Crandall Library — Story reader inspires Korean radio broadcast

Never underestimate the news content of a discarded newspaper — or the lasting impact of a mild-mannered library volunteer,

Mrs. Charles Hodkin of Gage Avenue in Glens Falls used a recent issue of The Post-Star to wrap items in a package she was mailing to her nephew, Frank H. Mullen, in Korea, The Post-Star reported on May 20, 1947.

Mullen. who grew up in Glens Falls, was curious about news from his home town and read the newspaper pages, coming across an announcement for a reception Crandall Library was holding to honor Mrs. E.W. Twichell, who had been a volunteer children’s story time reader for 25 years, and was leaving for an extended vacation in western states.

Mullen, assistant director of the Korean Broadcasting System. had fond memories of attending Twichell’s story times as a child in Glens Falls, he wrote in a letter to Crandall Librarian J. Thatcher Sears.

“We were planning a program for young children over the radio and could not decide on exactly how to present the program. Some of my continuity men wanted dramatical stories, but we decided they might be over the heads of little tots,” Mullen wrote. “I mentioned to them that the best approach was the simple telling of the stories by a woman with a pleasant voice. I recalled how Mrs. Twichell told her stories, and we decided on that procedure.”

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