I grew up with libraries, and I can’t imagine there ever being a time when I won’t want to wander one exploring it like some bookworm-Balboa, finding an author or title that I never really knew existed before. Creating those “Eureka” moments seems to be a dying interest now that so many of us download and digest books electronically without ever really considering that there just might be some hidden gem we’d have liked even more had we simply stumbled upon it on a shelf by accident. I think those moments of discovery are not unlike kicking up lost treasure a mile from where X marks the spot.
My wife feels the same way, and because we live near a little town, and in the end of a very rural county that has no public library within a decent drive, we already knew we wanted the children who are growing up around us to have access to books, as we so fortunately did when we were young.
We reasoned that the local elementary school library is always closed for the summer, its chairs stacked on their backs like dead crickets, its books gathering dust. So, last week, with the help of a few friends — one in particular — we planted a “Little Free Library” in the sandy soil of Rosedale proper, near the Dollar General Store. We hope it’s used year-round, though, for it’ll never really be closed.
Joanie and I first learned about the “Little Free Library” movement early last spring by watching television. The whole story reminds me of what Groucho Marx once said of TV: “I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.”
But in this case, we stayed in the room and watched, and what we saw inspired us to try to get others to read books.
Anyway, just before Groucho broke into my thoughts, I was about to say that we knew, even as the “NBC Nightly News” segment that we watched that night was still running, we wanted to make a nice rustic box, set it on a sturdy post in a place where kids would see it, fill it with books, then hope that the words and pictures inside magically disappeared, only to reappear a few days later. It will make us very happy if things go as planned.
As I often do with projects that involve saws and angles and wood, I turned to my friend, Joe Huxford, carpenter, digger of post holes and all-around good egg. When I told Joe what we wanted to do, he said he’d love to collaborate — he often works on my kooky ideas for no more than a trip to a decent restaurant — and almost immediately we were sending drawings and photos and building material ideas back and forth like a couple of eager kids trading baseball cards. I think I even passed along a few scribbled notions to him on the back of an envelope.
Before Joe could really start construction, however, his youngest son, Jeff, was seriously injured in an automobile accident. Knowing that a woodworking project undertaken on my own would end up better used as fireplace kindling come December, and that Joe’s cluttered workshop was to be closed and quiet for a while, I decided to wait. After a long, hot summer, Jeff recovered, and Joe resumed construction in August, quickly and efficiently and creatively completing the library well under budget. That is, since he used scraps of cedar and siding from his shop and my barn loft, the most expensive thing Joe invested in was a pair of bargain-table door hinges.
Oh, he tried to spend some money, but a few good people, who, once they heard what we were doing, decided to chip in too. First, the nice folks at Professional Glass in Clinton — who have expertly framed more than a few things for my walls — gave Joe the library’s front door glass. Later, Pastore Brothers Lumber, a rock’s throw down Ninth Street from PG, took the grand sum of a dollar for an aluminum starter strip that was needed for the library’s roof. Of course, the good people at the Dollar General were involved too; it took only two calls to their corporate office to get the permission we needed. Shannon and Denise and Kris, who pretty well run the place in town, all thought the library to be a grand idea too. “Our kids need to be reading books,” Denise told me as she rang up a customer the night we installed the library.
Repeated sprayings of whatever weather sealants Joe had left on his shelves, a bag of concrete and a heavy 6-inch-by-6-inch treated post that used to support my mom’s birdfeeder later, and our library was up and running in just a few hours. Joanie proudly polished the glass, then unloaded books just as the sun was setting. After all, she’s the librarian in the family.
While we were working that night, me arranging a few stones around the library’s base, Joanie working at the wiping and cleaning that leftover wood glue and sawdust require, two young boys on bicycles happened by the library. “What’s that?” one asked her. “It’s a library,” she said as he mumbled the words on the sign we had placed below the door. “Take a book; leave a book,” he read.
“Couldn’t somebody just steal the books,” he asked my wife.
“They could,” she told him, “But we hope they do the right thing and leave them for somebody who wants to read them.” She added, “Most often, I think people do the right thing.”
I agree with her about that, and I wholeheartedly believe one other line that we placed on our Little Library’s sign too. It reads: “A book is a gift you can open up again and again.”
Mike Lunsford can be reached by email at hickory913@aol.com, or c/o the Tribune-Star at PO Box 149, Terre Haute, IN 47808. Visit his website at www.mikelunsford.com.
He’ll be speaking and signing his books at the Ashboro High School Reunion at the Center Point Community Center. If you want to learn more about Little Libraries, go to www.littlefreelibrary.org.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
-
Tribune-Star columnist Mike Lunsford
Discussion
MIKE LUNSFORD: A library is a good thing — even a little, homegrown one
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Illinois Senate approves sex education bill
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A proposal that revamps sex education in Illinois public schools to include information about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases has cleared the state Senate.
-
Gregg pondering 2nd run for Indiana governor
INDIANAPOLIS — Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Gregg is pondering another run at the state's top job, but has yet to make a decision.
-
Illinois senator apologizes for Nazi remark
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois Sen. Donne Trotter has apologized for remarks that compared a member of Gov. Pat Quinn’s cabinet to a Nazi.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 22, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Tuesday and Wednesday, based on jail records.
-
Rose-Hulman professor researching ways to make homes storm safe
Tornadoes produce greater uplift forces than hurricanes, which can flatten homes such as in Moore Okla., south of Oklahoma City.
-
Group wants to connect downtown Terre Haute with the Wabash River
Fairbanks Park is underutilized.
The Wabash River is peaceful and inviting, but there is some concern about its cleanliness as well as pollution levels. Also, people can’t get on the river unless they have a boat. -
New conservancy district appoints first directors
Members of the first board of directors of a new lake conservancy district were appointed Tuesday by the Vigo County Board of Commissioners.
