Ralph Berry
From May 20 through Sept. 20, the Robson Ranch Library proudly celebrated America’s Semiquincentennial with events, decorations, featured books and a reading challenge. It all began on May 20 with a discussion of two books; The Greatest Sentence Ever Written by Walter Isaacson and History Matters by David McCullough. The Isaacson book examines the origin and legacy of the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence, while History Matters is a collection of previously unpublished essays and speeches by the great historian author. The Reading Challenge goal was to read the most pages of American History (non-fiction or historical fiction) during the four-month period. Book tracking cards decorated with the stars and stripes were available from Library volunteers throughout the period. History books flew off the shelves during the challenge and when all of the tracking cards were handed in and tabulated, the Robson Ranch Library patrons had done a remarkable amount of reading. There were a total of 360 total books read among 278 different titles read. Of those total reads, 166 were historical fiction books and 194 were non-fiction books. And, altogether, that represented 117,576 total pages of American History read by Robson Library patrons. So many periods of history were covered by the books read: founding fathers; the revolutionary, civil, Vietnam and Korean wars; World Wars One and Two; presidential histories; the dust bowl; the gold rush; the space race; the cold war; the depression; and books about everyday people and life overall through our proud American history.
On Sept. 30, a party was held in the Library to celebrate the challenge, the participants and America. At this event, Ralph Berry led a discussion of books read, challenge stats, patriotic observations and things learned. The winners of The Reading Challenge were announced. Prizes were for pages read, not books, because no two books are alike. For example, the longest qualifying book read was Texas by James Michener, at 1,357 pages, while the shortest book was Isaacson’s at 67 pages. Chuck Tanner received the first-place prize for reading 16,380 pages; Kayren Sue Page received the second-place prize for reading 7,764 pages; and Carol Turner was awarded the third-place prize for reading 7,559 pages. Congratulations to the winners. Hats off to the dedicated readers of 117,576 pages. And Happy 250th Birthday America.
The RR Library, located in the CATC building, is open daily during CATC hours (6 a.m. to 10 p.m.). Volunteer staff is available to help patrons on Mondays to Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays noon to 4 p.m. (Note: You will need the free PDK phone app or $5 PDK card, available at the HOA office, to enter and exit the Library.) For more information on the Library, visit www.robsonlibrary.org.