Eagle Pass Library 2

While scanning through a pile of newspapers I saw this one. October1964, the area under the bridge had flooded. I remember seeing the same scene two or three times while growing up in Eagle Pass. The rains would fall far to the north of our desert like town only to come rushing down the Rio Grande and flood the lower areas of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras. I don't remember ever reading the Eagle Pass Chronicle. It must have gone out of press before I learned to read. I remember the Eagle Pass Guide and the Zocalo from Piedras Negras. I do remember reading the San Antonio Light and the San Antonio Express and News. That is where I would cut out all the pictures of the Dallas Cowboys for my scrap book.

The Kikapoo village were a series of bamboo and cardboard enclosures under the bridge. I don't know if this is the same area. During the years that I was there I remember my cousin telling about the scuffles they got into with the Kikapoo when they snuck across the river into the USA. They would always go by the village as they made their way into the downtown area. Usually at 0200 or 0300 hrs, they would cross the river and make their way to the buses that would take them to work in the fields.

I guess the Kikapoo went to the same high school we did, I just don't remember knowing any. There were a couple of young Kikapoo girls that would go to the Holly Inn Lounge to dance when the disco was going on. We knew they were Kikapoo because their grandmother was always with them and she was always dressed in traditional outfits.

This is the view of the court house from the inside the library. I always thought that the Palm trees were native to the area. I would see them in Piedras Negras, in Eagle Pass and along the Del Rio highway. It wasn't until a few years ago that I was reading on how they were brought to the area.

This is the large ornated steam radiator in the conference room. Now I had seen them this big but never small like the one in the restroom. When we were looking in the basement I never saw the furnace. I guess it had been removed years ago.

The view from the top of the staircase was more impressive than from the ground floor. It looks like something out of a movie set. See the difference in lighting between the downstairs and the upstairs. Beautiful.

I don't remember ever going upstairs when I was still in school. I don't even remember ever seeing the staircase. Maybe it is because my main interest were the books and magazines. The building was not what attracted me there. I guess if it had been a plain brick building I would have still gone there as long as the books and magazines were there. Now the beauty of the building is what took me back there....Ok, I still love books. I grew up and became a compulsive reader. I read every kind of book and magazine I got a hold of. I love reading.

We went back downstairs and I got a look at the beautiful doorway into Lisa Finch's office!! What carpentry work. That is a great looking arch. The frosted glass may not let the air circulate but it gives it a cool icy feel. See the lamp to the right of the doorway?

This is a close up of it. It needs a good cleaning but look at how well preserved it is. It looks like it is still suspended in time, back in the same era it was created, never moving forward in time.

This is the front entryway. It has the high ceiling and the drop down lamps. You have to stand there to appreciate the beauty of its construction. I wish I had a wide angle lens to capture all of it in one frame. Walking into this part feeling like you are walking into a great big museum, full of ancient history with eons of knowledge being kept in by the immense walls and high bold ceilings.

The loudest word that this part of the library seems to speak is, "Welcome".