One Way We Honor Our Veterans

We have an ongoing project here at our library. It's called the Catherine M. Bryant Veterans History Project. It's housed in the Ellen Payne Odom Genealogical Library, in the south wing of the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library. I know that's a lot of names and words, but the Project is one of our most precious collections...a collection that reminds us daily of what our veterans have done for us.
It all started in 1992, when a member of the Moultrie High School Class of 1939 was working on a veterans display at the Moultrie First Presbyterian Church. She thought, How great [it would be] to have a reunion honoring veterans of the classes of 1937 through 1940.
The four classes approved the idea and all veterans were asked to send copies of their wartime pictures. Many were received. A very successful patriotic reunion was held in June 1994 to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of the Allied Forces Landing in Europe on June 6, 1994.
After the reunion, the steering committee approached the director of the Odom Library, Melody Jenkins, about creating a veterans' memorial to include all veterans who served honorably from the Civil War to present day. The project was approved. All veterans' pictures from the reunion were given to the library for permanent record. And the Moultrie High School Class of 1939 donated $700 to start the project.
The person with that first thought of a reunion to honor our veterans was Catherine M. Bryant. She worked for the library for 61 years as our Genealogy and Administrative Assistant. Catherine passed away last year.
Everyone knew Catherine's greatest library love was the Veterans History Project. And because it was her desire that veterans be honored and never forgotten, the Veterans History Project was placed in the genealogy library. She worked hard for years to raise money to support the project and acquire information about as many veterans as she could to add to the collection. Because of her dedication and appreciation of all veterans, the project was named for her.
At this time, the genealogy library is conducting a Veterans Survey in an effort to locate all military personnel - past and present. To be included in the Project, an information sheet is required. All records and/or pictures must be identified. Forms are available at the Odom Genealogical Library.
We're also working toward creating a list of the names of veterans for whom we have information, with the possiblity of publishing that list on our website. At the present time, we've compiled 113 notebooks with information on over 15,000 veterans.
The Veterans History Project is an important part of our heritage. If you have information you'd like to contribute, please contact the Ellen Payne Odom Genealogical Library at 229-985-6540 and ask for Ann Glass, Project Chairman.

Remembering Catherine Bryant

When I came in this morning, I shoved aside what I'd planned to write and sat thinking about Catherine Bryant. She was a dear little lady with blond hair and sparkling eyes that I met when I came to work here in August of 2003. She had a desk space in the Odom Genealogy Library, and she was in and out on her special schedule all the time.
Catherine M. Bryant, age 86, passed away on Sunday, December 9th, and left a hole in a lot of people's hearts and lives. She had lots of friends all over Moultrie.
I remember reading about her in the book Mrs. Odom wrote, History of the Public Library of Moultrie, Georgia 1906-1965. It said in 1945 Catherine replaced Mrs. Robert Anderson as Bookmobile Librarian. It was Catherine's first paying job with the library. And elsewhere in the book it stated that in July 1947 Mrs. Bryant attended the Bookmobile Institute. Then when the County Board of Education purchased a Ford-Vanette Bookmobile, Catherine and her husband, Ray, drove it to Moultrie in June 1950.
In another part of the book, I read: "No official records of library personnel other than the librarians are on file prior to 1943, when the first report was made to the State Board of Education. This showed three members on staff. From 1945 to 1950 there were five members: librarian, bookmobile assistant, office assistant, clerical assistant, and library assistant." Catherine was one of those people. And the book said in 1964 Catherine was still on staff. In fact, in 2007 Catherine was still on staff.
In her 62 years of employment with the library, Catherine was not only a bookmobile librarian, but she was in charge of the library's film service, the audio-visual equipment and repair, and the Intra-Library Loan service. She began the Veterans History Project and she was also secretary to the Library Board for more than
30 years.
When Catherine was selected Employee of the Month this past September, several staff membes wrote notes about her and I kept them in a file cabinet beside my desk. Today I pulled the notes out and read them. One person said, "There is no one more dedicated! When she sets out to do a project, she's in it 110% with all her heart and soul!" Another person said, "I've worked with Catherine for 45 years. She is one of the most dedicated and sincere persons I have ever known. She gives of herself unconditionally."
I, for one, will remember her best as the caretaker of the Veterans History Project at the library. Earlier this year it was named in her honor. One co-worker said, "Catherine has a love for all Veterans of all the wars. She wants to have the Veterans Project section in the library so all Veterans will be honored and never forgotten." That was the reason library staff members requested in November 2006 that the Library Board approve naming the Veterans History Project in Catherine's honor. And they did.
Today while sitting in front of the computer, I wondered what else we could do to honor Catherine. We'll no longer see her smiling face or hear her sweet voice. But I feel we can honor her each day we walk into this library that she loved so dearly and smile at the patrons or answer their questions, or just be as dedicated in our work as she was, no matter what we do. And I know she will never be forgotten by those of us who are fortunate enough to have known her.
Of course, there are lots of people out there who have had very up close and personal relationships with Catherine. They will undoubtedly miss her even more. So, there's no way anyone is going to forget Catherine M. Bryant. Little as she was in stature, she's big -- very big -- in the hearts and minds of us all.

