Her Life Story Can Be Found in Large Type at the Library

Unless we’re politicians or rich philanthropists, how many of us get a chance to have anything but our children named after us? Something that will be around long after we’re gone?

I’ve always thought Carolyn Johnson must get a whale of a kick out of sticking this one on her resume: “Carolyn Johnson Children’s Library in Fullerton--that’s me.”

Saturday is library day for my family, and on occasion we make it to Fullerton’s main library on Commonwealth Avenue. Johnson’s name is in huge letters at the entry to its cavernous children’s section, on a separate level.

I just assumed Johnson was someone with far too much money who ponied up a huge chunk of it as a charitable donation in exchange for the honor. I learned, though, that what Johnson really ponied up was 45 years of service to the Fullerton Library--as children’s director for 22 years and as library director the last 10. And she’s still serving, both with the Friends of the Library, the library’s foundation, and as curator for its extraordinary collection of historical children’s books.

Forget those sad librarian stories in “The Music Man” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Johnson considered it fun, and a noble profession. One of the great joys, she says, was helping children find good books, then having them grow up and bring in their children.

“It’s so wonderful to show them there is life after TV,” she says. “Reading is a lifetime occupation.”

She joined the staff in 1945, when the library was located at what is now the Fullerton Museum, at Pomona and Wilshire avenues. She retired in 1990. “I kept saying I’d leave when there was a good breaking point, when whatever project I was working on got completed,” she says. “But there was never a good place to say, ‘The job is finished.’ ”

Certainly not in retirement. Even with all her ongoing commitments, she says, “whenever they’re short-handed in the children’s section, I volunteer to go in. I can’t resist.”

Friendly Suggestion Desk: South Coast Plaza’s circular roadway around the entry to its Bristol Street overpass has a chic-looking brick pattern. Problem is, it’s a little too chic. It looks too much like sidewalk or part of the plaza walkway (part of which is also brick). And youngsters running ahead of Mom and Dad coming off the overpass may be unaware they’re actually stepping into the path of moving vehicle traffic. There’s no curb to warn them.

I saw it happen just the other day, with a van approaching a child who thought she was on the sidewalk. Fortunately, the van driver was alert and stopped.

You can say all you want that parents should better control their children. That argument won’t seem too important if a tragic incident occurs.

The circular brick pattern is less than 100 feet long, then the road goes back to its original blacktop. (Maybe a few thick ferns at the end of the overpass would help.) Sometimes chic isn’t worth it.

Crabby Reply? Chris Eftychiou of Huntington Beach was eating at the Crab Cooker in Newport Beach when he overheard a female customer admiring the blouse of a waitress’ snappy uniform and inquiring how to get one.

“You have to work here,” the waitress said, “and I don’t think you want one that bad.”

That happened three years ago, but Eftychiou is finally making the anecdote pay off enough to cover his meal. Soon after it happened, he wrote about it to Reader’s Digest, which pays for cute items. The magazine only got around to printing it this month. Quite a backlog, apparently, in cute items.

No Smiling Irish Eyes: Leonore Coyne has been the driving force behind the annual Irish Faire in Laguna Beach. And yes, you can bet she’s Irish.

Alas, no Irish Faire this March. The problem, says Coyne, was the rising cost of putting it on--too many added fees by the leaseholder for booths and security. Says Coyne: “We’ll start much earlier and shoot again for next year. We’ll be back!”

Interrupting Romance: Orange County romance novelist Dorsey Kelly goes on retreat with three other writers each year at a ranch in the Tehachapi Hills. When they learned that some of the Arabian horses they’d seen at a nearby property had starved to death, they wanted to get involved. The four of them have donated a total of $1,550 to help with the care of the remaining horses from that ranch.

“Many of them continue to have problems, and we’re worried how the foals will be,” Kelly says. “We’re all animal lovers, and this really hit home.” Kelly’s books have Western settings, and research has led her to even go on cattle drives.

The trial is scheduled to start today for the ranch’s owners, who are facing 41 felony counts of animal cruelty.

Wrap-Up: Carolyn Johnson can boast of an even greater honor than having a whole children’s library named after her. She has three daughters and all three are now librarians.

“I was delighted, because it meant that the books we shared at home had meaning for them,” she says.

Daughter Anne Neal of Auberry, Calif., says there was another influence: “We spent a lot of time at the library, and we could see what a wonderful life our mother had.”

Jerry Hicks’ column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Readers may reach Hicks by calling The Times Orange County Edition at (714) 966-7823 or sending a fax to (714) 966-7711.