LJWorld.com / Vinland librarian receives 'oldest worker' award

Archive for Wednesday, September 25, 2002

September 25, 2002

Topeka — Baldwin resident Martha C. Smith is nowhere close to retiring. Never mind that she's 97 years old.

"I'll keep working as long as my health holds out," she said.

The one-room Coal Creek Library in Vinland is thought to be the oldest continuously operating library in the state. Martha Smith, 97, who has been the librarian since 1926, was honored Tuesday by the Kansas Department of Human Resources, along with the Department on Aging, as the state's oldest female worker.

Smith was honored for a lifetime of work Tuesday in Topeka. The Kansas Department of Human Resources, along with the Department on Aging, presented her with the "Oldest Female Worker" award during a ceremony at the Topeka Civic Theatre.

"Thank you, Martha, for making sure the library stays tidy," said Secretary of Human Resources Richard Beyer, "and that the door is always open at least once a week."

"It was wonderful," Smith said after accepting a certificate from Beyer.

Despite her age, Smith still commutes every Sunday from Baldwin to Vinland, where she works at the Coal Creek Library. She began working there in 1926 and shows no signs of slowing down.

"First I get it ready to be in. I clean it. Then I straighten it up," Smith said of her duties at the library. "Then I meet people who come in to see it."

The Coal Creek Library opened in 1859 with just 10 books. It's thought to be the state's oldest continuously operating library. Smith keeps track of some 3,500 books on the shelves.

"I'm still learning," Smith said.

That's one reason she gives for still working at the library after more than 75 years.

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6News video report: Vinland librarian honored

Archived story:

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Library has page in history books (07-28-2002)

"I got scolded once because I wasn't there one Sunday," Smith said. "A woman called on the phone and didn't leave her name, and I wasn't there."

So the 97-year-old librarian now makes it a priority to show up to work every Sunday from April to October.

"I go to the library in the afternoons of Sunday from 1 to 4," Smith said. "The reason we don't stay any longer (throughout the year) is because we've lost our shade trees to the airport, and the library itself is coated with tin. So, it gets very hot, especially when it gets to 90 degrees."

Smith says working at the library has been the highlight of her life. Receiving the state's oldest worker award at 97 is not the end, she said, it's just another chapter in a long career.

Loren Wade, a 90-year-old part-time Wal-Mart employee from Winfield, was honored as the oldest male worker in the state.