Ronnie had reddish hair, freckles and a gap toothed smile but this shy little boy could take care of himself. He had learned how to avoid trouble, or if necessary, how to handle trouble in his native Ireland. Life for his family had been hard and dangerous in Belfast. He had heard the screams of people being beaten and shot outside his home. With hope and desperation, his family came to Canada.

Ronnie liked Balmy Beach Public School and did well. Sometimes he still had to fight because he had an Irish accent, but his teacher was nice and occasionally she read to the class. No one had ever read to him before. He wished that he could be told more stories.

Saturday afternoon was time for the movies. Movies were almost like stories. Ronnie especially liked strong man Joe Bonnano even if he threw the same six guys off the train every week.

The entry fee to movies was cheap but Ronnie had to earn it himself. In the winter the frozen manure from cart horses could be packed neatly into old cigar boxes and sold for a few pennies as cheap fuel. Ronnie could then trade for an empty milk bottle. The theatre accepted this for admission.

His parents worked long hours but Ronnie didn?t mind being alone. He liked to explore. In the park by the lake was a solemn looking building called ?Beaches Public Library?. Ronnie thought it was a bank but then one day he saw children going in. After a while he quietly followed some younger children, pretending to be with them. The children sat in a circle around a lady who told them stories! How he wished he could join in but he could not pay. Shy and embarrassed, he listened and then crept away with being noticed.

The next Saturday Ronnie followed the children into the Library but this time he had an empty milk bottle. He had worked all week to make sure he could pay to sit with the other children and listen to the lady tell the stories.

Of course the lady did not take the milk bottle and she gently explained that Ronnie could come to the story time without paying. In fact anytime the children?s library was open he was allowed to look at the children?s books, if his hands were clean. He could not believe that he could sit with the other children and listen to the stories without having to pay. This was even better than the movies! For Ronnie, Saturday afternoon became library time.

This story was told to me by Ron, my Father. Ronnie went to Malvern Collegiate and eventually graduated from University of Toronto as a Civil Engineer and spent four years overseas during the Second World War. Ron landed in Normandy on D Day in 1944. After the war he worked for the City of Toronto and eventually became Building Commissioner. Ronnie always remembered the ?Library Ladies?.