By STAN STAPP

WHAT A DAY FOR ME was Jan. 29! Not only did I attend the opening day ceremonies of the Wallingford Library in its new location (as I did a half-century ago when it first opened on Meridian Ave.), but I shook hands with the co-speaker of the Washington State Legislature, whispered in the Mayor's ear, enjoyed a stroll down Woodlawn Ave. with a famous Wallingford author, and had a young man come up to me on the street and offer to buy my Volkswagen Westphalia camper.

The Wallingford Library's new location is at N. 45th and Woodlawn Ave., occupying space in the Fremont Public Association Resource Center, which was recently constructed by the Fremont Public Association. The site, in the past, generally was occupied by fast-food restaurants and drive-ins. It borders on the north side of Lincoln High School, where I graduated in 1936.

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THE FIRST OPENING DAY ceremonies for the Wallingford-Wilmot Library were held on Sept. 9, 1949, in the little frame house at 4422 Meridian Ave. The library remained there for 36 years until 1985, and then moved to N. 45th and Densmore (upstairs), sharing space with the 45th Street Health Clinic. That building formerly housed the Wallingford Police and Fire Stations.

In 1949, Wallingford's desire to have its own library came to a head when Alice Wilmot Dennis, of 4138 Sunnyside Ave., offered a site and house if the Seattle Public Library and Wallingford community could handle the remodeling. It was to be known as the Wilmot Memorial Library, in memory of Florence Wilmot Metcalf, sister of Mrs. Dennis.

A committee of residents and business people was quickly formed, and Jack B. Neville, owner of the 45th St. Theatre, was chosen chairman.

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THE FOLLOWING is an account of the underwriting of the library, as related in the Outlook, week-by-week, during 1949.

April 8 - Heggen Construction Co., on Stone Way, estimates it will cost $4,200 to remodel the house, and add shelving. Seattle Library promises to pay half, if the community comes up with the other half, $2,100.

April 15 - Outlook headline asks: "Where Can We Get $2,000 in a Jiff?" Possibility of putting on a show at Lincoln High School, using local talent, is dropped because of time constraints and conflict with Lincoln's own talent show. Public suggestions sought.

April 22 - Decision made to seek $5 donations for Charter Memberships. Drive to begin next week. I offer to publish the names of all donors.

April 29 - Page one head reads: "74 Donate to Library Fund; $370 Raised." Coupon soliciting donations runs on page 1. Mr. and Mrs. Fred I. Parsons, 1924 N. 48th St., purchase first membership. Cora Ridgway, 4603 Meridian Ave., buys five memberships for her grandchildren. Eight Stapp family members subscribe.

May 6 - "Halfway Mark Passed in Library Drive," reads page 1 head. 140 more join in, including 30 from Stone Way.

May 13 - 106 more subscribe, for a total of 320 donors (80 more needed). Drive Captains report the following donor contributions to date: Veronica Garske 60 donors, Trudy Weckworth 52, Ward Davison 40, Mrs. Byron W. Gray 32, Stan Stapp 32, Jack B. Neville 29, Claude McReynolds 28, Charlie Stewart 22.

May 20 - "Library Assured!" Only 26 memberships left. Larger donations come in from business firms, including the Outlook.

May 27 - Fund oversubscribed. Remodeling to start "week from Tuesday."

July 22 - Five Meridian kids put on basement carnival; raise $6.70: Christine and David Erickson, Bill Flodman, Roberta Anderson, Carol Mundt.

Aug. 19 - Outlook uses a full page, listing donors again to check if names are correctly spelled so Charter Membership Roster will be accurate when displayed in library. There are 475 names including 35 businesses.

Sept. 9 - Katherine L. Lund appointed first librarian. Dedication held in conjunction with the Third Annual Wallingford Jamboree.

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NOW, 50 YEARS LATER, the library's name has been shortened to Wallingford Library - as most people refer to it. A portrait and plaque honoring the Wilmot family will be prominently displayed in the building.

