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Although
we met many friendly people in Farmersville, none impressed us as
much as Pansy Hundley, city librarian, keeper of Farmersville's
Audie Murphy memorabilia, and Mother-in-law of the Millennium.
We immediately liked Pansy because as we entered with a bunch of
junior Farmersvillians, she had us all wipe our feet. Maybe she
didn't mean to include us, but we do what we're told.
In this permissive age of school principals who want to be your
friend and librarians who let people shout, it's reassuring to see
a well-run library. This is not to say that Pansy is a Captain Bligh.
She'd probably let you shout if you had a good reason. But it better
be a really good reason.
Pansy answered
every question we could throw at her. She has been librarian for
18 of the 19 years the library has been open. When asked about the
date of a Farmersville event, she told us it would be on such and
such a date, "but henceforth, it will be…" Now, we have read the
word henceforth, but never have we heard it spoken. When we asked;
"Did you just say henceforth?" She replied; "Yes, and if you stick
around, you might just hear "moreover."
Pansy's
wit is not restrained to talking with inquisitive strangers. She
exercises it freely in her weekly column in the Farmersville
Times. What started out as a book review column has evolved
(at the public's request) into The Pansy Chronicles. She
still slips in a recommendation for a book, now and then, just to
keep things legal.
We
made a stop at the Farmersville Times office on our way out of town
to buy some back issues so we could read Pansy's column. Click here
for an abbreviated version of Pansy's Mouse Tales. But be warned,
they aren't for the squeamish. We hope to include more of Pansy's
articles in the future as we periodically check in on Farmersville
and their progress as a Main Street City.
Pansy's unusual name may strike some people as quaint. Our meeting
with her reminded us that a Pansy is a flower in that has the tenacity
(audacity?) to bloom in the winter.
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