Western Springs library marks 80th birthday
January 30, 2012 10:14AM
Marina Nemeth of Western Springs sits with her children, Lucia and Andrew, as they eat a piece of cake during the Thomas Ford Library's 80th anniversary celebration. | Steve Johnston~for Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 3, 2012 8:04AM
The Thomas Ford Memorial Library in Western Springs had a birthday party for the weekend, celebrating 80 years of service to the community.
The library is named for Thomas Albert Ford, who was born in Fowanhope, England on Jan. 9, 1864. He came to Western Springs about 1903 and was a building contractor who specialized in stone houses.
Rumor has it that while in New York in 1928, Thomas Ford boarded a subway train to pick up two tickets for a boat cruise he and his wife were about to take. Unfortunately, the train derailed, causing him to suffer from major body injuries. He died in the hospital a few days later due to a bad blood transfusion.
Shortly following his death, Edith Ford decided to build the library in honor of her husband, who worked as a builder in town. Although there were libraries in the village, there were no structures specifically used for the purpose of checking out books. Many of the libraries shared space with other stores, and at the time of Thomas Ford’s death it housed in a storefront on Grand Avenue. Seeing this as an opportunity to make a significant civic contribution to Western Springs, Edith Ford donated property and paid for building the library named for her husband.
The library building at Wolf Road and Chestnut Street opened in 1932. Keeping in tune with their British heritage, the building’s architecture was a reflection of the Fords’ European routes.
Thomas and Edith Ford’s son, Newell, served as a library trustee for many years; in 1957 he was named president emeritus of the library in honor and recognition of the many contributions that the Ford family made to the library.
Additions to the building were completed in 1962 and 1996. In both cases, Lannon stone from a quarry in Lannon, Wis., was used for the library exterior.
Portraits of Edith and Thomas Ford hang in the library. A binder with newspaper articles and family history is available at the reference desk.
The library has only see a few changes throughout the years, with a few additions to make room for more books and equipment, notably computers.
In looking to the future, the library is now conducting an online survey asking customers about various services including availability of material, internet service, hours, locations of book drops and what type of programming is offered. The survey is available at its website, fordlibrary.org.
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