $30 for a yearly membership to the proper library.
Willard in Battle Creek. There was a tiny village library in our hometown of Athens but my mom read her way through that pretty quickly so on our weekly grocery shopping trip to the big city, we'd spend hours (literally) stocking up on books.
I loved anything that was a series so there were more - the "Little House" books, the Betsy-Tacy adventures, Beany Malone & her family. I never felt much deprived of women authors. And I read my brother's selections of Greek mythology & Encyclopedia Brown along with my own choices. Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew.
We belonged to tons of books clubs also and mom didn't see the reason to deprive us of non-fiction so there was plenty of history around also.
I wish I could recall the name of the series of biographies* the library kept. I mean, they had 100's of reference books, even in the kids room but there was a special series. And they were all about women in history. Molly Pitcher. Clara Barton. Amelia Earhart. I devoured them all. I liked the Louisa May Alcott one better than her actual novels. Our deck of 'Authors' assured I already knew who Ralph Waldo Emerson was & I found the idea of her family life fascinating.
For sure, the knowledge of Julia Ward Howe's life as writer, abolitionist, & suffragette had a profound effect on my world outlook. I was never astonished at the thought of human rights because I knew how hard the vote, and other rights, for women & minorities had been fought for.
I like to think I appreciated those opportunities back then, in my small way. I certainly took advantage of access to books and knowledge. It helped having a mom who encouraged reading & never told me what to chose (other than shoving Daddy Long-Legs at me on a regular basis)
And I certainly am more aware now that the bright young girl who we saw start as a clerk & watched work her way up through the ranks while starting her own family had a strong impact on my access to women writers & these kids of books.
I've meandered but seeing Jon Batiste sharing his knowledge of Ms. Howe's iconic tune and it's history in his own life brought back those memories. Scrounging the shelves for books that gave stories behind the stories.
It's an amazing listen.
"Battle Hymn of the Republic"
*this is possibly that series. the subtitles ring a bell
