KOHRS LIBRARY IS FITLY DEDICATED
Special Dispatch to the Standard
Deer Lodge, May 30.—The William K. Kohrs memorial library was dedicated this evening, and the deeds for the property were conveyed by Senator Kohrs to the city. Mayor McTague on behalf of the city of Deer Lodge accepted the gift and agreed to maintain it from public use. The public library building is built of enduring material, equipped with modern fixtures and standard books, and, as presented to the city, is free from all encumbrance. Following is the programme of exercises, the music being rendered by Mme Erich’s orchestra of Butte: Music, orchestra: prayer, Rev. F. E. Bancroft; address. A. D. Peck; presentation of deed of gift, Senator Conrad Kohrs; acceptance of the same, Mayor McTague; music, orchestra; address, Judge Hiram Knowles; music, orchestra; address, Chief Justice Theodore Brantly; music, orchestra. The transfer was made in public in the library building, and was witnessed by many citizens of Deer Lodge.
Senator Kohrs’ Remarks.
The remarks of Senator Kohrs in presenting the library to the city were as follows: “Mr. Mayor of the City of Deer Lodge: To you, as representing this city, and my good old friends the people of Deer Lodge, I herewith present the title deeds of this edifice and all that pertains thereto, free of all encumbrance. It is to be known as the William K. Kohrs memorial library, and is a testimonial from my wife and myself to the memory of our dearly loved and only son and our affection for him and the people of our home. We could conceive of no memorial that would be more worthily penetrate his memory or be of greater benefit to the people. I ask you here to dedicate it for all time as a free library for the use and benefit of the people of Deer Lodge, subject only to such rules and regulations as the trustees may establish for the welfare of all. This gift, inspired by affection beyond all words to express, has been close to our hearts, and that interest will abide with us while we live. I trust you will accept it for this people in the spirit in which it is tendered, and that it will grow dearer to their hearts as the years go by, until all of us here are but memories in this dear old town, where so many of us have lived our lives and where we hope at last will be regretfully said above us, ‘Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.’ ”
Mayor McTague’s Response.
The response of Mayor McTague was as follows: “Senator Kohrs, Mr. Chairman, My Friends and Fellow Citizens of Deer Lodge: The duty which devolves upon me to-day of accepting, on behalf of the city of Deer Lodge, this magnificent library is a pleasant one to me. There are others, perhaps, who would perform that duty more gracefully. There are others, no doubt, skilled in oratory and the framing of sounding sentences who would make a better speech than you will listen to from my lips this evening. But I want to say to you, my friends, that no one can stand here in my place with a sense of more profound and earnest gratitude to the noble donor of this splendid gift. I want to say to you that no man in accepting this library could do so with a higher appreciation of what it means to our city and our people, with a feeling of greater pride in its possession and with a higher respect of the noble pioneer who presents it to us, than I.”
One of Choicest Possessions.
“The pubic library is one of the choicest possessions of any community. It makes for the education of the young and the intellectual gratification of the mature; it counteracts in a great measure those evils, which have their abiding place where humanity congregates. That it is impossible for every family to possess all of the standing literature of the day and to place from the home shelves into the hands of the growing generation those works, the outpouring of the great minds of the past and present, which tend to culture and improve, is a fact so generally understood to require no iteration at this time. Therefore those who earnestly desire the advancement of the race and the progress of our people in civilization and culture have been at work all over this land of ours in bringing about the forwarding of the library movement by public tax or private benefaction. Many of the cities and towns of the country are already supplied with splendid depositories of knowledge and literature. Heretofore our little city of Deer Lodge, a city in which all of us take justifiable pride; a city which saw its foundation before many of the great communities of the West were born; a city which has a deserved reputation for refinement and education and pure home life, has been without this necessary adjunct of a well-regulated town.”
The Deficiency Supplied.
“Now, thanks to the generosity of our honored fellow citizen, that the deficiency has been supplied. Hon. Conrad Kohrs, a resident of this city for more than a third of a century, a gentleman in whose prosperity we all delight, and in which whose prosperity we all delight, and in whose manliness and integrity and honor we see typified those things which he believes make up the chief characteristics of the manhood of pioneer Montana has created for us this splendid and imposing building, and has stocked it with a selection of volumes which make up one of the finest libraries in the land. He gives it to us for use and pleasure, freely, voluntary, in memory of his son whom we all new and loved, and whose death was a personal sorrow and affliction to us all.
This building shall stand as a monument to him, a worthy scion of an honored family, who grew up here with us and your children. It is fitting that we have such a memorial of a loved Deer Lodge boy, who was called all to soon to the great beyond.”
Fitting Time for Ceremony.
“It is also fitting that this gift should be dedicated on Memorial day, and it is most praiseworthy that such a memorial should be erected and presented by that boy’s father. Senator Kohrs, in presenting this most valuable gift to us, attaches no arbitrary restrictions. He asks simply tat we do not use it for dancing, a request most reasonable and fitting, considering the memorial character of the structure, and that we do not use it for the holding of sectarian services, a request which is eminently fitting and just and calculated to prevent the wounding of the sensibilities of any creed or denomination; also that we do not use it for political meetings. In a word, Senator Kohrs asks simply that the library be used for the greatest benefit for all the people. It will be our pleasure to observe these few wishes of the generous builder at all times.”
An Event in History.
“This occasion is one which will stand in the history of Deer Lodge as one of the chiefest events. Seldom it is, in a community of this size of Deer Lodge, that one of its citizens has both the public spiritedness and the means to make such a magnificent gift to the people. Still more seldom is it that a community the size of Deer Lodge receives from any source a library of such rare excellence as this one. This is a day of pride for this pioneer town, and one which should be marked with red letters on the calendar. It is full of possibilities for the future, and its incidents will furnish rich recollections in years to come. An honored citizen honors us today in giving us that which will ever be a help and assistance to our people, not only for this generation, but the generations to come. And now, Senator Kohrs, it is my pleasant duty on behalf of the citizens of Deer Lodge, to accept at your hands the deed to this beautiful building and all it contains, and dedicate the same to the uses and purposes therein mentioned, and express to you, feeble though my words may be, their gratitude for and their appreciation of the gift, and to give you assurance that the William K. Kohrs Memorial Library ever will be used as you wish it used. Senator Kohrs, the people of Deer Lodge thank you.”
Reference
The Anaconda Standard: Sunday Morning, May 31 1903
