The sun was shining, and Peggy Hurley could not stop smiling
"On behalf of the Friends of the Dwight Public Library, we would like to welcome you to the grand opening of our new gazebo,” said Hurley, vice-president of the friends and retired librarian, to a crowd of about 50 people on Oct. 7. “We hope the community will embrace this beautiful space that was created to enjoy for library programs, book clubs, authors’ visits, a meeting place, a lesson place, to do reading or connect to Wi-Fi and even, perhaps, a wedding ceremony.”
The $42,000 project, paid for through fundraising, public donations and in-kind donations from contractors and builders, began with an act of generosity.
Hurley explained a library patron had donated a one-week all-inclusive trip for two on a Royal Caribbean Cruise as a prize in 2001. The friends of the library raffled off 100 tickets at $50 each and were sold out in literally two minutes, she said.
The friends’ treasurer, she said, suggested investing the $5,000 raised into a mutual fund for a rainy day project and it tripled in size.
“This started the seed,” she said.
She acknowledged friends president Kelly Stronks for her vision of creating a public-use gazebo and following through on the project.
“Immediately, after coming up with this vision, you would find Kelly Stronks outside measuring the land, moving trees, planting and keeping the rest of us on track,” she said.
The five-year plan included several phases, including the outdoor book nook donated by the Huntsville-Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce, the creation of outdoor gardens, stone patio work installed with in-kind donations and new signs for the library and book nook.
“Our sub-committee of five has worked for the last two years to investigate designs, materials, talking to contractors and crunching numbers,” said Hurley.
She said the committee received welcomed advice from architects and builders. Builder Gary Best also stepped in as gazebo site manager to assemble a team of craftsman, who complete the project under budget and on time, she said.
“Many hands and big hearts are the foundation of this project. We have so many to thank,” she said, before sharing an exhaustive list of contributors.
Lake of Bays mayor Bob Young congratulated the friends of the project’s completion.
“An event like this really brings the pride of community to the fore when you think of what has been created and how it has been created, all the in-kind help, all the hard work of the volunteers and friends of the library … for the enjoyment of everybody,” he said.
He then cut the ribbon to officially open the gazebo.
The snip was met with boisterous applause.
Cathy Fairbairn, branch librarian, also thanked the friends of the library for their commitment.
“Already, the gazebo is being used in a multitude of ways,” she said, noting that the book club, homeschool club and pre-school story hour had been enjoying it, along with residents stopping in with picnic lunches. “It really has already become a community space.”
She noted discussions had already taken place with nearby Irwin Memorial Public School, encouraging teachers to use the space as an outdoor classroom.
The event was accented by the sounds of the Muskoka Dixieland Band and celebratory cake.
The Muskoka Dixie Band -- who knew we even had one of those???? They were wonderful.
Very cool! Nice to see Peggy is still busy.
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