Butch Had Interesting Visitors At The Library

Well, I guess just about everyone who owns a business has had a few “unique” customers through the years, and as the librarian at Darlington for the last 33 years, I have also seen my share of unforgettable patrons and visitors. Here are just a few examples…

On one hot summer day, the library air conditioning could not keep up, and it was about 85 degrees inside…when in walked an older fellow with a packet of papers. He was very nice, extremely intelligent, and knowledgeable about local history. The packet of papers contained the history of a local church, and he brought these in to donate to our reference files. Although I had several books that needed to be catalogued, I made the mistake of inquiring about the history of the church…and for the next THREE hours, this kindly gentleman stood there and told me the COMPLETE history…detail by detail. By the time he was finished, I was starting to drift into a coma. I learned from that mistake.

One day, right after I opened, an older man walked in and wanted to know where the Lye Creek bridge was located. He sported a scraggly-looking beard and was wearing shorts with large pockets, hiking boots, and a safari-style hat, and he claimed to be a retired professor from Purdue. He told me that he had been studying the geology of this area, and believed there was gold to be found at that general location…I gave directions, and off he went. The idea that someone could actually pan for gold around here and be successful was somewhat amusing…until he returned four hours later…and showed me approximately a thimble size amount of gold flakes…Holy Cow!

A few years ago, a man came in and asked me if we had a map that showed where the old one-room school houses had been located in our township, as he wanted to use a metal detector to search for artifacts. As I was extremely busy helping other patrons, I told him to write down his name and phone number and I would find the map and call him shortly. His name sounded familiar, but I just couldn’t remember where I had heard it. After a few minutes, it dawned on me. The man had been arrested for murder when I was a deputy sheriff here in Montgomery County. I had transported him to Wabash Valley Mental Hospital in West Lafayette for a pychiatric examination prior to his jury trial. He subsequently was found guilty and sentenced to 50 years in prison. He had evidently served his time and been released (serving fewer years with time off for good behavior). It had been over 30 years ago. He didn’t recognize me…and I had not recognized him…so strange!

About five years ago, a fellow who lived across the street came in to sign up for a library card. As he stood at the circulation desk, I could not help but notice his very strong body odor. I had never smelled anything quite like that before…I almost gagged! After he left, I sprayed about a half of a can of air freshener, but the smell lingered on all day, and I had to explain this to patrons as they came in to get books. Then the very next day, Mr. Stinky came in again to get a movie…same horrible smell…so I politely asked him if he was aware of the fact that he did not exactly smell like a bouquet of roses. He replied that, yes, he knew about it, and stated that he had no money to buy soap. Highly unlikely, as he had money for cigarettes. I gladly donated some of the library’s soap…It was for a good cause. Two months later, he moved out of town…not sure why…either he didn’t pay his rent, or the more likely scenario…his body fumes caused other tenants to become ill.

On my 60th birthday, a lady brought her two boys in to get some books. She told her boys to wish me a happy birthday, which they did….so I decided to have them guess my age. The 7-year old looked at me for a few seconds….”Uh…75?” Ooh, that hurt. Immediately his 11-year old brother stated, “Now Mr. Dale is not 75 years old.” I sighed a bit of relief, and asked the older boy how old he thought I was. He hesitated for a few seconds…”I would say…ummm….93?” Ouch!

John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 32 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.