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ROCHESTER — When Helen Southgate Williams came to Rochester in 1938, she dreamed of bringing the magic of reading to everyone, especially children. As a children’s literature professor, bookstore owner and literature consultant, she devoted her life to books.
Throughout the metro Detroit area, Williams was famous for her master storytelling. In 1948, she developed a story hour program for the Youth Center in Rochester. Every Tuesday afternoon, she would read the “beloved and timeless tales” from classic children’s literature to a large group of local children. Over the years, “the story lady,” as she was affectionately called, brought stories into many local classrooms.
Beginning in 1964, Williams operated a bookshop dedicated to children at 436 1/2 Main St. in Rochester. The Book Stall offered a curated selection of books, all read and approved by Williams herself. A 1977 Rochester Eccentric article describes the books in her shop as “those written with style and grace and depth and something extra — that elusive magic that compels a child to read a book at the dinner table, say, or under the bedcovers with a flashlight after his parents have tucked him in.” The Book Stall welcomed readers for 10 years.
— Samantha Lawrence, Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farms
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