“The taste for reading is one of the most precious possessions of life. I should much rather be instrumental in bringing to the working man or woman this taste than mere dollars. It is better than a fortune.” – Andrew Carnegie.
“Formal schooling ended at age 12 for Andrew Carnegie, an immigrant from Scotland who went on to become an American steel magnate and the founder of the philanthropic foundation Carnegie Corporation of New York.
When Carnegie became one of the world’s richest men, his first major philanthropy was libraries, having benefited personally from borrowing books as a working boy in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Often referred to as the “Patron Saint of Libraries” in his lifetime, Carnegie made hundreds of libraries and books available to millions of people and helped accelerate the free public library movement in the United States, according to Unstacked Newsletter.
“Color Our World”
The theme for this year’s Summer Reading Program has been a fun theme to prepare for. Our basement now is a colorful ocean complete with a sunken ship and colorful sea creatures. Sandy has created a colorful immersive experience for the kids. We are combining with Stafford Recreation again this year but any child, preschool to 5th, is welcome to come. Preschool time starts June 9th with PBS coming to entertain us with a Curious George video, story, craft and free book. K-5 starts June 24th. Read below for times and dates.
We are looking forward to Tuesday, because Scott Hoefer will be bringing the last of our refurbished leaded and stained glass windows back to the library. It has been an EPIC Project to restore, to like new, all the windows in this 120 year old building! Scott and his crew have done a masterful job!
They will be in place just in time for our June First Friday, June 6th.
Barry and Meta West have been putting together a wonderful program on our local cookbooks and the history of our community. If you have a unique Stafford area cookbook, bring it with you to share. A collection of aprons and pot holders will also be shared by Sue Griffith and food will be available for purchase provided by CORE.
Thank you Brenda Fuller for donating the beautiful shelves for the east room. We are using them to display new book arrivals. Thanks to the Golden Belt Community Foundation we will have $3,600 for new adult and preschool books.
Our last First Friday this year will be August 1. The committee is planning a celebration of Stafford High School football through the years. If you have any memorabilia or fun stories please let us know. We are hoping for a great evening of fun, free food and music. The music will be a band made up of alumni playing the fight song. If you would like to participate in the band or know someone to “volunteer” please contact Linda Mayes Hiebert.
Please remember to help us honor Tim Dye with the installation of a flag and flagpole. I would venture to say Tim knew more about American History and Heroes than any of us. We miss his expertise.
The next Board Meeting will be June 11.
Gerry Hildebrand is the head librarian for the Nora Larabee Memorial Library, 108 N. Union St. in Stafford. Phone 620-234-5762, email larabeelibrary@gmail.com or visit Facebook at Nora Larabee Memorial Library.
