One day long ago, I took one of my granny’s “purties” off the tall book shelves and dropped it behind the sofa. I had to crawl back there to get the figurine and, suddenly I was in a different world. 

Reading books of all sizes, kinds and colors lined the shelves. On the floor shelf was the biggest book I had ever seen or could have imagined.  It was so heavy I couldn’t pull it off the shelf. But, I just had to get my hands on it.

The next day, with the help of my cousin, Jimmy, we got the big book off the shelf and pushed it from behind the sofa.

The Second Edition Webster’s Dictionary was surely the biggest book in the world, even bigger than The Bible and so heavy we couldn’t push it back behind the sofa.

Daddy, William Johnson Caldwell, loved books and was an avid reader. He was going to tan my behind. But, surprisingly, he sat down and opened the dictionary. It surely had every word in the world on pages so thin you could almost see through them.

And, there were color pictures so special they had tissue paper over each of them.

Sometimes Daddy would let me look at the color pages. One page had flowers; one birds; colored stones, on another, flags, all kinds of wonderful things.

Even as I got older, from time to time, I would tug the Webster’s Dictionary from behind the sofa and marvel at the wonder of it all.

Daddy died unexpectedly on Father’s Day 1983. The dictionary became a source of comfort almost like Daddy was there tugging out the leather-bound Webster’ Dictionary.

After years of much loving thought, desire of Daddy’s family was to offer Mister Tupper’s Webster Dictionary for permanent loan to the City of Brundidge Public Library that was named in honor of Mr. Tupper.

Mama agreed that’s where the amazing dictionary should be so others could know about Mister Tupper Lightfoot and his love of books, of people, his little town and his kind and giving spirit.

Mister Tupper’s Webster’s Dictionary is for viewing at the Tupper Lightfoot Memorial Library in Brundidge for now and years to come.

The Webster’s Second Edition Dictionary was borrowed from Mister Tupper Lightfoot by William J. Caldwell. Mr. Tupper’s words to him were: “Keep it. I’ll know where it is.