NAPPANEE – The board of trustees and staff of the Nappanee Public Library celebrated the end of the library’s centenary year on Monday evening with a special program featuring the library’s time capsule and the winners of the centenary.

The chair of the library board, Julie Dijkstra, welcomed everyone.

“Tonight we are celebrating the centenary of the library. From the Thursday Club, which raised $ 31.80 for the collection to the building we’re in now, ”said Dijkstra. “In tonight’s presentation, you will see that today’s library is still serving its community 100 years later.

Martha Owens, the library’s heritage collection manager, read a proclamation from Mayor Phil Jenkins. Jenkins had a conflict with a city council meeting and was unable to attend.

The proclamation read in part: a public works administration project on December 14, 1936 and opened in 1937 and while an addition was built in 1995 around the original building and the library is a testament to the education, I hereby declare December 20, 2021 as the Nappanee Public Library on Centennial Day in Nappanee and encourage all residents, citizens and visitors to celebrate the legacy and heritage it has passed on to the community.

Library communications specialist Michaela Baumgartner explained that the library held a creative writing competition in April and read the adult winner’s submission titled “The Last Visit” by Rachael Titus. The story is about a visit to his 101-year-old great-aunt Minerva, who was born and raised in Nappanee who told him; “If the Lord calls me home or lets me stay, I win anyway. “

Lindsey Graber, winner of the Teen Creative Writing Contest, wrote on the topic “What do you think the world will be like 100 years from now?” “

Graber gave two versions of the future 100 years from now – one where, due to rapid industrialization, climate change and global warming is a pretty dark place. Graber said there was no more ice in the Arctic, no more polar bears, that the small islands were completely underwater, that massive storms and hurricanes were decimating populated areas and that the the air is so polluted that it is difficult to breathe – the world is almost habitable.

But she said her dream for the future is “to hope that it is not yet too late, that the next 100 years are full of change by those who care about reducing carbon emissions.”

“In 100 years the Earth could improve, but there is only one planet and as inhabitants we take responsibility for taking care of it and we only have one chance.” , she continued. “If we do, we will allow children 100 years from now to form their own dreams and their own hopes; we allow them to dream of a world 100 years in advance.

Finally, Michaela read the Children’s Submission – an acrostic poem by Damien Murillo spelling out the word Centennial.

They also shared the winning video from Rebecca Beachy’s video contest, who shared everything that makes the Nappanee library great.

Library Director Jason Fields concluded the program by sharing how they celebrated.

“All of the staff and I have worked to make this a year to remember,” said Fields.

He thanked the “Fantastic Library Board” of the Nappanee Public Library and said that they had replenished the Friends of the Library this year.

“We cannot forget to thank the residents who keep coming back over the past century,” he said.

Future plans shared by Fields include updating furniture and computers, reviewing their collections, and he mentioned that they currently run around 30 programs per month for children and adults.

Time capsule

To end 2021 on a high note, the library has ordered a time capsule. Recently graduated from high school, Garrett Anglemyer built the metal box that is the time capsule, John Yoder Woodworkers built the pedestal that the metal box sits on, and Newcomer & Sons Jewelers donates a plaque for the time capsule. It will be sealed with an acrylic cap and will be placed on the upper level of the library near the administration offices which will open in 100 years.

Fields indicated that the time capsule contains centennial coffee mug, summer celebration celebration mug, t-shirt, tote bag, scrapbook, contest winner submissions, photo books with photos from celebrations of the year, Thursday Club’s 2021 schedule, mayor’s proclamation, library newsletters from last year, ratings of historic Martha Owens short films broadcast live on Facebook, policies and procedures of the library, the large vinyl banner for the centennial celebration and the podcasts Owen created on a USB drive.

“We don’t know whether or not they will be able to use a USB stick in 100 years, but we are installing it!” Said Champs. “I hope everything is representative of the centenary year.”

After program staff members shared their thoughts. Communications Specialist Michaela Baumgartner said: “It was a lot of work, but it was worth it and a lot of fun. The people of this community really appreciate the library and we wanted to recognize it in a way that people understand. There are stories in the album; stories people shared from growing up here. It’s a city rich in history and it’s nice to be a part of it.

“It’s sad it’s over – it was all my attention this year, celebrating the centenary,” said Martha Owens, adding that the city’s 150th anniversary is coming in three years, so she looks forward to it.

Fields shared a few more thoughts.

“Glad to have the time capsule, we’ve been talking about it for months, so seeing it on the pedestal and ready to be sealed is exciting,” he said. “I think it’s been a great year; the staff worked very hard to mark the centenary. We planned it for the end of last year so seeing it performed is just awesome. It’s good to wrap up and move on.