Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By MEGAN HUGHES
Ironwood — The Ironwood Carnegie Library received a mysterious donation recently in the form of a handmade quilt depicting heavy construction equipment on one side and the covers of some of the maker’s favorite books on the other.
Library Director Lynne Wiercinski said she had tears in her eyes when she found it, and plans to hang it in the library’s early childhood resource room.
“I have no idea who sent it in,” she said. She explained that along with the quilt, the donor also left the wooden dowel it now hangs on in the Library lobby area, as well as a letter explaining the donation.
“The person who wrote it thanked us for everything that we do, and obviously they know us well enough to know that many of our littles love heavy equipment,” she said. “They talked about the other side with the books on it, too. They represent the books that they remember reading as a child.”
Wiercinski said the quilt has already drawn a lot of attention from the kids who come in to visit. She told about one little boy who had come in with his mother specifically to see the quilt, and pointed out what each of the machines were.
“We have so many things up for summer reading right now,” said Wiercinski. “Once the month is over and we start clearing things out down there, we will find a spot downstairs where our littles will be able to enjoy it.”
“When something like this happens, it brings you back to what’s really important here. It’s the people who visit, the patrons and the little ones who love coming here,” she said. “I don’t know who it was, but I hope they know how much everyone enjoys it.”
Wiercinski also gave an update as to how their summer reading program went, saying it went “fantastically.” She estimates more than 70 kids completed the program, and that all of the sessions were well attended.
One she noted as being especially popular was the Young Innovators program that the library ran in collaboration with Gogebic Community College.
The last major summer event this year was the Angelina Ballerina tea party, where kids got to enjoy snacks and dancing at the Ironwood Memorial Building.
“The other part of the summer is the Story Walk at the Miners Memorial Park,” she said. After families participated in the walk, which was set up along the Miner’s Memorial Park trail, they could stop by the library to pick up an activity bag, which gave kids an art project to take home.
Looking to the future, Wiercinski said there are several plans in the works for future programs, including the return of the library’s young author’s group. While no date has been set for the start of the program, she is hoping to see it start some time during the school year.
For more information about the library and its programming, visit ironwoodcarnegie.org.
