In recognition of Winter Reading: Your Family Story, Northbrook resident Judy Armgardt shared her personal story about her family’s connection with the Northbrook Public Library through her childhood and adulthood.
Judy Armgardt was 10 years old when she stumbled upon several books on divorce in her mother’s car.
“We were on the way to the library (the original site at the corner of Shermer and Church) with my mom and I opened the glove compartment and saw all these books about divorce. … It started the discussion.”
Her mother, Maudine Bowman, had just moved to Northbrook with her husband and four young children from the St. Louis area. The moment of discovering the books and realizing that her parents were in the process of splitting forever shaped Judy’s connection to the Northbrook Public Library. The experience left a profound impression on Judy: “Libraries; They’re there for you when you least expect it.”
“It’s weird that that’s my first memory of this library. To me, it’s a connection I had with the library. It started a discussion.”
Judy remembers the lingering anguish she felt as a child sitting at the library “wondering about what’s going to happen.” As life went on, Judy, a Glenbrook North High graduate, and her family adjusted well in Northbrook and kept visiting the library.
“This library (the current site at Cedar and Cherry) opened shortly after that, and I visited throughout my middle school and high school years,” said Judy. “I remember going from the old, little library to coming here and thinking ‘This is the greatest library in the world,’ and it is.”
Judy, registered dietician, would go on to marry Charles Armgardt, a Glenbrook South High graduate. They met as teens working at a now-defunct local grocery store, The National. Her mother-in-law Mamie, coincidentally, worked at Northbrook Public Library during the mid 1970s.
The couple, who have two daughters—one has a doctorate in pharmacy and the other is working on her MBA—lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the past 30 years and moved back to Northbrook in January 2016. Her husband, a lawyer, did remote work during the first year back and spent most of his working hours at the library.
“I felt like we lived (at the library) the first year back,” she quipped.
At the same time, the couple was planning an extensive European vacation soon after the move, taking advantage of the library’s travel section.
“Our dining room table was covered with your travel books,” said Judy.
In March, the couple embarked on their three-month European adventure, touring more than a dozen major cities throughout the continent, including Madrid, Paris, London, Luxembourg, Amsterdam, and Dublin.
They settled back to their normal lives in Northbrook in June and began attending events at the library such as the live music shows.
“Every month, there’s something amazing. We’re so lucky to come back here and have this library,” she said.
Do you have a personal connection with the Northbrook Public Library you’d like to share? Has the library made a meaningful difference in f your life? Please share your story with us by emailing marketing@northbrook.info.
