Jeff Taylor/The Winchester Star
By MATT WELCH The Winchester Star
Sep 21, 2020
WINCHESTER — A few days after a group of community members erected and dedicated a “little free library” on Woodland Avenue, Athena Michael found a book of poetry among the donations to the new project.
She keeps the page bookmarked, saying that the poem by Helen Steiner Rice speaks to her about what libraries should be about for communities.
The poem begins:
“God of love- Forgive! Forgive!
teach us how to Truly Live,
ask us not our race or creed,
just take us in our hour of need,
and let us know you love us too,
and that we are a part of you…”
“To me, that’s what a library is: a free library is a place that’s unique. I think it’s a place where everybody can come. I think that’s what we’re trying to build in our community.”
The project started when Michael, a local librarian, saw a sign in her neighbor’s yard. The neighbor, Emily DeAngelis, a teacher with Winchester Public Schools, painted the words “Never stop learning” as a phrase of encouragement for her students when the COVID-19 pandemic started and forced students to learn from home.
Across the street from Michael’s home and out front of DeAngelis’ yard was a small triangle plot of land that Michael felt would be perfect for her longtime vision of what’s known as a little free library, which consists of a box filled with books for the community to share. There are several little free libraries throughout the area.
So, Michael set out to figure out who owned the property and how she could get the project rolling. The City Manager’s office referred her to the local Boy Scout office, which referred her to Jaxon Neese, who lived down the street.
Neese put plans in motion to get permits and completed the necessary paperwork to construct both the little free library box as well as a reading bench for the space.
The box is painted on all sides, with a chalkboard on the back and scenes encouraging community reading. It features plexiglass on the front so books are visible, and the structure is waterproof to keep the books safe. The bench features a chess board on top and will one day house board games inside for others to use while visiting the space.
Neese said he was happy that the project not only accomplished his goal of working toward his Eagle Scout requirements but also that he gets to see the impact it makes on his community.
“I get to see people getting books and reading,” he said. “It’s nice.”
Michael said it warms her heart to bring something positive to the community during a time of isolation and negativity during COVID-19.
“I believe libraries build communities, and we’re seeing it. There’s a mother who comes every day to read, and they sit on the bench. Two little girls rode up on their bikes, grabbed some books and started reading. Right now, a lot of kids can’t take books out of the library. So, they’re not getting that experience.”
City Council Vice-Mayor John Hill attended the dedication for the project and now wants to explore options for putting a little free library in North-East-South-West Park over by Darrview Street.
“The park is underused. I just think it would be a very good idea to get people out in that park,” Hill said. “There are a number of people, but they just kind of stay inside. So it would be nice to use that park more.”
— Contact Matt Welch at mwelch@winchesterstar.com
