Library 150: Rockingham Free Public Library
I think we're going to need a bigger boat.
Library 150! The Rockingham Free Public Library in the state of Vermont, county of Windham, town of Rockingham, incorporated village of Bellows Falls, was the 150th stop on my quest to knit in every public library in Vermont.
I knit: a cardigan for my mom.
On the way into this fifth and final Carnegie library I have visited in Vermont we met volunteers Esther and Taylor. Esther is crocheting her own emotional support chicken named Mrs. Hughes (of Downtown Abbey) whom I hope to meet someday. Anyone who recognizes Hen Solo on the front steps gets invited to be in the photo. Esther kindly accepted the invitation.
On the main floor I met Ponnie (what a name!). Ponnie noticed that my pen died and gave me a new one (librarians: so helpful). Ponnie also told me about a D&D game going on upstairs, some library history I can’t write about in a post, and the good places to knit in the library. There were many.
I enjoyed the row of antique file cabinets lining the walls around the puzzle station, and the antique card catalogs surrounding the front desk. Other notable things in my mental map of this library now include a missing puzzle peice, an impressive fireplace, a seed catalog, a popcorn machine, a telescope, a chainsaw bear.
Downstairs I met Ava, who was crocheting a large lemon bag, designed to hold smaller lemons. Ava has crocheted similar blueberry, strawberry, and orange bags. This is a hit with the kids, as is Ava’s trove of other one-of-a-kind crochet items. The indoor greenhouse was a hit for me: a library first! In the expansive children’s space I also spotted a tiny art show (All art, all tiny), a live clownfish, a commitment from a large publisher to keep YA fiction weird, and an intense Roblox game. All the good things libraries do were all there.
The DVD room upstairs where I sat to knit is lined with movie posters. The Jaws poster stood out because we just passed its 50th anniversary and it was in the news.
While knitting, my mind wandered between the anticipated vote in the House that might eliminate health care for millions of people, to the calming effect I feel when I am in a library. I stared at the Jaws poster, wishing the US leadership would respond to our health care crisis with the urgency of a shark attack.
As I am writing this post days later, I know they passed the bill. Thousands of Vermonters will lose health care. Rural hospitals, already struggling to stay open, will feel the blow. Our leadership is sailing into the wind, throwing millions overboard. Who will rescue those left behind in the wake of this plan? We won’t be able to save them all. And yet, in the face of horror, we keep going. All hands on deck.
I think we’re going to need a bigger boat.
Forgot to say I also loved the poster from Penguin Random house
Beautiful library! Would love to spend some time reading there. Also eager to know more about that cardigan for your mom!