Hoyt Rees Galvin
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| Born: | February 26, 1911, Marion County, Iowa |
| Died: | December 22, 1995, Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Buried: | Sharon Memorial Park, Charlotte, North Carolina |
Notes:
• Son of Grace Rees & Guy Gordon Galvin. - Ancestry.com
• Married Mary Elizabeth Sayre (1911-1995). They died just four months apart. - Find A Grave
• When TVA came to build dams in the Tennessee Valley in 1936, the county was in a deep economic depression. This was especially true in North Alabama. The Federal moneys flowing into the region was broad in scope. The Tennessee Valley Author (TVA) asked the Huntsville to cooperate with it to serve its workers. This is what Hays says "The Huntsville Public Library Board entered into contracts with the TVA, the county commissioners and the boards of education of Madison, Jackson, and Marshall counties. Mr. Hoyt Galvin, a trained librarian on the staff of the TVA, was put in charge of this regional program. The Regional Library was an extension to the Huntsville Public Library. The librarian at the time was Mrs. Mattie Darwin."
In his book "From Carnegie to Fort Book: The History of the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library" Hays tells of how Hoyt provided leadership for innovations and influence in our library system and community. His story is so deeply woven into the library evolution that it is impossible to cover the entire story here. - Hays
• Dulcina DeBerry's biography tells of her role in delivering reading materials to Huntsville's African American community. She came to Huntsville to help with the care of a parent. As an educated women, she sought interesting reading materials. But she found Huntsville's public library only served the white population. She prepared to change that and found Hoyt Galvin, library director, willing to offer her an opportunity to work with the Huntsville Library to develop a segregated reading room in a local church basement.
This is the description of their first meeting: "Mr. Galvin opened the discussion by explaining the library project. He explained to her that W.P.A., Works Progress Administration, initiated a program in 1935 to relieve unemployment. The program later renamed Works Project Administration, would sponsor worthy public projects. The opening of a reading room for Negroes could qualify as one of its projects. The W.P.A.'s policy provided the books and the librarian and required that the community acquire the housing and furnishing. Mrs. DeBerry responded that she was sure the Board of Trustees at her church would be supportive of the project."
The story does not end there. Much work was be done. And the cooperative relationship between Mrs. DeBerry and Mr. Galvin was an important element in its success. - Torrence
• "The Huntsville Public Library got its first mobile library, providing a regional service, aided by T.V.A., with Hoyt Galvin, T.V.A. director of regional service in Huntsville, being a vital cog in the result. The library had attained a first in America, during 1937, becoming the first regional library in the nation." - Record
• President, Alabama Library Association, 1939. - Record
• "Mr. Hoyt Galvin served as Director of Regional Service until 1910, when Mr. Horace Moses became director of the entire Regional Library Program, administered from the Huntsville Library. T.V.A. funds were withdrawn in 1940, upon completion of the dam, and the Regional Library Service of Huntsville Public Library became a self-sustaining organization, supported by the city and the participating counties." - Sesquicentennial
• Mr. Galvin moved from Huntsville to Charlotte, NC. Where he became Director of Libraries, Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, November 1, 1940-February 28, 1971. - Easterling
• Secretary for the Rotary Club - Easterling
• Mr. Galvin was the president of Charlotte's Rotary 1948-1949. In 1994 he was recognized for 50 year of perfect attendance to Rotary. - Powell Majors' Recollections
• Mr. Majors reported "Hoyt Galvin succumbed to a massive stroke on December 22, 1995. - Powell Majors' Recollections
Related Links:
• Amazon - Possible books by Galvin Hoyt.
• Ancestry.com - Page owned by entlerd and can be viewed only with an Ancestry.com paid subscription. (Originally found at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/16936678/person/1013581221.)
• Dulcina DeBerry's Bio - Hoyt Galvin is mentioned in Dulcina DeBerry's bio.
• Easterling - 75 Years of Service: A History of The Huntsville Rotary Club, by Bill Easterling, 1992, pages 31, 32.
• Find A Grave - Page created by Susan I. Grills.
• Hays - From Carnegie to Fort Book: The History of the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library, by Paul A. Hays, 2005, pages 36-9, 41-5, 50, 53-7, 95.
• Hoyt R. Galvin Papers - J. Murrey Atkins Library, UNC Charlotte. (Originally found at http://library.uncc.edu/manuscript/ms0054.)
• Maulsby - Article titled "The Dulcina DeBerry Library" by Ann Geiger Maulsby in Huntsville Historical Review, Volume 22, #2, Jul-95, Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society, pages 21-25.
• Powell Majors' Recollections - Powell Majors' Recollections of Rotary Club of Charlotte. (Originally posted at http://www.charlotterotary.org/powellsrecollections.php)
• Record - A Dream Come True: The Story of Madison County and Incidentally of Alabama and the United States, Volume II, by James Record, 1978, pages 236, 399, 673.
• Sesquicentennial - Commemorative Album, Celebrating our City's Sesquicentennial of Progress, Huntsville, Alabama, by James E. Taylor, General Chairman, 1955, page 61.
• Torrence - Dulcina DeBerry: Door Opener, by Missouri L. Torrence, 1996, pages 28-30, 32, 33, 147.
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• Dulcina DeBerry's Bio
• Hays
• Maulsby
• Record
• Sesquicentennial