-
Vigo law enforcement signs Triad charter to protect seniors
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller joined Vigo County law enforcement and community activists Tuesday to sign the county’s first Triad charter, becoming the 22nd Triad in Indiana.
-
Wabash Valley Red Cross wraps up Save the Day Campaign
The American Red Cross Wabash Valley Chapter’s 2013 annual meeting concluded the 17th annual Save the Day Campaign, and the results lifted the spirits of all who were involved.
-
Some Vigo roads washed out
Spring storms resulted in $250,000 in damages to roads in southern Vigo County, with costs including sand and labor to save homes near river bottoms, said county highway Assistant Superintendent Dan Bennett.
-
County Council votes $78K toward rail spur
County officials voted Tuesday night to make good on a 2011 promise to help improve a railroad spur just north of Terre Haute for Menard Inc.
-
Spring flooding damages future CSO holding lagoon
Flood waters from the Wabash River have done costly damage to one of the city-owned “lagoons” on former International Paper property.
-
Vigo tops state average for IREAD-3 scores
The Vigo County School Corp. exceeded the state average in the percentage of students passing the state’s mandatory Grade 3 reading test, IREAD-3.
-
Storms cause minor damage in Valley
Tuesday morning storms in the Wabash Valley caused thousands of Duke Energy customers to lose power.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 21, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Monday and Tuesday, based on jail records.
-
UPDATE: Damage surveys show 2 weak tornadoes hit near Indy
INDIANAPOLIS — The National Weather Service says storm surveys show two weak tornadoes struck central Indiana.
-
Storm causes scattered Indiana power outages
INDIANAPOLIS — A line of thunderstorms that moved across Indiana caused scattered building damage and power outages for several thousand homes and businesses.
-
Kindergartner diagnosed with MD treated to a day with the fire department
“He’ll just never forget this day,” Stacey Manley said, a little bit tearfully, as she watched her smiling 6-year-old son Carter sitting happily in the captain’s seat of Fire Engine 2.
-
Casey, Illinois aims for another world record
The town of Casey, Ill., may soon weave its way into the record books as the small town with the most world records. After setting records for the world’s largest wind chimes and the world’s largest golf tee, Casey is now looking to become home to the world’s largest knitting needles and crochet hook.
-
Rose-Hulman projects will promote growth, learning for people with physical challenges
Life changed dramatically for college engineering student Drew Christy on Feb. 22, 2008 when he was involved in an auto accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
-
‘500’ gas stations being sold to Speedway LLC
After several decades in business, the area’s familiar “500” gasoline stations and convenience stores will soon be missing from the roadsides of Vigo and Sullivan counties.
-
Terre Haute woman faces 14 charges
A Terre Haute woman faces 14 criminal counts after her arrest Friday on drug-related charges.
-
Two adults injured in ATV accident
Two adults were injured Sunday evening while riding an all-terrain vehicle near Lexington Farms Subdivision off Moyer Drive in southern Vigo County.
-
Vigo schools’ medical claims down 4 percent
The Vigo County School Corp.’s medical claims were about $13 million over the last 12 months, down 4 percent from the prior year, said Diane Titchenell, an Anthem account manager that works with the school district.
-
2013 Government Directory now available
The 2013 Government Directory is now available.
-
UPDATE: 5 killed, 6 injured in I-70 van crash in Illinois
ST. LOUIS — A van carrying church members returning from a California gathering careened off of a southern Illinois freeway and overturned several times today, killing five people and sending six others to hospitals, authorities said.
-
2 children reported dead from Indianapolis fire
INDIANAPOLIS — Authorities say some autistic children lived in the Indianapolis condominium unit where a fire has killed two children.
-
Tighter Indiana drunken driving law seems unlikely
INDIANAPOLIS — Some key Indiana legislators say it’s unlikely that the state will any time soon go along with a federal safety board’s recommendation that the threshold for drunken driving be cut nearly in half.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 20, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, based on jail records.
-
Life-Size Ping Pong: Valley pickleball tourney draws large crowd to Brittlebank Park
It’s been described as “ping pong on steroids.”
Some people call it “life-size ping pong where you stand on the table.” - More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Illinois Senate approves sex education bill
Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
Jodi Arias: Death Penalty Would Cause More Pain
IRS Official Pleads 5th Amendment
Florida FBI Shooting Has Boston Bombing Links
Okla. City Mayor: Up to 13K Homes Hit by Tornado
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Garcetti Elected Los Angeles Mayor Over Greuel
Lawyer: Feds Investigating Susan Powell Case
Looking for Love? Take the Prague Metro
Today in History May 22
Paperless Scanner, Vision of the Future
Raw: Aerial View of Moore Tornado Damage
Raw: Costa Rica Volcano Roars to Life
Former Rep. Weiner Running for New York Mayor
Families Begin Returning to Their Homes in Moore
Raw: Students Clash With Police in Chile
First Person: Baby Falcons on a New York Bridge
Raw: Japan's WWII Atrocities Under Fire in Seoul
Okla. Teens Get Video of Deadly Tornado Overhead
AK-47-wielding thug may be the most bumbling crook ever
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Trout's cycle a boost for Angels
Kim Kardashian Flaunts Pregnant Bikini Body in Greece
NBA star pledges $1M to help tornado recovery
Shakira's Shocking Talent
Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air
GRAPHIC: Blood-Soaked Machete Killer Caught on Tape
Elin Nordegren Furious With Lindsey Vonn For Parading Kids in Public
Camera Captures Climber As He Loses Grip And Falls
Helen Mirren Meets with Dying Boy in Queen Elizabeth's Place
Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill
DWTS Crowns a Winner
Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House
Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor
Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
