Ramona Library celebrates centennial year Oct. 3

Ramona Library will celebrate its centennial anniversary as a branch of the San Diego County Free Library on Oct. 3 with an afternoon of entertainment and refreshments for the community.

Starting with Ramona author Chuck LeMenager’s presentation on the history of Ramona at 3 p.m., the celebration will continue until 6 p.m. with folkloric dance, salsa dance lessons, Latin music, face painting, and henna tattoos. Chips and salsa and cake will be served.

The San Diego County Library system has served county residents since 1913. Ramona’s library, which opened in Ramona Town Hall in 1894, became a branch of county the library system on May 26, 1913. In February of 1939, the library moved from Town Hall to a large room on Main Street that was rented from the Bargars.

In May 1956, Mrs. Bargar sold the building. Faced with an increase in rent that the community could not afford, a new location was found at 619 Main St. and within a month the library was moved.

The Ramona branch again relocated Feb. 6, 1973, to 1406 Montecito Road, where three additions accommodated the growing community. In 1985, volunteers established Friends of the Ramona Library. Community interest and fundraising led to the new Ramona Library building, which opened its doors at 1275 Main St. in February 2011.

The San Diego County Library system has 33 branches and two bookmobiles and serves approximately one million residents across a 4,000-square-mile area. Its mission is to inform, educate, inspire and entertain, and it earned the national 2012 Library of the Year award from Library Journal and Gale, which is part of Cengage Learning.

“While much has changed over the past 100 years, SDCL’s devotion to serving the community and promoting free, open access to information and services has not,” reads a statement from the county.

The schedule for the Centennial Celebration for the Ramona branch is:

3 p.m.

• “History of Ramona” with author Charles R. LeMenager.

4:30 p.m.

• San Diego County Library Deputy Director Donna Ohr.

5 p.m.

• Folkloric Dance with Ramona del Sol.

5:30 p.m.

• Salsa Dance lessons.

6 p.m.

Latin Cumbia music with Peligroso Caramelo.

For more information, see www.facebook.com/ramonalibrary or sdcl.org or call 760-788-5260.