Summer vacation is almost over, and there’s a good chance lots of kids spent their time playing sports, hanging out and having fun.

 

That’s what I did during most of my summer vacations.

 

But not always.

 

When I was in grammar school, some of my teachers would give the class reading assignments to help keep their brains working over the summer.

 

I remember in the third grade, our class was told to read five books over the summer and write a book report on each one.

 

I had done book reports before, and it was pretty easy. And during the school year I could find lots of books in our school library.

 

That wasn’t the case during the summer when school was closed. The teacher said we’d have to go to the public library and find some. She also told us we’d need to apply for a library card.

 

Walking to the library in Jersey City back then was an adventure. We had two branches - the main branch on Montgomery Street and a second, smaller branch on Eighth Street. 

 

The distance from my house was about the same - five blocks. But I knew I’d be going to the Eighth Street branch because the main library was in a pretty rough neighborhood. I’d never even been inside that building.

 

So soon after school ended, I took a walk to Eighth Street to apply for my library card. I’d never been there before, but I knew about where it was - right behind St. Francis Hospital.

 

At least that’s what I thought.

 

But when I walked up to the door there was a sign that said, “Library Closed for Renovations.”

 

I knew I’d have to go to the main branch. And for me, that meant getting a few of my friends from school to go with me.

 

I thought that would be simple. 

 

But it wasn’t.

 

None of my friends were interested in going to that neighborhood, or to the library during the summer. They wanted nothing to do with schoolwork on their free time. 

 

I knew my father would be at work every day during library hours, so I couldn’t get a ride from him. But he was pretty resourceful.

 

He’d grown up in Jersey City and knew all about bad neighborhoods. He said if I was worried about the bigger kids coming after me in that neighborhood, wait for a rainy day  when everybody else stayed inside.

 

It rained pretty heavily a few days later, and I followed my father’s advice. Armed with an umbrella and by book bag, I jogged the five blocks to the library. I didn’t see anyone the whole way.

 

The library was one of those old tan brick and stone buildings from the late 1800s. It was a city block wide. 

 

When I went inside, I was amazed. The main foyer was four stories high. There was a wide marble staircase with a brass bannister that went around the inside of the building all the way up to the ceiling, which had a huge stained glass skylight. The tiled floors had ornate designs. And there were lots of tall, wooden double doors in every direction.

 

I’d never been in a place like that before, and it took me awhile to figure out which door I had to use for the regular book section.

 

I walked through the doors and saw a room filled with people sitting at long tables reading. Some were writing, too.

 

I went up to the main desk and told the woman I needed to get a library card.

 

She gave me a pencil and a form to fill out.

 

Once that was done, she told me it would take a few days before the card would arrive in the mail. She stamped my application and said I could use it as a temporary card and search for books that day.

 

She told me there was an entire section of books for kids on the second floor. The research area was on the third floor and the Jersey City Museum was on the top floor.

 

I walked up the marble staircase to the second floor. Inside, there two stories of metal bookshelves with winding metal staircases. And what seemed like millions of books.

 

 

Then I saw it - the book I  knew should be my first library book. It was called Mystery up the Winding Stair.

 

I don’t remember everything about the story. But I do remember it was about a boy who discovers a hidden staircase in his grandfather’s house  that leads to a treasure.

 

I think I got an A+ on that book report.