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For a child, summertime is all about making memories. Growing up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., one of my fondest memories was the bookmobile. Twice a month a library on wheels rolled into the neighborhood. I still remember the wallop of arctic air that hit me as soon as I climbed aboard. It was the perfect escape from the hot and sticky summer months.
Although I loved the library, there was something magical about the bookmobile driving into the neighborhood. The endless rows of books became my summer friends who transported me to distant places. It was there that I met, The Box Car Children, Little House on the Prairie, and The Nancy Drew Mysteries. With a stamp of black ink, they were mine to devour for two weeks.
Mary Titcomb launched the first bookmobile in the United States at the turn of the 20th century. Her goal was to extend the reach of the Washington County Free Library in Maryland by starting a book transport system to rural communities. She developed a horse-drawn library wagon to send boxes of books to nearby general stores and post offices. The book wagon had space for 200 books on the outside and storage space for more books on the inside. The wagon was pulled by two horses while the janitor from the library held the reins.
Sadly, I haven’t seen a bookmobile since my childhood, but they still exist today. There has been a decline in services over the years, but the bookmobile remains a part of our cultural landscape in all states with the exception of Maine. At last count, Kentucky leads the way with 98 bookmobiles.
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I’m so grateful to have grown up during a time where bookmobiles traveled the streets of my neighborhood. In those days, my biggest decision during summer vacation was what book to take to the pool.
What’s your favorite summertime memory from childhood?
By day, Jill Weatherholt works for the City of Charlotte. At night, and on the weekend, she writes contemporary stories about love, faith and forgiveness for Harlequin Love Inspired. Raised in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., she now resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, but her heart belongs to Virginia. She holds a degree in Psychology from George Mason University and Paralegal Studies Certification from Duke University. She shares her life with her real-life hero and number one supporter. Their relationship grew on the golf course, and now they have one in their backyard. Jill believes in enjoying every moment of this journey because God has everything under control.
What a great memory and thanks for sharing about bookmobiles. Favourite summer memories: playing in the sugar cane fields, climbing mulberry trees with my cousin and making mulberry “makeup”!!
I’m happy you enjoyed reading about the bookmobile, Wemble. Its arrival really was a special treat. Mulberry “makeup”…what fun! That sounds like it could be its own blog post. :) Happy Weekend!
Thanks for sharing your bookmobile memories. Since RV (Recreational Vehicles) are built in Northern Indiana, several communities are renovated RVs into bookmobiles.
My summer memories are reading the Weekly Reader that came in the mail and playing outdoors. Since my mother worked days and my father worked nights and we only had one car, in the afternoon when my father napped, I played outside. A special treat was riding my bike to the grocery store to pick up a pint of ice cream, because ice cream did not keep in the freezer in the refrigerator.
Happy Weekend.
The bookmobile sounds like a great way to get books close to home. I was a book addict too, but got my books from the city library during the summertime when the school library was closed. (And eventually convinced my parents to buy more books.)
My pleasure, Renate. I would love to have a bookmobile roll through my neighborhood this summer.
Thanks for sparking a memory for me with your comment. I remember receiving my Highlights magazine in the mail. During the lazy months of summer, it always seemed extra special.
I appreciate you sharing your memory, riding your bike to the store for ice cream sounds like fun. Enjoy your weekend!
Jill, I also grew up in the Washington DC area and have fond memories of the book mobile. I really looked forward to the book mobile arriving on a hot summer day. When I got a little older I was allowed to walk to the library with my best friend. I remember how we had to walk up and down hills to get to it. Now I am wondering how far it actually was from us. I have fond memories of it being a huge 2 story building and spending hours there. I also looked forward to the arrival of the Weekly Reader in the mail.
Our local town library has a book mobile that goes around to the local elementary schools to help supplement their school libraries.
It was a great way to keep children reading during the summer months. Of course, for readers like ourselves,whether the books arrived by wheels or not, we’d get our books right, Priscila? :) I hope your weekend is filled with lots of reading…enjoy!
Wow! I’m curious what area you lived in Nancy. We lived in Fairfax for a number of years before moving to Vienna.
I’m thrilled you were able to experience the joys of the bookmobile. Walking to the library sounds nice, unfortunately we lived too far out for that.
I’m happy to hear your town still utilizes the bookmobile. Thanks so much for sharing. Enjoy your weekend!
I loved reading “The Boxcar Children” and am glad you enjoyed those stories, too. So many people don’t even know about those stories. One of my favorite summertime childhood memories is playing outside all day and then, at night, laying in the grass and watching the stars.
My growing up years in northern Manitoba were the complete opposite of yours in DC. Not only did we not have a bookmobile, we didn’t have a community library. Even the schools I attended only had a cupboard of books in the back of each multi-grade classroom. Think 15-20′ of shelf space for 2-3 grades! I didn’t attend a school that had a separate room for a library until I was 12.
What we did have was a mail order library from the University of Manitoba. Yes, fiction. Yes, children’s books. We’d get a flyer (like my kids got for Scholastic at school in later years) and order our library books from that. They’d come in a box in the mail, we’d read them and send them back along with our next order.
And yet I learned to love reading! What would have happened if my parents didn’t go to all that trouble?
