Amy Jo Kinyon
Flashes Editor

A group of women have brought their knitting needles together to support an organization they believe to be an integral part of the Vermontville community. The group of 10 has worked for five months to create a maple leaf quilt to serve as a fundraiser for the Vermontville Township Library. The group quilted 64 squares and worked together to finish the project, the hardest decision being where to place each square in the pattern.
“We could have spent weeks on that alone,” laughed Bev Kelley.
Featuring both pieced and applique squares, the material was quilted together by local seamstress Paula Cole and features variegated thread amongst colorful maple leaves.
Rose Kirby came up with the idea for the project and said the motivation stems from her desire to help the library produce engaging and interesting summer programs. Rose holds happy memories of the library through the years and is hopeful that the quilt will help create positive experiences for others in the community. She recalls receiving a fifty-cent piece from previous library director Mrs. Allen.
“It’s just our way of trying to give back,” said Rose.
Those programs and the willingness of library employees to help patrons find information they need, bring Brittney Kirby to the library. To her, it means more than just shelves of books, the library plays a pivotal role in the community.
“It doesn’t feel like how you think of a library, all hush-hush,” said Brittney. “It’s a place where families can come and have fun.”
The library began on May 3, 1948 when the women’s club voted to undertake the project of beginning such an establishment. The group, along with other community members, refurbished part of the historic Opera House, which had housed the fire department. Through donations from community organizations and residents, the library opened with hundreds of titles on its shelves. Within the first year, its collection grew to over 3,300 and the library has been expanding both on and off the shelves ever since. The library recently held a mason-jar meal program and also brought in a henna artist for another program.
Current Library Director Carla Rumsey said the project helps support the library’s programming and outreach.
“We can’t have fundraisers ourselves, we don’t have a friends group so it’s all good and it was nice to have such a big group cooperating,” remarked Rumsey.
Tickets for the drawing can be purchased at the library and the winner selected at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 24 on the main stage during the annual Vermontville Maple Syrup Festival.
Syracuse University Professor R. David Lankes summed the role of library in one sentence:  “Bad libraries build collections, good libraries build services, great libraries build communities.”
Judging from the group of residents working to give back to the Vermontville Township Library, it has built a community of giving back.