WEMU offered the opportunity for any candidate appearing on a ballot in Washtenaw County in the 2018 general election to submit a campaign message directly to our audience. Theresa Maddix is running for Ypsilanti Library Board Trustee as a nonpartisan. What follows are the audio and remarks the candidate wanted to share with you.
My name is Theresa Maddix and I’m asking for your vote November 6 for Ypsilanti Library Board Trustee.
It is a fall evening in a small town in lower Michigan over 40 years ago. The leaves are starting to turn and a crisp bite is beginning to spread in the air outside. In my family home, dinner is done—meatloaf, mashed potatoes and canned green beans. The dishes are washed and my mother is nursing my baby sister to sleep. My brothers have gone to their room and as the envelope of darkness falls outside, the house is finally finding some peace from the chaos of another busy day.
My dad goes to the living room and turns on the lamp over his chair before sitting on his throne, a well-worn brown, paisley fabric recliner. I grab a book from the bag, “The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin” and join him.
He begins to read, "This is a Tale about a tail—a tail that belonged to a little red squirrel, and his name was Nutkin.
He had a brother called Twinkleberry, and a great many cousins: they lived in a wood at the edge of a lake.”
We travel to another world together, one where a naughty squirrel taunts a wise owl shows who shows serious constraint in spite of continuous badgering.
My siblings and I grew up in a working-class area where my Dad made cereal for 30 years. My mother in a wheelchair stayed at home and raised my six siblings and me.
My parents had to keep a tight budget to make ends meet in an area with not many people moving in. Our city didn’t have its own bookstore and even if it did, books weren't a luxury our family could have easily afforded.
Once a week, my mother piled us into our van and took us on a trip to a magical place—the library.
While there I knew just where to go to find the children’s room. My brothers and I would run from the elevator, dash down the hall and to our favorite collections, all while the librarian shushed us and told us that running is not allowed in the library. I knew just where the picture books were and where to find the smaller Beatrix Potter books that were just my size with lots of great pictures where I could begin my exploration of the stories.
The library was a lifeline for me then and continues to be one now.
We need to support our library millage Nov. 6 to build a new space for Superior Township. If you wonder why, visit the current branch shared with the fire station.
You’ll find lots of children who have walked over, trying to have their first library experiences with not enough books, not enough computers and a tiny corner instead of a full children’s room.
For more information on the millage or my background and experience, please visit my website, MaddixForYpsi.com.