We'll Treat You Like Royalty!

There's a newsletter put out for friends and employees of Georgia's public libraries. We get it here at our library. It's published bi-monthly by the Georgia Public Library Service, the state agency that supports public libraries and works with them to improve the quality and variety of library services available to Georgia citizens of all ages. That means YOU!
The October issue highlighted the Ellen Payne Odom Genealogical Library as one of the three libraries in Georgia that reign as "the Georgia public library system's genealogical crown jewels." Now, to those of us who work for the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library System (of which the Odom Library is a part), that just made our eyes sparkle!
The article stated that the Odom Library, "founded a scant 17 years ago, is a relative newcomer to the spotlight." Director Melody Jenkins stated: "Prior to 1990, we had a small Georgia history collection -- maybe 2,000 volumes. It was so small, my office used to be the history room!" When Mrs. Odom's bequest of $1 million was received, the south wing of the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library, which became the Odom Library, was built to house several collections, including the Emmett Lucas Collection. Mr. Lucas of Southern Historical Press was planning to retire, and he was interested in selling his collection about the southeastern United States, the Civil War and migration routes west.
Melody Jenkins said, "We purchased it as a whole, quadrupling the size of our collection in the process."
The collection took another giant leap in 1994 when the local high school's Class of 1944 held a reunion in honor of the 50th anniversary of D-Day and invited everyone who had graduated within four years of 1944 to attend and bring pictures related to their or their loved ones' armed service. The majority of this material was copied, the information identified, and placed in the library. That collection became the Veterans' History Project and was recently named for Catherine Bryant, who began her career with the library in 1944 and took over the project.
In addition to these collections, the library is perhaps most famous for its collection concerning Scottish genealogy. According to Ann Glass, genealogy clerk, the Odom Library is the archival home for more than 130 Scottish clan organizations, and houses many rare books including an original edition of Scottish Perrage, as well as The Highland Papers, and several Gaelic Bibles.
Genealogist Irene Godwin notes that American highlights at the Odom Library include original bound volumes of The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, as well as colonial and state records for both Georgia and North Carolina, and historical records from many counties in Texas.
Melody Jenkins also said, "The Odom Library has earned an approved attraction rating from the American Automobile Association, which features the library in its AAA Tour Guides for Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina.
If you're out there, somewhere other than Moultrie, Georgia, and you're interested in genealogy and you haven't been to the Odom Genealogical Library, now's the time to make the trip. We draw local, regional, and worldwide visitors. All the time! Come be one of them!
We'll treat you like royalty! After all, we're a crown jewel of genealogy libraries! (Source: Georgia Public Library Service)