Getting the story from a longtime library local

Locals still know Joan Dugan as the children’s librarian at the

Balboa Branch Library though she retired in 1992. A resident of

Balboa since 1959, she had served at the library for 24 years.

Recently Dugan broke her hip, but she is doing well and still

enjoying her love of reading. Her latest literary jaunt was through

“Seabiscuit: An American Legend” by Laura Hillenbrand.

The 73-year-old retiree recently sat down with Daily Pilot

reporter Luis Pena and reminisced about her life in the Newport area.

Where did you grow up?

Southern California -- Artesia. When I said that when I was a

little girl they’d say, “Where?” Nowadays everybody knows where

Artesia is, more or less. It was a dairy town, it was really a rural

dairy town. My father owned a drugstore in the town.

What kind of childhood did you have?

Absolutely wonderful. I had fantastic parents and we traveled a

lot during the summer.

My father had the time because he had his own business and he made

quite a lot of money therefore we had the time to travel all over. I

don’t mean like a luxury-type thing but we traveled state wide and to

other states and that sort of thing.

Camping in those days ... you used a trailer to camp, you didn’t

live in trailers. And we went to the desert to camp in the

wintertime. We also went to the beach -- Huntington Beach when

Huntington was just a little nothing. And we would live there for the

summer. It was a fun town, Huntington Beach.

What are your greatest accomplishments?

I’m fairly well rounded and I’m a happy women. One of my

accomplishments, of course, I feel definitely, was what I did with

children in my children’s library.

I was a ham and that’s how I got my children to want to read. I

made it so funny ... I didn’t care if I had to stand on my head for

some things. I wasn’t a buffoon but I did have a ball. You have to be

a ham to be a children’s librarian. You have to let yourself go and

not even worry what the world thinks.

Nowadays I run into young men and women who are either in college

or out of college who now have their own businesses or are doctors or

lawyers:

“You know Mrs. Dugan you are the only one who made me want to

read.”

And I’ve gotten that all my life, that I made people want to read,

particularly young men, young boys. And to this day that’s been my

pleasure. There’s nothing like seeing young people wanting to read

because I made it fun for them. I had a ball with them.

Another thing that I did with my children was Pinwheel Playhouse.

We had a TV station right here in Newport right along Coast Highway.

And we’d get children from all the preschools, different ones each

week, and I’d read stories to them and that was why it was called

Pinwheel Playhouse. It lasted for a series. It would have lasted

longer but we had a big fire on Coast Highway and it burned down

Miracle Mile.

How did you end up in Newport-Mesa?

My mother lives here on Lido. I had gone through quite a tragic

situation. So I was going to move somewhere. I sold my house up in

the Belmont Shore area and I thought I would move somewhere. Momma

said, “I’d like you to move down close to me,” which I did.

Fortunately, I chose this place. She wanted me to try it, which I

did. And I moved here in 1959. So that’s how I got here, but of

course I knew the area -- the dance halls and the different places

down here that we use to go to as young people, young kids. I raised

my children out here on the beach.

It was so funny they’d always say, particularly my son, “How come

we don’t have horses?” And I’d say “Heavens, my goodness you have the

ocean in front of you.” Or, “How come we can’t go to the mountains

for the snow?” “We have so much here,” I’d always tell them.

And I was living alone and so it was very important that I’d try

to make them happy too. But that’s what children said in those days.

They weren’t rude I wouldn’t allow it and I would never allow it in

my library.

If you could re-do one moment or incident in your life, what would

it be?

I’ve never felt badly about things like that. I don’t have that

feeling. I could go into my husband dying but that’s not important as

far as that’s concerned.

I’ve never felt bad that I’ve done something wrong. That may say a

lot, but I mean it. I just don’t feel that way. I think it has to do

a lot with my religion too and my attitude about life because I love

life and what it’s all about. I’m a happy woman.

What is your favorite book?

I have done a lot of reading. There have been special books in my

life growing up as a child and watching the children coming in asking

me. And today, no, I better not say this. I cannot get all that

excited about the Harry Potter books. And I know it’s a big thing out

there. And I’m thinking, hmmm. I loved all kinds of funny books and I

liked all kinds of strange books. But I just don’t think these are

very exciting books and that’s just my attitude. Are you going to put

that down? They’ll say she’s really lost her nuts here.

But no, I like all kinds of books. I could go over my life with

different ones that I’ve adored, completely adored. I’ll tell you one

book that I’ve never really liked though, “Alice in Wonderland.”

That’s just me. I never liked it that much.

Everybody has their druthers, fella. Oh, like “Seabiscuit.” It’s

an adult book you know. It is wonderfully written and finally my

daughter said let’s go see the movie. I said, “I don’t think I’ll

like it because it will be changed.”

It was very, very well done compared to the book. It’s more of my

era. It goes back to the ‘30s. Not that I saw Seabiscuit. I’m sure my

father did. This woman who wrote this story You’re living it. You’re

really living it. So, see, maybe I’ll get you to read it.

Did you ever return a book late?

Sure but they didn’t belong to me. I never, ever did. You know

why? Because they don’t charge librarians fines. I would take out

maybe 30 and 40 and 50 books a week at a time to review. How could I

remember when they’re all due back? I’ve been asked that before and I

always look at them like, “What do you think?”