EVERETT – When Mark Nesse retired for the first time, he was 26.
It was 1969, the summer of love, and the young teacher decided to drop everything and tour the country in a converted school bus.
“Life just happens,” he said. “Sometimes you just have to be open.”
Little did Nesse know, that path would one day lead him to the top post at the Everett Public Library.
Nesse announced Wednesday he will step down as library director at the end of February. He’s held the job for 30 years.
No other person in Everett’s history has held the head librarian position as long as he. That piece of Everett trivia is not lost on Nesse.
Mabel Ashley served from 1919 to 1946. The day he surpassed Ashley’s 27-year tenure, to become the longest-serving librarian, Nesse left a playful note on his calendar: “Eat my dust, Mabel.”
Nesse’s father was a Lutheran minister. Although the librarian drove a school bus when young, he said he wasn’t a hippie, didn’t use drugs or grow his hair long.
He and his wife, Sheila, were teachers at Harry Truman Junior High School in Tacoma. Both were looking for a change. They had previously met while serving in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia.
His entry into the world of books wasn’t planned. While applying for a library card in Durham, N.C., he asked if they were hiring.
They were. Nesse got the job and became fascinated with libraries.
He went on to earn his master’s degree in library science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He came to Everett in 1977 after working for public libraries in North Carolina and Massachusetts.
“The fact that Mark has remained director of our Everett library for 30 years says a lot about his commitment to the library and to the community,” said library trustee President Ron Jacobson. “I have been on a number of boards in the state and nationally and have not experienced a smoother running organization.”
In his time here, Nesse oversaw an extensive renovation of the library’s main branch and the construction of the Evergreen Branch in south Everett.
He also helped establish the Library Endowment, which is nearly halfway to its goal of finding 20 people to donate $50,000 to the library system by the end of the decade.
During retirement, Nesse plans to spend time with his family, hopes to restore a WWII-era jeep, plans to work on a printing press in his garage and of course, read.
“My ‘to read’ pile is out of control,” he said.
Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.
Mark Nesse
Age: 62
Family: Wife Sheila; daughter Rachel, 33; sons John, 32, Eric, 32; grandchildren Peter, 2, and Violet, 4 months.
Hometown: Redwing, Minn.
Library director since: 1977
Education: Master’s degree, University of North Carolina; Bachelor’s degree, Pacific Lutheran University.
Books on nightstand: “An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963” by Robert Dallek; “No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah” by Bing West; several books on WWII.
Salary: $116,000 annually.
Nope, no Marians
Here are the head librarians and directors of the Everett Public Library, 1898-2005:
* Alice McFarland (later Alive Duryee), April 1898 to April 1900.
* Gretchen Hathaway, April 1900 to May 1907.
* Jessie B. Judd, interim librarian, May 1907.
* Adelaide E. Wharton, June 1907 to February 1914.
* Mary Frank, February 1914 to July 1916. Reportedly the first trained librarian to hold the position.
* Elizabeth Topping, July 1916 to June 1919.
* Mabel Ashley, June 1919 to April 1946.
* Fred M. Stephen, April 1946 to September 1949.
* Phil Blodgett, October 1949 to April 1973.
* Gary Strong, April 1973 to October 1976.
* Victoire Grassl, interim director, November 1976 to January 1977.
* Mark Nesse, February 1977 to present.
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