Leonard B. Archer Jr. was the father or our own Jane Archer. Leonard
died in 2003. As Jane was going through her father's things she
found the following in a little book that he always carried around
with him. Although it did not say so, Jane believes it was written by
him. The 'Why I am a
Quaker' statement is followed by Leonard's
obituary that was published
in the October 2005 edition of the
Friends Journal.
"I am a Quaker because I
feel close to all
the world's religions and able to meet
them on a
common ground, unfettered by
any restrictive creed or assertion of my
own religious superiority. I am a Quaker
because I feel both liberated
and stimulated
to seek that of God in every person and to
serve it. And
I am a Quaker because in
meditation I come to grips with that which
I
am and might be, and learn to grow
toward the love and knowledge of the
divine
within and beyond, and in the bond of
fellowship with all people
everywhere."
The following was published in the
October 2005 Friends Journal.
Archer - Leonard B. Archer Jr., 90, on
November 27, 2003 in
Madison, Wis.
Leonard was born on January 10, 1913
in Petersburg,
Va. He earned his B.A. at
the University of Richmond,
a Library
Science degree at Emory University and
dedicated his
professional life to books and
libraries. He served as a
conscientious
objector during World War II, working the
forest fire
lines in Idaho and Oregon. He
worked in libraries in
Washington D.C., in
Detroit, Mich.; at Goddard College; as
director of the Rutland Free Library in Vt.;
and as director of Oshkosh
Public Library in
Wisconsin from 1958 to 1978. While there
he
initiated bookmobile services for
Winnebago County communities and
helped
establish the Winnefox Regional Library
System, serving as its
director. He was an
impassioned chairman of the Wisconsin
Library Association's Intellectual Freedom
Committee. In 1975 he
was selected as the
Wisconsin Library Association's Librarian
of the
Year. Upon his retirement in 1978, he
was awarded the
Chancellor's Medal for
work with the University of Wisconsin-
Oshkosh in
developing a "people's university"
in the public
library. He was a life-long
Rotarian and Paul Harris
Fellow. Leonard
retired to Middleton, where he became
active
on the Middleton Public Library and the South
Central Library
Sysstem boards. He was also
a member of the Friends of the
Middleton
Public Libary and the Middleton Outreach
Ministry's Project
for Older People. He
served as treasurer of the Council for
Wisconsin Writers. He was also a life member
of the U.S. Chess
Federation, relishing his
membership in an international peace-building
correspondence chess association called
"Chess in
Friendship." He enjoyed bicycling,
cats, making and
savoring beer and ale,
gardening, bird-watching, classical music, and
reading. He had interests in Zen Buddhism,
Asian cookery and the
history and practice of
Quakerism. An active member of Madison
(Wis.)
Meeting, Leonard will be remembered as a loving
and kind man
with a sense of humor, infectious
laugh, great enthusiasm, who lived
the courage of
his convictions and brought the Quaker path of
Light to
his profession and daily life. Leonare is
survived by his wife,
Marion Fuller Archer; three
daughters, Marian (Polly), Ruth
and Jane Archer;
one son, Ben Archer; and five grandchildren.