Jill, we lived in the SE area of DC when I was growing up. Not even sure what the area was called but the library was located in Anacostia which was a nice walk from where we lived. I have many fond memories of growing up in DC and all of the opportunities to visit the historical sites and museums. We moved from the SE area of DC to the Suitland MD area which is right outside of DC when I was starting high school. I graduated from Suitland High School. Hard to believe in a few years it will be 50 years since I graduated from Suitland. Guess I am thinking more about that since I have a grandson who is finishing up his freshman year of high school.
I forgot to mention that I also enjoyed The Box Car Children series of books.
When I moved to Oregon as a kid I went to a little three room country school house. The book mobile came there, lol I thought it was so weird that a library could be on wheels like that, but it was nice since our school library was as big as a walk in closet. :)
As far as a fond summer memory goes, I would say not having to go to school was about as good as it got for me. :)
I’m familiar with all of the areas you mentioned, Nancy. We were both blessed to grow up in such a wonderful area with so much to offer. I always loved to visit Mount Vernon as well as the National Museum of History. Thanks again for stopping by.
Remembering “The Boxcar Children” makes me want to read them again, Melissa…such wonderful stories.
Oh yes, those endless days playing outside with friends, that’s a great summertime memory. One thing I’ll always remember was the sound of the cricket as autumn approached, signaling the end of summer and the start of a new school year. Thanks for sharing your memories, Enjoy the weekend!
I can’t imagine growing up without a community library, Val, but I’m happy your parents were vigilant about bringing books into the home. I’ll bet there was a lot of excitement in the house on the days the books arrived in the mail.
Thanks for sharing your memories!
I have to agree, Kimberly, having those three long months off from school was the best. Funny, now three months goes by in a blink, but back then, they seemed never-ending.
I’m happy to hear you were visited by the bookmobile…it did seem odd at first, but I grew to love it.
Have a great weekend!
We still have a bookmobile in our county! I’ve never used it, because we have a library less than a mile away.
I remember riding my bike with my sister, going up the canyon for hikes and cookouts, and playing with my cousins who lived a block away. Every three or four years, our family would go to Yellowstone with my grandparents. Sometimes my aunt who wasn’t married yet would go, and we’d get to ride with her. She was a school teacher and had all sorts of fun activities and songs for us.
Oh Winnie, you must try out the bookmobile, if only for the experience. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. Of course, when we were little, everything seemed so huge. If I were to get on a bookmobile now, it would probably feel tiny. :)
Thanks for sharing your summertime memories. It sounds as though you had a wonderful time. Enjoy the weekend and thanks for stopping by.
My favorite summertime memories are probably reading as much as I wanted, playing outside (especially on our front porch), getting snow cones, and having a big family fish fry every summer.
Jill, thanks for the memories about the bookmobile. I remember the bookmobile from my elementary school days in Billings, MT. When I was 10, we moved to Huron, SD. They didn’t have a bookmobile, but the library was within walking distance. Where we live now in AZ, we have a library less than a mile away. My husband make good use of it, but I don’t use it often because I have so many unread books on my Nook. :)
Great post, Jill! Can you believe I have never been inside a bookmobile? How sad is that? I just don’t remember any in Michigan or Florida. I do love those little neighborhood library boxes, though. Aren’t they cool?
Some of my favorite summer memories as a child are playing badminton with my family and flag football with all the neighborhood kids, and catching lightning bugs. :)
Thanks for sharing your summertime memory, Julie. Oh…snow cones…yes! They were the best, weren’t they? I appreciate you stopping by. Enjoy the weekend!
I’m happy you were able to experience the joys of the bookmobile, Merrillee. We had dreadful heat and humidity, in DC, especially in August. The blast of A/C was always so welcoming. Like you, I don’t visit the library as much as I’d like. My Kindle is packed with unread books as well as multiple bookcases…but I wouldn’t have it any other way. :) I’m looking forward to hearing more about your trip to the Kentucky Derby.
Thanks for stopping by, Tori! Apparently there are several states that never had a bookmobile, so you weren’t alone. Yes, I do love the neighborhood library boxes…such a clever idea.
I loved playing badminton and tetherball too. Yes, catching the lightning bugs was definitely a summertime ritual. I remember punching holes in the lid of the car and putting it on my nightstand. :)
Great to see you! Enjoy the weekend!
I remember book mobiles growing up in Maryland, not far from DC. We probably walked two miles to get to it. I loved to read and was excited to pick out books. I read classics as well as Trixie Beldon mysteries, which I loved. I didn’t discover boxcar children or Nancy Drew until my kids were growing up. My dad also bought me books sometimes. We also walked to the pool, and had the bread man and milk man deliver their goods! Sometimes I wish the milk man still made rounds :-)
I love that you walked two miles to climb aboard the bookmobile, DLW. We were fortunate enough to have it pull up close to our house, but I would have walked miles for the experience. What a nice memory of the bread and milk man delivering. We didn’t have that, but we did have the ice cream man. :) Thanks for sharing your memories with us! Enjoy your weekend!
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a Bookmobile! I’m trying to remember if I ever saw one in person as a kid, I know I spent a great deal of time at the library though.
Favorite summer past-time as a kid? Fishing, camping, climbing trees, riding my bike everywhere, playing with my friends, spending time with my grandparents, reading & generally just being a kid! I loved the outdoors, so I was found doing something out there…..unlike some kids today who spend WAY too much time on their electronics!
Me too, Trixi! I’d love to see one or better yet, climb abroad. But as I mentioned in a previous comment, as an adult, it would probably feel tiny.
Thanks for sharing your favorite childhood summer activities. I agree, we were always outside playing, not like children today.
Have a great week!