Jan Bobbett

In early April, we heard the names of those who would be awarded a Women of the Year award. Arizona’s own Sandra Day O’Connor was one of those women. Of course, many Arizonans had followed her career in Arizona and on the Supreme Court, so we all knew something about O’Connor.

From a different perspective, a young journalist brought a personal touch to the story (in the Arizona Daily Star) by sharing youthful stories of the Southeastern Arizona Territory where she and Sandra O’Connor grew up—though in different generations.

Another source of information about Justice O’Connor was something I discovered when I started working in this library here in Sun Lakes. That discovery was a memoir by Sandra O’Connor called Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest. It’s an enjoyable account and a way to learn a lot about the first woman to serve on our Supreme Court.

In case you didn’t know it, we have a collection of biographies in our library. We don’t dedicate a lot of shelf space to biographies, but we do have a couple shelves that might appeal to you. Here are just a few biographies that are available as I write this column: Mecham’s American Lion, which is about Hamilton; Billy Graham, Just as I Am (autobiographical); and My American Journey, an autobiography by Colin Powell. Of course, some are less serious, such as Carol Burnett’s This Time Together and Me by Katharine Hepburn.

Our bio collection is not extensive, but I urge you to take a look at what’s on our shelves. An update: I don’t see Justice O’Connor’s memoir on the shelf now that June is here. I think it was a victim of our effort to get fresh biographies on the shelves. Anyway, next to the biographies, note some classic nonfiction books, like the prophetic work from 1962—Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking work on the environment: Silent Spring. Yes, 1962.

Our June Librarian: Maggie Jordan grew up loving books—fiction and nonfiction. She finds both in one of her favorite series: Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander, which she has loved reading. You could say she has become hooked on it and is anxiously awaiting series 7.

In our library she especially enjoys meeting our customers and making them feel comfortable. On the job and off, social interaction is a big part of what brings her satisfaction. Besides working in our library, she also likes bocce ball and shuffleboard, though she is taking a bit of a break from the latter.

Maggie has a serious side, too. She has even started writing a book and is committed to finishing it.

After spending years in South Carolina and the Seattle area, she is now very happy in her apartment here in Sun Lakes. Her smile makes that clear, and we love seeing it at our library luncheons.