Lynette Williams helps Warrior resident James Kennedy check out his books at the Warrior-Evelyn Thorton Public Library.

Although the Warrior-Evelyn Thorton Public Library is small, it is filled to the brim with books. But, it may feel a little emptier now that two long-time employees have retired.

Head librarian Faye Pugh and assistant librarian and circulation manager Lanette Williams retired in April after 25 years of service. Williams was hired by Pugh just a month after Pugh took the head librarian job, and Williams also retired a month after Pugh.

“Other than the pay, I’ve loved it,” said Pugh. “I’ve loved working with the people. If we ever needed something or wanted something, we got it; the businesses in Warrior would always come through. Some of the greatest people on earth walked through those doors.”

Williams’ job keeps her at the front of the library, and she says she’s been a bouncer more than once.

“I’ve had gentlemen come in here, using bad language, cussing and screaming. I’ve had to call the police to arrest people,” she said. “If you think a librarian’s life is quiet and easy, you’re wrong.”

When Pugh was a student at the former Warrior High School, the librarian was Stella Marie Bradford Phillips. From seventh to twelfth grade, Pugh worked in the library with her.

“She never once let me work the circulation desk. She kept me in the back and taught me how to run a library,” said Pugh. “She told me I was perfect for it and she pushed me to go to school to become a librarian.”

Despite Phillips’ encouragement, Pugh took keypunch classes and worked for a phone company, and eventually even went back to school again for engineering.

Despite all that, she eventually started working part-time for the library in 1983, finally taking her mentor’s advice; three years later, she would become the head librarian. A month later, Williams, who  attended the same high school as Pugh, came into the library with her children. The rest is history.

“I used to know everyone that came in here. Maybe not names, but I knew their faces,” said Williams. “When we first started we just had a card catalog. When the first computer came in, I didn’t like it, and everyone said ‘oh, you’ll catch on.’ I’m weepy-eyed thinking about all of it.”

Now that she’s retired, Pugh says she’s going to spend as much time as she can with her grandson.

“He’s the love of my life. He’s the glue that keeps me together. He’s my motivation,” she said. Her grandson is in the Boy Scouts of America, and Pugh wants to help in the organization.

“I’m looking forward to camping,” she said.

Williams is looking forward to catching up on crafts.

Pugh says she’s not going to be absent completely from the library.

“I love the people that we’ve served. I have an open door policy; I’ve told the new librarian that if she has any questions to call me,” she said. “It’s going to take her a while to learn everything.” She also said she wants to help the Warrior Library Board if it needs her.

One of the things Pugh prides herself on is her 25-year dedication to keeping good records.

“When I first started, everything was done manually and there were no records for bookkeeping,” said Pugh. “Now we have an overabundance of adequate records. We have them. They’re there. The auditor has never had any problem.”

The new head librarian, Cassie Johnson, is from Cullman. Although she has a degree in elementary education, she has never taught in a classroom; rather, she has four years of experience at the Cullman Library as a youth services coordinator.

“I loved working at the public library,” she said. “I was one of those kids that always wanted to go to the library. I made it my ‘happy place,’ and now I’m working in my happy place.”