AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
The Lobster Bay library was in a large gothic stone building that had an arched oak door with iron hinges. Walking into the library felt like entering an old castle. Inside, the ceilings were vaulted, and the air was heavy with silence. A bespectacled librarian sat behind a large round oak desk, stacks of returned books in carts behind her.
“Can you tell me where the genealogy section is?” Andie asked in a whisper.
“We have books on genealogy and also a local history section.”
“The local history is what I’m after.”
“You’re looking something up?”
“Yes.”
The librarian nodded as if she was expecting that and had just been testing her. “Everything we have is on microfilm. We’re just a small operation and don’t have staff to get everything online.”
“I understand.” That was too bad because it would have been a lot easier to sit at home and look things up.
“You’ll find that section in the basement.” She stood and pointed to the left. “Around that corner there and down the steps.”
“Thanks.”
The basement was not as nice as the upper level. The floor was old green and beige tile, the walls an uninspiring off-white like the color of manilla folders. The old gray metal cabinets were clearly labeled, and she found the town genealogy records easily. The microfilm machines sat in a dark corner, each one in its own little cubby. Andie sat down with several rolls of film and got to work.
After a few hours, her eyes were burning from scrolling through the old documents, which included images of certificates and newspaper announcements with births, deaths, and marriages.
There was no way to search, so she had to look through each roll. She didn’t find anything for the name Koslachowski, but most of the information was dated from the 1890s and on. He might have moved out of town by then, or maybe he wasn’t even from Lobster Bay. Just because the box was in an attic in one of the houses in town didn’t mean it had been there since the end of the Civil War.
She made some notes about what rolls she’d searched and put everything away. Her eyes weren’t that young anymore, and she needed a break. She could come back later and dig further, though she didn’t have high hopes of finding anything in the other films.
In the lobby, Andie spotted Liz standing at the round desk with several boxes of books. “How’s the cleanup going?”
The librarian jerked her attention from the book she was processing to frown at her. Oops. Andie guessed she hadn’t lowered her voice enough.
“Good.” Liz whispered. “Better than I thought. My dad was a big reader, so I’m donating these books.”
Andie glanced into the box, which contained mostly fiction. Nothing too old or leather bound in there, so Liz wasn’t giving away anything valuable.
“I also found some items I thought you might be interested in. Do you want to come and look at them?”
That perked Andie up. “I’d love to. What have you got?”
“Some kitchenware. I heard it could be valuable, and there’s a whole china cabinet of dishes and knickknacks.”
“Sounds like fun. When were you thinking?”
“I have a few more rooms to clean out, so I was thinking it would be best if you wait until I have it all sorted. Maybe Thursday?”
“Sounds perfect.”
They set a time, and Andie left, much to the relief of the librarian, who looked like she’d been just about to shush them. Andie was disappointed that she hadn’t found out more about her Civil War guy, but at least she could look forward to checking out Liz’s antiques.
