Booking It to the Library

It seems appropriate that the ribbon cutting for the renovations at the Nora Larabee Memorial Library in Stafford occurred during October - National Book Month.

However, in my opinion, it's always the right time to celebrate libraries and books - two of my favorite things. 

The ribbon cutting during Stafford Oktoberfest celebrated the renovations for the library, which has been part of Stafford since 1905. It was constructed in memory of Nora Emily Larabee, who died in 1904 at the age of 27 from tuberculosis. One year later, her parents, who were prominent Stafford residents - Joseph Delos and Angeline Larabee along with her two brothers - contracted the building of the library, complete with a stained glass portrait of Nora. The family donated the library as a gift to the City of Stafford. 

Stained glass window at the Nora Larabee Memorial Library in Stafford

 

In 1963, the library had its first expansion. Mrs. William E. Richardson donated the east room - The Richardson Wing - in memory of her late husband. 

Taken several years ago in the east room of the library - The Richardson Wing.

The community rallied together in 1975, raising the funds to move the children's library from the basement to the south room addition it currently occupies. 

Guests at the ribbon-cutting could also walk downstairs to the old children's room to view the tiles surrounding the old fireplace. That is a defining memory for many of the people who grew up in Stafford.

Randy (AKA Fantastic Fritz) doing magic for a Nora's Gathering at the library's current children's room on the main level in May 2022.

In 2006, the library was accepted for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, thanks to the initiative of longtime librarian, Dixie Osborn. As librarian in 2020, Denise Dickson commissioned an architectural and structural engineering site assessment of the failing foundation and front door. Then, in 2021, librarian Jan McKeel wrote an article for The Stafford Courier, asking for donations to fund the foundation restoration project. Additionally, she wrote a successful application for the Heritage Trust Fund Grant, which brought in $90,000 from the Kansas Historical Society.

Taken during the reception following the ribbon cutting, October 7, 2023

 

The Courier article attracted the attention of two major local donors, who pledged $50,000 and challenged the library and community to raise matching funds. Thus, the Preserving Nora's Legacy Committee was launched. During the fall and winter of 2021, donations from large to small began arriving at the library, thanks to the hard work of volunteers. An additional $98,000 was raised. The library also got grants from Golden Belt Community Foundation, South Central Community Foundation, Kansas Strategic Economic Expansion and Development and Midwest Energy. To date, $310,000 has been raised to help restore and preserve the library.

Donors are recognized for their gifts in this memorial display, created by local woodworker/artisan Robert Owens.

While the library is an historic treasure in Stafford, it is not simply serving as a "museum" to the past. Nora's Place - as it is affectionately called locally - has undergone a renaissance in the past few years. Librarians and volunteer committees are also working hard to make the Nora Larabee Memorial Library a hub of community activity. Since 2021, the library has sponsored Nora's Gatherings. These once-a-month events offer art, music, storytelling, children's activities, food and fellowship. In June, I had the honor of displaying my photography during Nora's Gathering. The display remained in pace as Stafford welcomed Bike Across Kansas participants. The library provided a cool place for weary bikers to rest, to access reliable wi-fi, get a homemade piece of pie and ice cream and visit with fellow bikers and community members. Nora's portrait in stained glass became a backdrop for many photos that bikers shared to provide a memory of that day in Stafford. (Click HERE for more about that event.)

I love the Larabee Library. But I am an equal opportunity library lover. I also claim the Hutchinson Public Library as "my" library. I first got a library card there when I moved to Hutchinson to begin working at The Hutchinson News in 1979. A trip to Hutchinson ALWAYS includes a stop at the library. 

If you are a library lover, too, and have some discretionary funds, the Nora E. Larabee Memorial Library is still raising funds to redo the front steps and finish repairs on the historic windows. They also are seeking additional grant funding.

For more information, check out the Preserving Nora's Legacy and the Nora E. Larabee Facebook pages.  There's a Paypal link on the Legacy page. Or contact the library if you have questions about donations. You can also email them at preservingnoraslegacy@gmail.com.

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During this National Book Month, I thought I'd take the opportunity to recommend a few more books. As I've mentioned before, it's always a little risky to recommend books. What I like to read may not appeal to you - and visa versa. And that's OK. At my age, I've come to the realization that if I don't like a book, I'll stop reading it and start another one. So many books ... so little time.

The River We Remember is by William Kent Krueger. I probably liked two of his other books - This Tender Land and Ordinary Grace - a little better than this one. But I enjoyed this one, too. It's set in 1958 in a small Minnesota town located alongside a river. A local man is murdered and another is arrested for the crime. But does the local sheriff have the right person? Why won't the man proclaim his innocence. Who is he protecting? Just like the river, there are undercurrents of the past and the present in the lives of the people in the community of Jewel, Minnesota, including prejudice, post-traumatic stress disorder from the war and other scars from their pasts. I loved this summary in the epilogue: "Our lives and the lives of those we love merge to create a river whose current carries us forward from our beginning to our end. Because we are only one part of the whole, the river each of us remembers is different, and there are many versions of the stories we tell about the past. In all of them there is truth, and in all of them, a good deal of innocent misremembering."

ANYTHING by Fiona Davis. My sister, Lisa, who shares similar taste in reading, suggested The Spectacular by Fiona Davis. I read - and enjoyed - that book in September, which featured Radio City Music Hall, and then went in search of other books by Fiona Davis, and I have loved them all so far. Since that first suggested book, I've read four additional Fiona Davis books. They all have an iconic building as their centerpiece. They also have two story lines from two different time periods that eventually intertwine.  

Since I'm writing about the library today, I'll start with The Lions of of Fifth Avenue, which featured the New York Public Library. One of the women was a librarian's wife and essayist in 1913, Laura Lyons. The other portion of the story deals with Laura's granddaughter in 1993. 

The Masterpiece was about Grand Central Station. One portion of the storyline deals with Clara Darden, who teaches at the Grand Central School of Art in the 1920s, unusual for a woman of that day and age. The other - set in 1974 - tells the story of Virginia Clay, a recent divorcee who ends up working in the dilapidated Grand Central Station information booth. 

I've also read The Address and The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis. I think I have two more Fiona Davis books to read until I'm fresh out. I hope she's working on her next one.

Change of Plans was a light read by Dylan Newton. In it, chef Bryce Wetherford suddenly becomes guardian to her three young nieces. She moves to a new town and meets Ryker Matthews, who lost his leg at war and now runs an auto mechanic shop. It's a light, funny, romantic comedy that reads really quickly. 

I've enjoyed other books by Shari Lapena, and Everyone Here is Lying is no exception. The town of Stanhope seems to be a great place to raise a family. But Avery Wooler, age 9, is missing. Her father - William Wooler - seems to be a family man, but he's been having an affair. William isn't the only one on his street hiding a secret. Who took Avery? There are lots of twists and turns in this domestic thriller. 

I've also enjoyed several books by Matthew Quirk this year, including The Night Agent. I guess there's a Netflix show based on this book, but I don't have Netflix so I can't speak to it. I can speak to the ability of Matthew Quirk to write fast-moving thrillers. An FBI agent's reputation is tainted by his father's legacy. Peter Sutherland's dad was suspected of selling secrets to the Russians. Still, Sutherland is given a job in the White House Situation Room. Can Peter uncover a Russian mole that's been hiding in plain sight in the upper echelons of the American government before it's too late? Quirk's books are fast-moving conspiracy thrillers with lots of action.

If you have books you've enjoyed, please let me know. I'm always in the market for a good book.