Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana

Dear Editor: It's a Wonderful Life

Dear Editor,

It’s a wonderful life! I originally titled this, It’s A Wonderful Job, but working at Whitehall Community Library is really a lifestyle. The Library is a welcoming, fun environment where everyone is treated like family.

And the job truly is wonderful. There is so much going on, it’s sometimes a whirlwind of people, programming, and activities.

Whether we are “Going on a Bear Hunt” with preschoolers through trees made of chairs, guiding our grade school science group through creating room-sized marble runs, launching vinegar and baking soda rockets in the yard out back with the Summer Reading kids (sincere apologies to the Whitehall Clinic for the scorched patch of grass that summer), or reading with some of our most cherished citizens up at Meadowlark Manor, it is always an adventure at the Library.

Through all of the noise and the messes, the stickers and paint, the pots of dirt, and piles of scrap paper, our librarian, Jeannie Ferriss, manages to smile. When the Christmas tree fell over (that was me), when the fridge was accidentally unplugged and the freezer defrosted all over everything (one of the times it was me), when someone had an accident on a chair downstairs (that was not me), Jeannie never lost her composure…..she just smiled, laughed, and pitched in to clean up.

Jeannie has worked hard to create a friendly, welcoming environment. In the process, she has created a family, a community, where kids and adults get hugs when they need them, where kids get snacks and lunches when they are hungry, and where everyone is welcomed with a smile when they enter. It’s a place where manners are important and no one has a problem with reminders to use those manners. It’s also a safe place where kids of all ages spend their time, and parents know their children are in good hands.

The Whitehall community has forever changed since Jeannie arrived, with a zillion boxes of books and as many ideas in tow. The growth our Library has seen in the last six years, both in numbers and in character, is immeasurable.

I will forever be grateful to have been a part of those changes, and that character. I encourage everyone of every age to go to the Library, be involved, and join the fun. Stop in to pick up a book, get out of the heat or cold, to chat with a friendly face. Be part of the wonderful library life….you are always welcome.

Most Sincerely,

Robin Holliday

Whitehall, Montana

 

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