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By JOYCE McKENZIE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 3, 2007

TEMPLE TERRACE - As a youngster, Mary Satterwhite swore she would never be a librarian because it required learning the Dewey Decimal System.

Ultimately, however, she followed in her mother's footsteps and chose it as her profession.

Last week, after a 36-year career at the Temple Terrace Public Library, Satterwhite, 60, prepared to close the book on that chapter of her life. In celebration of her Friday retirement, she hosted an on-site 'living memorial' retirement party.

'It's going to be hard, very, very hard,' said Satterwhite, who made the decision because of health issues. 'This is my library. I love it.'

When Satterwhite began, the library at 202 Bullard Parkway was a 6,000-square-foot building. She was there when it was doubled in size in 1978, and she remembers vividly receiving a call in the wee hours of the morning of Feb. 18, 1982, from someone telling her the library had burned down. She learned later the fire was started by an arsonist.

Despite the tragedy, she carried on in her duties as the library's director at the Omar K. Lightfoot Recreation Center until the library was rebuilt and reopened one year later.

Satterwhite 'rolled with the punches' again in 1997 while the library was housed in the former Bealls Outlet store on 56th Street and the main facility underwent an expansion to 20,000 square feet.

'I remember when we manually stamped each book and took out the cards when people checked them out,' she said. 'I was glad to see that go.'

Satterwhite was an integral part of the process leading up to the library's inauguration of its online cataloging system in 1998. In the years she was there, she saw the volume of books grow from 5,000 to about 75,000.

She remembers not knowing a thing about computers but being compelled to learn as much as she could in order to train her staff. Now, one of her goals is to build her own computer.

'I spend long hours here, and I come in the middle of the night if needed,' said Satterwhite, prior to her retirement. 'I usually get here about 5 or 5:30' a.m..

What she will cherish most, she said, are memories of her 'wonderful' staff and the people she's greeted and served for many years.

'They are just really special,' said Satterwhite, noting that she always taught her employees to have fun at their work so that when clients came in it showed on their faces.

Ted Grevencamp, treasurer of the Friends of the Temple Terrace Library, has known Satterwhite for many years.

'She's been a sponge for new ideas and programs, and those that have worked she kept, and those that didn't she threw out,' he said. 'She's been a dynamo of energy and sucked in everybody with her.'

City Manager Kim Leinbach also spoke highly of Satterwhite.

'I think it's exemplary for someone to serve for so long in such a capacity and still maintain the demands and professionalism the job requires,' he said. 'We will certainly miss her.'

Satterwhite's husband, Steve, is pleased that his wife has made the decision to join him in retirement. He is hoping they will be able to take more trips to Honduras, where they enjoy scuba diving. He also wants her to renew her interest in yoga.

'It's bittersweet for her because the library is like her second home,' he said. 'But, I'm looking forward to not having her have to be so responsible - not that she minds it, but she needs to take a break.'

Armand Ternak will take over her position as library director.

Reporter Joyce McKenzie can be reached at (813) 865-4849 or jmckenzie@tampatrib.com.

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