[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 154 (Friday, October 12, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2123]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN HONOR OF CALDWELL PUBLIC LIBRARY

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                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 12, 2007

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Caldwell 
Public Library, serving the Borough of Caldwell, Essex County, NJ, a 
vibrant community that I am proud to represent! On October 12th, the 
good citizens of the borough will celebrate their library's 90th 
anniversary with a rededication and the dedication of the Gene and 
Kathryn Collerd Local History Resource Room. The Caldwell Public 
Library, an Andrew Carnegie Library dedicated in 1917, is situated on 
Bloomfield Avenue, diagonally across from President Grover Cleveland's 
Birthplace Memorial, a national historic site.
  On October 1, 1906, at a regular meeting of the Borough Council, a 
communication was received from the Caldwell Borough Improvement 
Association, requesting the Borough to assume the responsibility of 
operating and supporting a public library.
  The following year, 1907, Professor Hedden, Superintendent of 
Schools, requested the Caldwell Borough Council submit to the voters a 
referendum to establish a free public library under the State Library 
Act. The councilmen endorsed the necessary requirements, and at the 
November elections, the Act was passed by the voters. The State Library 
Commission accepted and approved the proposed charter.
  On June 8, 1908 a letter from the Carnegie Library Foundation offered 
a sum of $7,500 to construct a library. To meet the grant's 
specifications, the town was required to provide an appropriate lot, 
plus $750 or 10 percent of the grant annually to sustain the library.
  For the next 9 years, the library board was confronted with problems 
which hindered the construction of a new edifice. Acquiring a suitable 
location was the principal issue. West Caldwell resident Mr. George W. 
Canfield generously donated $2,000 toward the purchase of a site for 
the library. With this contribution, and donations from other 
interested persons, a total of $3,000 was raised to purchase a site.
  On October 12, 1917, the Caldwell Library was formally dedicated by 
Mayor Peck, who was also President of the Library Board of Trustees.
  Gene Collerd recorded much of the history of this area over the 
course of his life (1913-2004), and this Collerd Collection, to be 
housed in the Gene and Kathryn Collerd Local History Resource Room, 
will be an invaluable resource to not just the Caldwells, but beyond.
  Madam Speaker, I urge you and my colleagues to join me in 
congratulating the Caldwell Library on the celebration of its 90th 
anniversary!

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