January 2014 - Traverse Area District Library

Newsletter
January, 2014
Board of Directors: Patty Fitzgerald, President; Gay Travis, Vice-President; Vickie Nickerson, Secretary; Bill King, Treasurer;
Trustees: Ellen LaTulip, Carrie Armstrong, Katie Rothwell, Jerry Inman, Carol Thorson, Maureen Lajko, Jenny Moran, Mary
Cassell. Honorary Trustee: Betty Bowden
KFOL mission statement: The Kingsley Friends of the Library supports, serves and advocates for the Kingsley Branch
Library of the Traverse Area District Library. We believe that an excellent branch library is critical to cultural
enrichment, preservation of knowledge and community development in the Kingsley area.
Christmas at Kingsley Branch Library
The Kingsley Friends of the Library kicked off the Christmas
season on December 5, 2013 with the Annual Christmas Open House
Celebration. The Village Community Room welcomed the 125 guests
with fresh cedar and pine greens tied with bright bows on all the
windows and wreaths adorning the doorways. A wide array of fresh
Christmas cookies, punch and appetizer treats arranged on artistically
decorated tables invited everyone to partake. Our honored guest was
Santa Claus, who greeted guests in the library lobby and invited the
children (and adults) to tell him what was on their Christmas Wish
List.
This special event couldn’t have been done without all the
volunteers who baked the dozens of cookies, prepared the food, set up
and cleaned the Community Room and provided the crafts for the
children: Flossie Luotonen, Bonnie Baum, Helen Brothers, Diane
Schrader, Mary Bogart, Vonnie Seidel, Ellen LaTulip, Bonnie King,
Katie Rothwell, Carrie Armstrong, Gail Roberts, Eileen Reamer, Liz
Anna Boyd tells Santa her Christmas wishes. Urban, Mary and Walt Ludwick, Patty and Steve Fitzgerald, Jennie
Lewis, Jerry Inman, Bill King, Gay and Duane Travis, Beth Bynum, Kathy Flagel, Carol Thorson and Vera
Nickerson. Musicians Julie Westrate and Charlie Lint played Christmas carols providing beautiful melodies
that wafted throughout the Community Room. I would like to include a thank you to the Library Staff and the
Village Office and Maintenance Staffs for their always dependable and much-appreciated assistance.
Left: Santa assures KBL’s library staff that they are all
definitely very good girls. (KFOL seconds that!)
Right: Maureen Lajko loads up the trays with beautiful
and delicious Christmas cookies.
The following photos show some of the imaginative, enchanting décor that KFOL
Board trustee Carrie Armstrong Jones provided for our library this year.
Apple Tree Christmas by Trinka Hakes Noble is a book in KBL’s children’s collection.
It provided the theme for this year’s holiday decorations. Besides trimming a
magnificent Christmas tree in the library lobby, Carrie (shown at right, without the
beard) drew, painted and created “expanded” illustrations and vignettes from the story
and placed them strategically in the children’s and young adults’ sections. The photos
that follow show her amazing work. KFOL is very grateful to have this talented artist
that is so willing to share her gifts. Thank you, Carrie.
Carrie trimmed this year’s tree with red apples, tan raffia, grapevine, the tiniest bit of sparkly green tinsel,
and a gold star. The two happy boys on Santa’s lap are Jack (left) and Harrison (right) Mark.
Mary Cassel: New KFOL Board Member
KFOL Board of Trustees is very pleased to welcome a new member, Mary Cassel. She grew
up in the Detroit/Flint area and moved to the TC area in 1994. She began her 20-year banking
career as a teller, developed the Cash Management Department at Northwestern Bank, and is
now Vice-President of Cash Management Services there. A single mother, Mary has two
children. Ashley is a 4th grader at Kingsley Elementary and her son Elliott is a 1st grader She
likes to run, garden and hike, as well as go to the beach, snowshoe and ice skate with her kids.
(She highly recommends the Civic Center South’s new ice rink.)
Since Mary was interested in becoming involved in Kingsley Area activities and in the library, her friend
(and KFOL BoardTreasurer) Bill King invited her to check out the KFOL Board of Trustees. It seemed like a
good fit, so now Mary can bring her skill and experience in sales to help KFOL develop more volunteers and
members, as well as enhancing board trustees’ understanding of financial issues and opportunities.
Trea$urer’s Report by Bill King
Since the last report KFOL has received one contribution of $100.00 from Shawn’s Boats & Cabins,
$5082.26 from internet book sales, $1,445.00 gross revenues from the Tea at the Library, $1,404.72 from the
Book Sale, $37.97 from the sale of Mural Cards, $20.00 in membership fees and $11.53 from interest. The
balance in the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation at as of September 30, 2013 is $39,937.69.