The library cost $400,000 to construct, the second project of the 1998 voter-approved "Libraries for All" building program. Wallingford branch has 2,000 square feet of program space, room for 17,000 volumes, and access to a large multipurpose room. It is open 48 hours a week, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There is parking in the rear. Michael Delury is Branch Librarian, with a staff of: John Takemoto, Tekina Beckwith, Lesley James, Staley Hansen, Wendy Scheneider, Hvy Doan and Jane Arnold. I arrived at the opening fairly early, only to find the adjacent hallway packed tight, the dedication ceremonies underway, and the B.F. Day School choir sweetly singing. As I squeezed through the hallway door, I found myself standing next to Mayor Paul Schell and figured he hadn't been able to make his way up front. (Turned out he'd already spoken, but I didn't know it at the time.) I whispered in his ear: "At least this mob looks like a friendly one." Mayor Schell, who I feel has a lot of guts, didn't say anything. But I detected a slight nod of his head - and one tiny wince. After the library doors opened and we poured in, I greeted several friends, including State Rep. Frank Chopp (D), who is both Co-Speaker of the House and former executive director of the Fremont Public Association. I first met Frank in 1984 when I volunteered as a staff member of the old Fremont Forum newspaper, which was originally published by the FPA. It later became the North Seattle Press, and then the Seattle Press. Finally, if you add in the Jet City Maven, I've since written about 340 columns for these papers. After touring the library I stepped outside, intending to head for my car, which I'd parked on N. 47th. But then I thought of my old family home, three blocks down Woodlawn Ave., and decided to "check it out." I'd lived and/or worked there for 48 years, sleeping upstairs, eating downstairs, and putting out the Outlook in the basement.

As I slowly walked past my old high school, I noticed a sign on the building, reminding me it was temporarily the "Interim Site for Latona Elementary School" while a new one is being built. And for two years before, it had housed Ballard High students while their new school was being built. Who's next? No one is quite sure, but at least Lincoln is serving a useful purpose - not just rotting away as it had been since closing in 1980.

Just then as a woman approached me from behind, someone near the school greeted her, and I heard one word: "Writer."

"Are you a writer?" I politely asked, as we walked along together. "Yes," she replied. "So am I," I said, inquiring "What kind of writer?" "Novelist." "And you?" "A columnist for the Jet City Maven." "What kind of novels?" "Science Fiction." "Oh," said I - somewhat embarrassed that I hardly read books anymore, let alone science fiction. (An hour in the morning on the P-I, an hour in the afternoon on the Times and, besides the Maven, there's the Seattle Press, the University Herald/Outlook, maybe the Seattle Weekly - but not the Stranger.) How much reading can one do?

Nevertheless, I enjoyed talking to a REAL published Book Writer, and the opportunity to recall some memories of my life on Woodlawn Avenue - and my family home, and appreciating what a good job the present owners were doing on both house and yard. As we rounded N. 42nd I pointed out the old Outlook's basement office, and the doorway that had to be widened so we could remove our Linotype (when it became obsolete) for shipment to Japan.

As we parted, she handed me her business card, which read: "Vonda McIntyre" - confirming my growing feeling that she had participated on the library program - and I had missed her because the crowd was so large I could neither hear nor see her. Vonda then headed home a couple of blocks away, and I headed north to my car on N. 47th.

Just as I arrived, a young man drove up behind me and said he'd just written a note and placed it on my windshield. (Oh, oh, what have I done now? I wondered.) But then he added: "I'd like to buy your VW Westphalia camper. Is it by any chance for sale?"

"Not right now," I replied. I read the note: "Nice van! If you're interested in selling it sometime soon, please give me a call, or e-mail. Also interested in general advice about owning one of these, tips about buying one, lessons learned, etc." Attached was his business card: Steve Sullivan, Northwest Environment Watch, Outreach and Development Department.

He seemed like a nice guy, one who would take good care of anything he'd acquire. Just in case, I've filed his note away for future reference.

Later, I thought I'd check out Vonda on my iMac. What a surprise! She has written many sci-fi books, including: "The Moon and the Sun," novel versions of three Star Trek movies, and a Star Wars novel, "The Crystal Star." She has won Nebula and Hugo awards, Publisher's Weekly Best Book of 1997, and been on the New York Times bestseller list five times. More than four million of her books are in print.

Make that 4,000,001. I just broke down and bought my first sci-fi book.