8 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, April 22, 1998 POST PHOTO/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Marshall Rumbaugh, left, Paul Rodda and Marilyn Rudolph posed in front of the entrance to the children's wing, designed by Rodda and surrounded with a wood sculpture created by Rumbaugh. Children's wing (continued from page 1) cation. “The programs will be litera- ture based and help the children learn to read,” said Rudolph. Encyclopedias and non-fiction programs will also be available. Melanie Evans practically grew up in the library. “I started com- ing to the library when I was 7 years old. Then I volunteered here in high school” said Evans, who is now on staff. “I love work- ing someplace that I've known so well for so long.” Evans is happy to see the build- ing improving and expanding for the children. “With the new wing, story hour can go on and other children can be in the room,” she said. There is a built in retract- able divider that can be used to make two rooms within the wing. “We are now able to accommo- date a lot more people and there is room for more books,” said Evans. “It means a lot now that I'm here. I see children that I remember frorn when I was in high school and they were tiny. This genera- tion of kids is really lucky to have this. They are lucky to have a whole, big room,” she said. Staffer Anna Korey also said the additional space is very ben- eficial. “We all wondered how she (Rudolph) fit all those books in the old room,” she said, with a laugh. Ruth Tetschner, who is acting volunteer librarian for Martha Butler, who is on maternity leave, said the children’s wing is due to the strong support of the commu- _ Children’s librarian nity. “This library has such com- munity support of all types,” she said. In addition to the wing, the circulation desk and office area was refurbished. What once was one open space including the cir- culation desk and all the staff's desks, is now sectioned off into offices with walls and doors. Evans said the new design is very helpful. “My old desk was one-third the size of this desk and I had a rickety typewriter desk that was held together with tape. We definitely have more space now and it makes things go much smoother when there’s some place to put things,” she said. Barbara Lemmond, a library patron and board member, said it is nice to have privacy if you want to talk with the librarian. “Also, there is more space for the Infotrac computers and internet access." But for Marilyn Rudolph, the wing is simply a "dream come true.” Celebrating the library's success Formal dedication ceremonies were held Tuesday for the children's wing of the Back Mountain Memorial Library. Pennsylvania First Lady Michele Ridge joined inthe event. In top photo, Mrs. Ridge greeted Jessica Rudolph, granddaughter of children's librarian Marilyn Rudolph. At right, she chatted with Dr. Wallace Stettler, who led the fundraising campaign. POST PHOTOS/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Fundraising (continued from page 1) campaign won't end now that the wing is complete. The money that is left will be placed in an endow- ment fund tobuy children’s books. Debbie Kirkwood, library book- keeper and executive assistant to Dr. Stettler, said a donation was also received specifically to buy computer equipment for the wing. In order to raise funds, Stettler assembled four committees to handle different size donations. “We put together a team and we built alist of names,” he explained. After that, the different commit- tees worked to contact people on those lists by letter, by phone, and even by visiting in person. The four committees were headed by John Gager, Kathi Flack, Jack Meeks, and Beth Rosenthal. John Gager, who serves on the library's board of directors, headed a committee of 12. He explained his involvement with the cam- paign. “I've always had an interest in the library and I grew up in the Back Mountain,” he said. “The room was inadequate for doing story time and we ran out of shelf Construction space. How can you argue against enhancing literacy?” The inadequacy of the children’s wing was the driving force behind the fundraising ef- fort. When Dr. Stettler was ap- proached to head the campaign, he said, “I really don’t need an- other thing.” But he went on to say, “I wént down and saw what they had to work with (at the library) and I thought, I have to try.” Dr. Stettler moved to Dallas in 1990 after retiring as president of Wyoming Seminary. The $200,000 Keystone Recre- ation, Park and Conservation Fund Grant that was received from the Department of Education of the Commonwealth of Pennsylva- nia gave the group a head start for meeting the $500,000 goal. But Kirkwood said, “$300,000 seemed like an enormous task. I was dumbfounded. Wallace Stettler was not. He knew.” Ifthe library’sinadequate space was one driving force of the cam- paign, Dr. Stettler had to be an- other. “Dr. Stettler asked me and you can’t turn him down,” ex- plained Kathi Flack. Flack headed another committee in their fundraising efforts. “He's a pro when it comes to fundraising. Once you become involved, you want to see it to fruition. He is a motivating force.” Ruth Tetschner, former princi- pal of Dallas and Westmoreland elementary schools, led another area of fundraising —a brick cam- paign. Tetschner, along with Kathleen Savage, went to the seven elementary schools in the Back Mountain to pitch a Readathon. Elementary students who signed up found sponsors. If a student raised $100, he or she could pur- chase a brick in which up to three lines could be carved. The bricks will be put in a sidewalk near the new wing. “The children could feel they did something to help,” Tetschner said. “They really shared in creat- ing (the new wing).” The student Readathon raised $10,000. The committee also made bricks avail- able to the community to buy and raised an additional $20,000. “I was pleasantly surprised that a community would get behind it in such a way,” Gager said. “We had support from the state, local organizations, and individuals.” Other committee members were less surprised at the campaign's success. “We had a great re- sponse,” Beth Rosenthal said. “I've been involved with the library for a long time and I know the com- munity appreciates what it has. The Back Mountain is pretty good about that sort of thing.” Committee members agree the changes were well worth the ef- fort. “It looks great,” Rosenthal said. “There's such a difference between the old library and the new library.” (continued from page 1) hit our target very well.” This was a tight schedule, but the board wanted to minimize the impact of construction on the library, the auction, and the community. Senate Construction, for ex- ample, says Stager, was very con- scientious about not disrupting the flow of the library during con- struction. Down-time was mini- mized so the building could stay on schedule. Tony Bevilaqua was the project manager for Senate. “They were really good people,” comments Paul Rodda, the archi- tect of the addition. The project encountered one huge surprise during the excava- tion. The library always knew there was a “soft spot” in the corner where the new foundation was to be located. Every few years new soil was added to the spot, which would then settle down again. During the first two weeks of digging, the contractors discov- ered a set of six septic tanks, which had originally served the building when it was an elemen- tary school. According to Rodda, they then uncovered a cesspool, 25 feet deep. “We had to fill it with 220 tons of concrete,” adds Rodda, “which is 110 cubic yards.” The surprise was costly. “It cost us some $20,000 to fill that void,” PU LICA | ( N DATE: M | D D DEADLINE: WED, says Stager. Community involvement was key to making the project a suc- cess. Volunteers from the Rotary Club put all of the books, shelv- ing, filing cabinets, and desks into a storage trailer. More volunteers packed up books, and created a new office for the library staff. “Community support has been super,” says Stager. “It's symbiosis,” says Rodda, speaking of his relationship with the library. “We raised six kids through the library. My wife works there. I've worked for the auction since 1962. | worked two years for them pro bono. It’s in the blood.” ipl Ol 1 ki on i The Dallas Post, then distributed free er high-traffic cai The addition was planned with the present and future needs of the library in mind. It is designed to hold a second story, if the li- brary chooses to add one. “We created a basement,” says Stager, “which will be utilized as a book- store for used books to add to library income.” The addition will mean few long- term changes for the library. “The layout of the auction may change,” says Stager, a Jackson Township resident. The construction added blacktop and leveled some of the grounds. And all the work has been worth it. “It's a delight to walk in the front door,” says a smiling Stager. De V ®
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