Ellen LaTulip Retires from KFOL Board of Trustees
After about ten years of serving on KFOL’s Board of Trustees, Ellen LaTulip has decided to retire. She’s
not retiring to quiet contemplation and relaxed pursuit of hobbies; she’s retiring from the Board (not KFOL
membership) because her three children have gotten older and are very actively involved in sports and
activities, and she finds herself needing to volunteer in support of those activities, and there’s only one Ellen. It
was a difficult decision for her because she has enjoyed the group so much.
I asked her about what she had found most satisfying about serving on the KFOL Board all those years. She
said that bringing the community together to raise funds and build the new library was very, very satisfying.
She has also enjoyed being able to bring diverse events to the library and Community Room that were not
possible before.
Switching gears after our library was built was challenging, she recalls. KFOL had always been involved in
fundraising for the library. Suddenly the focus needed to change and the Board struggled with identifying new
goals and purpose for over a year: What to do next?
KFOL appreciates the valuable service that Ellen has ably provided in helping to fund and build our new
library and in generating new events that enhance our community living. Ellen says that being on KFOL’s
Board of Trustees is a fun and enjoyable way to volunteer and give back to your community. It’s a way to
connect; you learn more about our library and community, and she highly recommends it.
Philip Bowden’s Memoir Donated to KBL’s Genealogy Room
In 2008 a lifelong friend, Bob Collins, wrote Philip Bowden and his wife
Betty a letter describing his World War II experiences as he remembered
them. Betty suggested that Phil do the same, and offered to write his story if
he would narrate it. And so, in their Kingsley, MI home over the winter of
one of the last years of his life, Philip’s memoir was drafted through his words
and Betty’s handwriting. This memoir contains not only his war experiences,
but also chronicles his early life and post-war years growing up in Summit
City. The resulting book is housed in the history and genealogy room of
Kingsley Branch Library and can be viewed there by those who are interested.
Message from Mary
Brrrrr, it’s cold outside! Plenty to do inside the cozy and warm Kingsley Branch Library. You
can enjoy our regular programming of Wigglers, Family Theater, Chef Tom, Senior Book Club or
just relax and read next to our beautiful fireplace. In addition to our regular programming, save
the dates to enjoy the following:
● Fancy Nancy Valentine Party, Saturday, February 8th, 12:30-1:30 pm. Registration required.
● Young Adult “Make ’n Take” (Valentine gifts), Monday, February 10th, 3:30-5:00 pm.
● Lego Night, Thursday, February 20th, 4:30 6:00 pm.
● Beginners Handcrafted Basket Class with Susan Lawrence, Saturday, March 1st, 9:00 am.-12:00 pm.
Registration required, $25 supply fee. Class size limited to 12.
For more information please contact the Kingsley Branch Library at 231-263-5484 or go to
www.tadl.org/kingsley. Check www.tadl.org/kingsley often because we are always adding and
updating as necessary.
 Please take a moment to take the “Impact Survey” by January 18, 2014, at http://www.tadl.org/impact.
Your participation will help improve the library’s technology services. The survey is anonymous and only
takes 10-15 minutes to complete. If you have any questions, please inquire at the library or call us !
 Watch and share our new video, “Continue Your Journey...”, online at www.tadl.org/continueyourjourney.
“It explores the creative, personal, and professional connections made at our libraries,” thanks to Kristen
Talaga of Woodmere, Main Branch, and Chris Hintz, who did the video production. A special thanks to
Kingsley Branch Library patrons, Mark Lindsay and Melanie Halpin Dye, for volunteering their time and
being excellent patron examples!
 Here’s a fun graph explaining the advantages for students who read 20 minutes per day at home:
http://www.mhe.weber.k12.ut.us/index.php/aboutmhes/whyreadfor20minutes.
 New items are always arriving at KBL This too numerous to list! Rest assured, we automatically get
the high demand authors and movies. We take your requests very seriously, so don’t be afraid
to make suggestions. Did you know, so far this year, that 45% of our circulation is books, and
43% of our circulation is movies? You can see this cool information at our “Statistics
Dashboard” at http://www.tadl.org/stats/kingsley. Here are just a few of our new items:
This is a request to the community for the following crafting supplies: Buttons, ribbon, general craft supplies, empty
cereal boxes and empty toilet tissue rolls. Please drop items off at the Kingsley Branch Library. Thank you!
Happy reading! Mary Fraquelli, Branch Manager
ALERT! Art Attack 2014 is scheduled for Thursday, April 24.
Mark your calendar.
P.O. Box 427
Kingsley, MI 49649

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