Originally written by Carl White.
If you’re like me, you’ve probably had occasion to go down to the Holly Hill Transfer Station to drop off a large item. You may have noticed a red shed across from the recycling dumpsters. There may have been books spread out on some tables. This is called “The Book Swap” area. People can drop off and take books to read at no charge. This is a great way to recycle books. It was the brainchild of Doug Francefort, who’s affectionately known as the “Word Recycler,” “Johnny Appleseed,” “Town Bookie,” and “The Pied Piper of Books.”
Early Recycler Doug Francefort
When Doug was 13 years old, he was a Boy Scout. This was in the middle of World War II. At that time, there was no recycling system. Rather, there were metal and newspaper drives. Doug and three other friends would travel around the neighborhood with a four-wheel wagon every two weeks to pick up material and bring it to his house. They would then tie up bundles, and a man from Port Chester would pick up the material with his truck. The boys got paid 50 cents and later 75 cents for 100 pounds. The money was donated to the Boy Scout troop. The Canada Dry Company in Greenwich also participated in recycling at the high school courtyard – which is now our Town Hall on Field Point Road. The bottles were separated by color – clear, green, brown, etc. They also collected metal cans and newspapers. Doug would volunteer on Saturdays to help with the sorting. Eventually, the operation was transferred to the Holly Hill Reycling site.
Transfer Station Facilities
At first, a paid employee ran the recycling center. A location was set up to collect glass, newspaper, cardboard, and metal cans. The operation was open Monday, Friday, and Saturday from 7 am to 12 pm. A wall was built, and bins were set behind to collect the materials. People began bringing books for children, and a man brought books that had covers removed. More and more books were dropped off until there were so many that the staff had to pack them up and bring them out the following week. Due to such a large volume, duplicates were removed. Since there was no shelter for the books at this time, the books had to be covered with a tarp.
The Red Book Swap Shed
Francefort decided to lobby for a shelter. He enlisted the help of Maurice Roddy from Public Works. They designed an 8-foot by 16-foot shed. It included shelves for oversized and regular sized books. He went before the Planning & Zoning Commission and convinced them to approve the shed. Although some wanted to have books picked up on streets – along with refuse – Doug persevered. It wasn’t until much later that Greenwich’s blue bin recycling program was implemented by GRAB (Greenwich Recycling Action Board).
The new shed opened in September 1995. Since it was only open three days per week, Doug decided to leave the door unlocked so customers could access the books. This didn’t last very long as people began stealing shelves and trashing the shed. People also started dropping off boxes of books, which volunteers had to handle when the shed was open. Some books were considered unusable since they were old textbooks, outdated travel books, etc. Eventually, Doug decided to start relocking the shed.
Civic-Minded Volunteer
Doug is a very civic-minded individual. He brings books to the train stations from about September to Memorial Day. (The libraries stock them during the summer.) Doug drives for Meals-On-Wheels, volunteers for Adopt-A-Shelf at the library, helps distribute flags at St. Mary’s Cemetery on Memorial Day, and collects eyeglasses for the Lion’s Club. He helps with the Angel Tree – which provides Christmas gifts for the needy – and ships books to Antigua to build up a library.
Humble Doug Francefort
Francefort doesn’t go out of his way to seek attention. He does try to promote the Book Swap every chance he gets. His customers, however, appreciate what he’s done, and have contacted the New York Times, The Greenwich Post, and The Greenwich Citizen about him. One customer even decided to desk top publish a book about him titled “The Man Who Saved a Million Books.” Author Howard Fast included a scene about a girl who meets a boy at the book swap in one of his books.
Doug Francefort is a good citizen. He started a recycling effort, which benefits us all. He never looked for compensation or notoriety. Recycling books is his love. We are lucky to have him. He is a great example of someone who has made a difference.
Thank you, Doug Francefort.
SOURCE
Francefort, D; The Book Shed at the Recycling Center, The Oral History Project, Greenwich Library, 2015
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