Marie Roth undertook to write a book about the history of schools in Davie County. Marie is a retired math teacher and stays very busy as a community volunteer at the senior center, where she leads the Singing Seniors, and the library, helping with projects in the local history room. She has been an active genealogist for much of her adult life, both performing and teaching genealogical research methods.
In the early 1900’s, there were over 100 schools conducting class in Davie County. Information on the schools ranges from non-existent to plentiful. Confusion exists as to school name(s) and even location(s). The local history room files provided a good foundation from which to build a solid base of information on those schools. Names of teachers and students found in history room materials provided contact points for interviews and requests for additional information and history.
Marie began her book project with an extensive review of the materials in the local history room, including files, books, photographs, and artifacts. She also used the history room as a meeting place when individuals she telephoned offered stories and memorabilia related to her research.
In Marie’s words, “Davie County Public Library has been a wonderful source of information and support to me as I have written histories of our county. When I wrote History of Davie County Schools, I used the many vertical files, books, and archived photographs to enrich the book. Now, as I’m writing Davie County in World War One, I have used their microfilm reader to research 50 rolls of military film I bought from the North Carolina Archives. The books and files in the history room have been searched to add human interest stories to the facts of the veterans. I have also used the history room for a meeting place to interview descendants of the veterans and to copy their photographs for inclusion in the book.” Her book on schools has been very well received in the community with over 200 copies sold; residents love looking through the book for family members and friends. We eagerly await completion and release of her upcoming book on World War I veterans from Davie County.
Libraries build community!
North Carolina Library Advocacy 