For more than a century, the Haskell Free Library & Opera House, nestled on the line between Derby Line (Vermont) and Stanstead (Québec, Canada), has been a living symbol of U.S.-Canadian friendship, a place where borders became permeable for culture and human ties. Today, however, this exception to the rule is about to close, a victim of new directives from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The main entrance to the Haskell Free Library & Opera House built between 1901 and 1904, with the opera house opening to the public on June 7, 1904, and the library following in 1905, is located in the U.S. town of Derby Line, but for decades Canadians have been allowed to visit the facility through a side entrance from Stanstead, Quebec, without passing through border controls.
However, starting today, access from the Canadian side will be allowed only to staff and people with disabilities; everyone else will have to go to a border crossing, and enter the U.S. officially. The squeeze, according to many residents and library board members, erases the very soul of this unique place, where the border between the two countries is marked by a simple black stripe on the ground and where English and French coexist in the same way as the two communities that frequent it. In particular, the library hosts cross-border events, which also include art exhibitions, school field trips, and opera performances, and offers books in both English and French, the official language of the province of Quebec.
“The new rules on access to the facility erase the uniqueness of this place,” said library board member Sonia De Paoli, who lives on the Canadian side. “It’s disturbing because the whole purpose of this facility was to have this wonderful friendly relationship with our neighbors.”
