By JESSICA SIEFF
Cassopolis Vigilant

Andrew Carnegie’s legacy of building public libraries to people all over the United States is one that can still be found in the etchings of his name outside countless structures, his portrait hanging inside countless rooms filled with books, evidence of the history found old card catalogs still found, even in the age of rapidly advancing technology.

In Cassopolis, that legacy is found in the Cass District Library’s Local History Branch at 145 Broadway, which is celebrating its centennial this year.

“Every time I walk in here, I’m walking into a 100-year-old building,” said Jonathan Wuepper, library manager. “We’re very sensitive to the history and the integrity of the building.”

A building that holds the histories of countless families, a history of the are – bits and pieces that put together make a story one can imagine Carnegie himself would be proud to house.

The history branch specializes genealogy and research and has welcomed those digging into their family histories coming to southwestern Michigan from all over the country.

Researching family histories is a practice becoming increasingly popular.

Web sites like Ancestry.com make it possible to some of the search from the comfort of one’s home while the importance of old newspaper clippings and microfilm are more and more evident.

A peek into the genealogy and family history of the first lady Michelle Obama recently made national headlines.

“There’s only so much you can do online,” Wuepper said.  “Our obituary file is still in an old fashioned card catalog and we keep it up to date.”

The library carries information as far back as 1872 including copies of the Edwardsburg Argus and the Cassopolis Vigilant also dating back to the late 1800s.

On a map in the front of the library, Wuepper keeps track of those who have come from all over the country to search through files in search of family histories.

“Some of them I’ve had burst into tears of joy,” he said.  “We can shed light on marriages, birth, death … all the important things in life, coming in and going out…” the library holds those details in its 100-year-old walls.

The library cost Carnegie $10,000 when it was built in 1909.

“Carnegie built thousands of libraries not only in the United States but overseas,” said Wuepper. “This library is a piece of Americana from the early twentieth century … I feel very privileged and lucky and I think the people feel lucky that we have such an intact Carnegie library.”