Community
rallies to start a library
By: JESSICA
SINGLETON
Residents
of Eagle Creek Resort worked together to rescue an abandoned building.
Volunteers
worked to turn an old bath house, empty since the 1997 flood,
into a community library.
Wanda and
Bob Alberson are two of the volunteers who worked on the project.
Bob said
the bath house was built back when Eagle Creek Resort was a campground.
As the community changed and grew, the bath house was no longer
needed. He said at one point they considered demoloshing the building.
The community saved the building from destruction and gave it
a new purpose.
The construction
process was not easy. Bob said the library has been a work in
progress for six months.
He said donations were not coming as quickly as they thought,
and he was worried they would not be ready for a July 4th grand
opening. He said the community decided to open the library no
matter what.
They would
work within the donations they had and open with or without carpet
and supplies.
Fortunately,
the donations increased and they were able to finish the project
in time.
“God
met every need,” Wanda said.
She said
the library is intended to help the youth of Eagle Creek Resort.
She said because they are so far from town, the children don’t
have access to many activities. The library is intended to change
this.
In addition
to books, the library will feature movies and games, and it has
space for tutoring. She said they are continuing to take donations
and are in need of more bookshelves to hold the library’s
expanding collection.
“Our
vision for this building is to be a place our teens, adults and
little ones can come to have some fun,” Wanda said.
She said
they plan to expand their programs to include card clubs, sewing
groups and bingo nights. The events will be determined by volunteers.
Wanda said
everything in the library has been donated. Donations included
concrete work, carpet, books, shelving and movies.
The most
important donations have been volunteers’ time.
The library
will be open Wednesday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. They
hope to expand this
schedule
as more people volunteer.
“The
community did this project together,” Bob said. “We
especially want our teens to have a place to come and know we
care.”
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