"Into each life some rain must fall." Or so wrote Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, but I for one would like to see less rain and more sunshine. Although, it is nice to see how beautiful the lawns and flowers are after all the rain and warm temperatures. We can always tell when the seasons change. In winter we have many patrons seeking good books to read while the winter winds blow. But come spring, we see them less often as they are planting crops or vegetable gardens and doing yard work. When the gardens begin to produce they are too busy canning, freezing, making jams and jellies and trying to give away part of their bumper crop of zucchini to read.
For those of you who have finished planting, the books I wrote about in a previous column have begun to arrive and will be on the shelves this week. Many boxes of books have been donated. Many were duplicates and some of those were donated to the Pea Ridge School District for the Book Bus Project. Others are for sale or give-away in the library. If you have books you would like to donate to the Book Bus you can drop them at the library.
The Summer Reading Program begins June 1 for kindergarten through fifth-graders. Be sure to stop by the library to get your children registered and get a Reading Record Sheet.
A group of sixth-grade students paid a visit to the library last Thursday. Unfortunately I was not there to talk with them but Cinda, Lee and Patty told me that things went very smoothly. Hopefully these students will become regular visitors to our library.
A visitor from New Mexico visited the library last week and I gave him a tour and background information. He was very impressed with our facility. Almost without fail, first time visitors tell us how important a library is to a small town/city. And without fail I am thankful to our community for supporting us.
The library will be closed Saturday, May 23, and Monday, May 25, in observance of Memorial Day. I hope we can all pause and remember all those who have fought for our freedoms.
By the time you read this, I will have had my second pre-op! Pre-operative appointments are only good for 30 days and my new surgery date is more than 30 days from the first one. Now begins the countdown to June 1. Let's all hope and pray nothing changes.
This will be my last column for a few weeks. Lee Taylor will be writing the columns while I am recovering. See you in a few weeks!
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Editor's note: Peggy Maddox is the librarian of the Pea Ridge Community Library. She can be reached at the library at 451-8442 or by mail at P.O. Box 9, Pea Ridge, AR 72751.
Editorial on 05/20/2015