ROWLESBURG — If you like free snacks, free tours, live music and shopping – or just looking around – you will want to be in Rowlesburg from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday for the reopening of the Carolann Hooton Researcher and Reading Library and the Szilagyi Center Emporium.
“We are trying to have something interesting every weekend,” said Jewel Reed, who is opening the emporium. “The idea is to make the emporium like a cottage industry/gift shop so people can come in and browse.”
She said the Rowlesburg Revitalization Committee is looking for local artisans and people who make affordable, quality crafted items.
Outside the emporium door hangs a handmade crocheted throw in blue and yellow featuring the state of West Virginia. Inside is a treasure trove of items – everything from antiques, dishes, McCoy collectibles, and Bath and Body Works items, to toys, children’s books and books for adults written by local writers. Among those books is “When the Whistle Blows,” written by Fran Cannon Slayton and filled with stories about Rowlesburg that her father told her. Her children’s winter picture book “Snowball Moon” is also available.
On the floor sits a doll in an antique stroller, while one shelf holds a collection of Depression-era glass. Displays of hand-crafted table runners vie for attention with Sabika Crystal, pens made from reclaimed wood from the Cheat River covered bridge, and Rowlesburg High School and Coke collectibles. Jewelry, dishes, grain scoops and lid lifters for a coal/wood stove can also be found at the emporium.
The Carolann Hooton Research and Reading Library is in the same room that the old school library used to be. It includes an extensive collection of books and journals on the history of Egypt and that country’s archaeological items. Many of the books in this collection are rare and include all three volumes of Howard Carter’s serires on the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen. There are also books by Robert Bianchi, E. A. Wallis Budge, Brian Fagan and other well-known authors.
For those interested in family history and genealogy, the library houses a collection of journals by Lee Sanders. The contents of the journals can be purchased on CD for $2 per volume. People have also been encouraged to donate any genealogy information they might have on their families. A genealogy list is maintained and made available to those who are interested.
Off to one side is a children’s corner that provides appropriately sized furniture and books for the younger generation.
There is also the Deakins Collection — an area devoted to the Deakins family, with a collection of Deakins memorabilia with an estimated dollar value of more than $10,000. It contains antique books, bottles, clothing and other items of interest.
Carolann and her husband Mike furnished the library with tables, chairs, shelves, computers (two of which are available for the public), air conditioner and window covering. Volunteers Lee Waybright, Dallas Wolfe II and Lorenza Halterman assembled the tables, chairs and shelving as they arrived and placed them in the facility.
Hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday, or by appointment at 304-698-5305 or 304-454-9232. Anyone interested in volunteering at the Szilagyi Center can call either number.
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