Library 111: Baxter Memorial Library (Sharon)
A grebe in a bell jar.
Library 111! The Baxter Memorial Library in Sharon was the 111th stop on my quest to read, write, and knit in all of Vermont’s public libraries.
I read: “Writing through the Fog” by Shana Ronayne (the librarian)
I wrote: a note that says “grebe story see minutes.”
I knit: a Musselburgh Hat by Ysolda Teague
I have never wanted to read a library board’s meeting minutes more than when I heard a partial story of this grebe in the bell jar. To me, one grebe seems like a moderate to low amount of taxidermy for a public library in Vermont, and when I first heard the librarians talking about it, I thought the quantity of taxidermy was the issue. When I asked for details, it was clear there was more. They told me it took multiple generations of librarians to get that grebe up there, and if I wanted to know more, “it’s in the minutes.”
Challenge accepted. The first reference I found (working back from the 2014 meeting minutes, which are public record) to the “stuffed birds” was in July 2016:
7/29/16: The goal at this point is finding a new home for the bird collection.
7/23/18: The name “Dr. Baxter’s Birds” first appears to refer to the red-tailed hawk and other birds in the basement.
9/25/18: A bird subcommittee is formed. SIGN ME UP.
10/30/18: A fundraiser is planned to clean the birds. Cost = $1,000.
12/18/18: The Mr. Baxter’s Birds agenda item is tabled for a month.
…
4/15/21: Three years later, the next mention of the birds begins with “[Community member] recognizes the following is a controversial topic…” This person then volunteered to preserve the birds as a donation to the library. I COULD FEEL THE TENSION.
7/15/21. The library agrees to put a grebe on a trial display situation to revisit later to assess the vibe.
9/16/21. A bio of Dr. Baxter is written for the plaque to accompany the grebe.
10/21/21. Bird and plaque item is listed under “old business.”
11/18/21: Bird and plaque item is deferred.
12/16/21: The librarian is actively searching for a location for the plaque that will not create an unsightly nail hole.
The end. The grebe is still standing. Vibe check = ✅
I was not planning on spending my evening reading 11 years of library meeting minutes, but I’m going to call that time well spent. From the words alone it appears benign, like many complicated problems sound to outsiders.
Nicole, a former Baxter librarian and writer, told us the basement used to be a fallout shelter, an excellent fact I didn’t have to read the minutes to learn.
One embarrassing fact not yet recorded in any minutes is that on the morning of this visit we had set out for the Canaan Vermont library. Due to lack of sleep, Lisa and I drove all the way to White River Junction before we realized we were blindly following directions to Canaan *New Hampshire,* like characters from a dystopian novel about how AI has ruined our ability to notice and interpret the basic details of our immediate surroundings. So it goes.
A local resident Lynn, @worrdgirrl, kindly invited me to join her to knit at this library when the project started. I messaged that morning, saying I was “accidentally in town.” She was free, and met us to sit and knit for a bit. We chatted about competitive knitting, charity hat drives, and our 251 Club adventures around Vermont.
I told Lynn about my failed attempts to knit socks. I genuinely want to knit socks. I have a dream of owning 30-40 striped hand-knit socks that I can wear mismatched any day of the Vermont winter. Alas, I can’t finish a single one. I cast them on, knit a few inches, and they languish in my UFO shelf. I have concluded I don’t enjoy knitting socks. Lynn offered sage advice: “Well, then just don’t knit them.” Thank you, Lynn. I feel free.
I also met an author! In her book, Writing through the Fog, Shana offers advice to writers dealing with MS-related cognitive challenges (like brain fog) who want to keep their creative spark alive.
You never know when you’ll need that creative spark to get you through 11 years of library board meeting minutes to understand the story of a stuffed grebe.
This library minute saga is excellent!