LAKE CITY (AP) — The tiny former library that shares the larger-than-life story of astronaut Ron McNair gets more visitors during the nine days of ArtFields than any other time.
Founders of the four-year-old Ronald E. McNair Life History Center hope it becomes an inspirational site for school-aged children on day trips.
But for now, it's ArtFields - a juried art festival that opens Friday - that has brought the center its greatest exposure, said Clyde Bess, the center's unofficial manager.
McNair, a Lake City native, was a physicist known for his work in laser physics. The second African-American to fly in space, he was 35 when he and six colleagues were killed in the 1986 Challenger explosion.
The history center dedicated to his life story, next door to a monument and park, is used as a venue during ArtFields, which shows the work of 400 artists from 12 Southeastern states.
The center gets about 1,200 visitors a year, three-quarters of it during ArtFields.
"We want more foot traffic," said Bess, a classmate of McNair's.
For people like Lake City Mayor Lovith Anderson and head librarian Michael Cooper, McNair's life conveys a story of personal honor and community progress.
Ron McNair was 9 and attending segregated schools when the person who ran the town library in those days refused to let him check out books. The little boy wouldn't leave without the science and math books he'd selected. The librarian called police, who determined the student was not creating a public disturbance. It was only after McNair's mother Pearl promised the books would be returned that the librarian relented.
"We're keeping his legacy alive," Mayor Anderson said. "The life center, it says a lot for this community and how we've grown."
The community holds a vigil each year to mark the anniversary of the Challenger explosion Jan. 28.
McNair reached his goals because of a zeal for learning and a dedication to excellence, the mayor said. "He wasn't a very large person in stature but, on the football field, he was a terror," Anderson said. Later on, McNair excelled at karate, too.
Cooper, the head librarian in Lake City today, was a high school student during the shuttle disaster.
He's heard the story about McNair's experience at the library again and again, and it's still amazed by it.
"Here was this little boy who had the strength to show his emotion toward books, the importance of books," Cooper said. "To me, he was trying to open doors for other people his age. It was amazing this child did it, rather than an adult."
Anderson said McNair was planning to move back to Lake City someday.
"He was the most down-to-Earth person you'd want to meet. When he was home at Lake City, he would stop at people's houses, go in the old clubs and see the older fellas. Went to the grocery store, church. He stopped and took time.
"Although we treated him as a celebrity, he treated himself as Ron McNair of Lake City, South Carolina," Anderson said. "That was all he wanted. He loved his hometown."
