Dorothea Dudley Nelson came to Santa Maria in 1934 to take the place of Minnie Stearns, Santa Maria's first librarian, and when she retired, her name was synonymous with hard work and seemingly unending accomplishments.

Dorothea Dudley was born in Colorado Springs, Colo., received her college degree with a major in French from the University of California at Berkeley, and then returned to her hometown, where she worked in her father's law office for five years before returning to Berkeley to earn a degree in library science.

When Minnie Stearns retired as librarian of the stately Carnegie Library in 1934, the country was in the midst of the Great Depression, and jobs were not easy to come by. Dorothea was lured to the city of Santa Maria with a salary offer of $150, considered to be a decent amount at that time.

When Dorothea assumed her position as librarian at the Carnegie Library, the library housed fewer than 10,000 volumes, and when she retired, the collection of books had grown to more than 72,000.

Shortly after arriving in Santa Maria, Dorothea met Paul Nelson, manager of the Municipal Plunge. The two were married the same year.

The Plunge was the forerunner of the Recreation Department, which was later formed with Mr. Nelson serving as director. The department was expanded to include the parks and became today's Recreation and Parks Department. Nelson remained as director until his death in 1952.

Dorothea served on the board of directors of the Santa Maria Red Cross Chapter from 1953 to 1957, serving as chairman from 1954 to 1956. She was a member of the American Cancer Society, and an active member of the Soroptimist Club, serving several terms on the board of directors and as president in 1956-1957. She was later voted a lifetime membership in this organization.

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She was a charter member of the Santa Maria Valley Historical Society and also served as its president. She was a member of the California Library Association and was one of the founders of California Library Week, where she served as its state chair. She also participated in many other community organizations such as Camp Fire Girls and the USO.

In 1934 Dorothea became a member of the Minerva Club, and was elected president of the organization in 1944.

Both Dorothea and Paul taught square and folk dancing in Santa Maria.

Dorothea was one of the organizers of, and served as president in 1959 of the “Black Gold District” cooperative library system, the name “Black Gold” chosen to represent the oil industry in Ventura, Santa Barbara and to a lesser degree, San Luis Obispo.

She continued working at the Carnegie Library until the more modern library opened.

In June 1968, Santa Maria residents were shocked and saddened when the city announced that Mrs. Nelson had reached the mandatory age of retirement and would step down Sept. 1.

James A. Petrella, who was appointed assistant city librarian on July 15, was scheduled to step into her position.

Still, though, the city of Santa Maria, finding it difficult to set Mrs. Nelson “out to pasture,” asked that she stay as a building consultant.

In April 1970, Jim Hare, Chamber of Commerce president, citing the woman's background of community spirit and pride, named Dorothea D. Nelson as Citizen of the Month.

At about the time that Mrs. Nelson passed away at the home of her daughter in Fort Worth, Texas, she was honored by having a room at the Santa Maria Public Library named after her.

Shirley Contreras lives in Orcutt and writes for the Santa Maria Historical Society. Contact her at 934-3514 or at shirley2@pronet.net. Her book “The Good Years,” a selection of stories she's written for The Times since 1991, is on sale at the Santa Maria Valley Historical Society on South Broadway.