East San Diego Carnegie Library

The Library was on Fairmount, north of University, on the east side. They had a section for children where my sister would get books to read to me. We went there frequently. I got my first library card there but had to wait until I could print my name. Their newspapers were on long wooden rolls. My, my we have come a long way -- now we just GOOGLE -- Sandy Watson Haney ’63

When in grammar school, I spent many an hour in that library on Fairmount. I loved going there with my Mom. I was K-4th grade. We lived on Fairmount below University.   As I remember we walked north of University but way below El Cajon and stayed on Fairmount. That’s my memory of it. I’m now 73 and haven’t gone back to that neighborhood for years -- Judith Napolitano Dunham ’63

The library was on Fairmount Ave. It was near the Fairmount Baptist Church, which I attended way back when -- Betty Ziehl Vega ’60
We lived out in San Carlos, which was void of any library, and had to go to the one on College just a block north of El Cajon Blvd. If my mom wanted something special, and did not want to go to the Downtown Library, she would take us to the East San Diego one, although I do not remember being inside. This what I really remember: My mother smoked and inside the car was a Smokey Bear Cigarette Snuffer with a magnet on the bottom so it would sit on the metal dash. That particular day she was in a hurry and was running in only to pick up a special order book from the desk, so she gently put the cigarette into the snuffer, and it continued to burn. With a stern, "Be quiet, don't fight, and BEHAVE!" she ran into the library. I, being the older sibling and a troublesome child, told my brother, "Watch this!" and put the cigarette in my mouth, took one puff and started violently coughing. I was just barely able to get the cigarette back into the Snuffer before she returned to the car.   That was the first, last and only time I puffed on a cigarette -- Sharon Cramer Sceper ’68

The library was at the southeast corner of Fairmount and Polk. I was a naughty boy in the basement archives there in 1964.   I was in Mrs. Forman’s English class, when the boy in front of me left his seat to speak with her. During his brief absence, I placed a thumbtack in his seat. Not a regular thumbtack, but one with about a 1/2” long shaft. Yes, he sat on it and produced a horrific scream. Mission accomplished.   Never being one to keep a straight face, I hung myself out to dry. My discipline was to contribute photos, articles, or any information for a cork board display Mrs. Forman was preparing. Wow, I got off easy. I went to the aforementioned library, did a little research and found what I wanted was in the basement archives. The librarian allowed me down there and pointed to the area where I needed to find my photos, etc. Once alone, and having located some really good stuff, I produced the scissors I had brought with me and proceeded to snip out the pertinent material -- old Life magazines and the like -- for the best cork board display ever. I
took the ill-gotten goods to Mrs. Forman’s class and showed her the materials I had procured. She was amazed and ecstatic. What a great addition to her cork board project! “Why, Ron. where were you able to find these photos and articles," she asked. I proudly told her I had retrieved them from the archives of the East San Diego library. I don’t know if the sounds she made were from nearly passing out or from anger. I just knew my troubles weren’t over -- Ron Morse ’64