Genealogie Wylie » Wilma Rebecca Ratchford Craig [RC RIR author Bu] (1930-< 2023)

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1. Web page at:, 4. Oktober 2011

   Gaston woman crusades for more library hours
   Comments 9
   October 03, 2011 7:29 PM
   Leo Hohmann
   For a woman who recently crossed into her 80s, Wilma Ratchford Craig has enough interests to keep her busy. She and her husband live in an 1880’s farm house where they raise cattle and maintain the property while she stays involved in local historic preservation efforts.
   
   But when the retired school teacher read in the newspaper recently that the county commission, faced with a budget crunch, was considering cutting library hours, maybe even shuttering some library branches, she refused to stand pat — or stay silent.
   
   She stood before the Gaston County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 26 to plead her case.
   
   “I am one citizen but I am not alone. There are so many who won’t or can’t speak up,” said Craig. “I taught school, and I know how important libraries are for the community. I’ve seen people get inspired.”
   
   She spoke with various movers and shakers in the community and asked them to join her crusade.
   
   “I spoke with the county manager and I spoke with Mr. (Tete) Pearson who is working on Gaston Mall and asked him to use his influence in getting it changed,” she said. “Then I spoke to the Economic Development (Commission) board and asked them to please use their influence.”
   
   One of the questions she likes to ask is: What employer is going to want to relocate to a community that doesn’t value its library system?
   
   For a retired educator who taught from the 1950s through 1985, life without libraries would be like life without air. They are among the bedrock institutions of a civilized society. They make life better for people of all ages. At the very least, they keep the dream of a better life alive.
   
   “Summer programs help kids keep up on their reading skills. Our children need every opportunity every day,” she said. “Our unemployed use the library computers to seek work. People with limited resources, limited time, tight schedules, live in all parts of the county and need the services our libraries provide full time.”
   
   The commissioners decided on a compromise that would keep the main branch of the library along with the Ferguson branch open six days a week. But the branches in Belmont and Cherryville would be reduced to four days per week and those in Bessemer City, Dallas, Lowell, Union Road and Stanley would only operate three days a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
   
   For Craig, that wasn’t enough.
   
   “It seems now like every time I need information it’s on a Tuesday or a Thursday and not on the day the library is open,” said Craig, who lives near the Union Road branch. “We did do some research on money it would take to keep the libraries open full time and it would amount to a quarter of a cent on the tax rate.”
   
   She returned to the county commission board room Sept. 22 to present a petition with more than 360 signatures of Gaston County residents who want the libraries to remain open six days.
   
   She challenged the commissioners to return the libraries to full-time operation by Christmas.
   
   “I can’t do it myself. This is not a Wilma Craig initiative although I can speak out and will continue to speak out,” she said. “The commissioners thoughtfully listened in September and people in every part of the county need to speak up and say that we can’t afford to allow our older people, our young, to not have this facility available when they need it. Sometimes you just bite the bullet.”
   
   That bullet, unfortunately, comes in the form of higher taxes. And in times like this, most residents don’t want to hear about even a small hike in the property tax, said Tracy Philbeck, a member of the county Board of Commissioners.
   
   “There’s certain things government exists for, and in my mind public safety is the government’s primary function, so when the budget gets tight, that’s not where you’re going to look first (to make cuts),” Philbeck said. “I think it was a good compromise. I would have been more than glad to have the libraries stay open full time but with the economy being what it is, I thought it was a good compromise.”
   
   Philbeck said County Manager Jan Winters had proposed much more severe cuts to the library system.
   
   “He wanted to close Dallas, he wanted to close Stanley. The problem with that, although Gastonia is a bigger branch, is people sometimes don’t have the gas to get all the way to that library (on Garrison Boulevard),” Philbeck said. “Wilma and I agree. We’re both strong advocates for education and strong advocates for our libraries; but at the same time I think she would agree if we don’t have the money, we don’t have the money.”
   
   Craig said she fears the cuts could be more draconian next year if the budget situation doesn’t improve.
   
   “They’ll come back with more things and take them away,” she said.
   
   Craig’s efforts seem to have struck a chord with Philbeck and other commissioners. They say they respect her position even if, in the end, they won’t be able to honor her demands.
   
   “We’ve had a very difficult budget time and we’re trying to make everything as convenient as possible for the citizens but I don’t know if we’ll be able to go back to what she wants us to, which is having all of them open all the time,” said Commissioner Joe Carpenter. “People are just going to have to adjust their schedules. We’ll reassess it next year. But it doesn’t look very good right now.
   
   “We’ve got all these other pressures on the budget for services we’ve got to provide so the job of commissioners is to balance all of that out.”
   
   Some folks might say libraries are vestiges of an earlier age, that the Internet rules now. Craig doesn’t buy that line.
   
   “Sure, there are other resources, but the power goes off, and there are older people who don’t have computers,” she said. “Also, the library is a place that tutors and inspires children. If it keeps one child out of trouble it would be worth it. We’ve already invested millions in our libraries so you don’t just throw away your resources.”
   
   You can reach City Editor Leo Hohmann at 704-869-1829.
   
   
   
   Read more: http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/woman-61458-crossed-wilma.html#ixzz1ZqQxqXvL

Historische Ereignisse

• Geburtstag 5. Januar 1930
• Hochzeit 29. Juli 1952

Gleicher Geburts-/Todestag

• Auch geboren am 5. Januar

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