Passing on Her Library Legacy in Style
On Saturday, October 14, a fantastic retirement party was held for Patty Gross, who has been the Librarian at the Council Valley Free Library now for 48 years. As a young women she worked as a librarian assistant under Ruth Winkler and in 1975 took over as Librarian.
Patty has many fond memories at the library. Her favorite aspect as Librarian has been to watch the local children grow up and then to watch the children of those children grow up. “All the different people who have walked through my life while at the library has made it wonderful.” She knows everyone in the community and knows their connections and has loved each and every person she has gotten to know. This is what Patty will miss the most, the people, because they have been a part of her life for a number of years.
She hopes people will remember the good times at the library and she hopes that children will continue to be excited to come and read. She always wanted children to feel comfortable, or like they didn’t have to ‘tip toe’ through the library. Patty believes the library has been, and hopes it remains, the heart of the community. A place you will come and feel welcome.
Chris Dixon, who has known Patty for almost 50 years felt she “created the most welcoming environment. And she never said ‘shh’!” Many others at the party agreed. Linda Moyer, a friend for about 40 years, commented that Patty made the Council Library a community gathering.
Several others who attended the party remarked how she was always willing to find a book, not already on the shelves, for a person seeking the one they wanted. Moyer described how Patty would order and save the newest Danielle Steel book for her now 96 year old mother, Grace Schrepple, and inform her when it had arrived.
Patty and her librarian assistant work to make the library a place kids want to come. With story hours, STEM toys, and fun and interesting presentations. Many of the families who bring their kids to the library often were appreciative of the patience Patty had with late book returns. And she never charged fees.
The children love Patty too. Ginger Mendenhall, 8 years old, said “Patty always wanted people to be happy, of course!” And her sister Lilly said “she always showed interest in my life.” Angie Mendenhall, their mother, appreciated that Patty encouraged her children to read and never got mad for late book returns. Grant and Dakota Estes, together with their friend, Blakely Clagg agreed that Patty made the library fun to go to and said that they will really miss her!
There are some things Patty will not miss about the library, although not much. She will not miss having to learn the new technology many librarians are using these days. And she will definitely not miss having to shovel the snow in the winters especially the large berms. She is happily passing that torch onto her assistant Milise Blanton and to anyone willing to help. Patty is excited for Milise to take the reigns. Milise has worked with Patty at the library now for over 4 years and has learned so much from her. She feels that Milise knows how Patty feels about the library being a place for the community to gather and will welcome them in. She believes Milise will have new, fresh ideas. She can introduce new topics to kids. Milise is very grateful for the things she has learned from Patty. “She has helped me to discover the beauty of life, community, and people. Patty has become like an extra grandma for me after spending so much time together at the library.”
They have had many fun memories while working together. Blanton describes Patty making phone calls in the winter time, when mice would come looking for a warm place to nestle, to have them removed. She did NOT want to remove them herself. And when a young boy brought the rattles from a rattlesnake she was not impressed and wasn’t the best example of calm in that moment. Luckily, they were able to have a good laugh about it later.
Patty wanted to make sure to thank her family and friends who planned the retirement party. “They really tried to keep it a secret from me. And thank you to all the people who came to help celebrate it and wish me luck.”
The Council community will miss seeing Patty’s sweet smiling face when we come to the library and we are all extremely grateful for the warm, welcoming environment she created for all of us. Good luck in your next adventures and we will see you around town!
