Every time the doors have opened at Union Ridge Baptist Church in Aurora, you can almost be certain that Mrs. Barbara Sirls has been behind the piano. And it’s been this way for nearly 72 years and counting.
Born to Elton and Treva Oakley on May 27, 1928, a young Barbara first attended church at Union Ridge Methodist Church as a child, but her family soon switched to the Baptist Church not far down the road. “We started going to the Baptist church because they had a piano and the Methodist had an organ.” Not long after, she was soon called to be the church pianist. Sirls learned to play the piano when she was 12 years old and took lessons in Hardin. “Mrs. Flora Hartley taught me how to play piano and she only charged 25 cents a lesson,” Sirls recalled. “I can play both by ear and by note.”
She met her husband Joe B. Sirls in the 1940s, the two later married and had three daughters. Sirls went to college, received an emergency certificate to teach school and taught at Unity, Salem Chapel, and Aurora one room schools. “Teaching wasn’t for me though,” Sirls recalled. “I later went back to college to study library science.” Sirls soon earned her degree and was later called upon to start a library branch in Hardin. “I had volunteered for the library before and when they called me to help start the library branch in Hardin, I thought it was just another volunteer job. I learned different when I received my first check!” Her dedication to the library system in Marshall County didn’t go unrecognized and soon she was chosen as director of the Marshall County Library System, a position she held until her retirement in 1997.
During her 30 year career, the Marshall County Public Library System witnessed many upgrades and changes making it one of the premier library districts in the state. “Barbara was a great library director as she cared deeply for the library system,” said Kristi Tucker, who took the reins of the Marshall County Public Library following Sirls’ retirement. “Her efforts gave the library a strong foundation needed to build up the collections and services at each branch. The library wouldn’t be what it is today without Barbara.”
Though her library career is behind her, one thing has remained constant in her life: the unwavering commitment she has shown to her church. After 72 years of faithful service, Mrs. Barbara Sirls has no problem hitting all the right notes and has touched the hearts of the entire congregation at Union Ridge Baptist Church.