Little Library packs volumes of love
Kelly White loves books, preferably historical fiction, and is the daughter of two teachers.
Her husband, Martin, is a do-it-yourselfer who can transform his wife’s dreams into reality.
So, when a crew began removing downed trees and limbs from that Jan. 13 windstorm, Martin acted. At his request, a heavy equipment operator hauled a ponderosa round, 3 feet in diameter, to the curb strip in front of the Martins’ home in the 2100 block of Ninth Street.
The giant chunk now serves as the foundation for a Little Library, with three miniature doors, painted by Kelly, that let the fairies in and out. The Whites gussied up the parkway around the Little Library with brick, white rock, a potted coleus, and faux yellow tulips.
Once packed with children’s books, it now has such diverse titles as “They Shoot Canoes, Don’t They?” (Patrick McManus), “Eat Pray Love” (Elizabeth Gilbert), “Piercing the Darkness” (Frank Peretti), and “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon” (Stephen King).
Daily, neighbors and passersby give and take books from the inviting Little Library, all of which pleases Kelly and her three sons – Elijah, 14, Owen, 12, and William, almost 9 – who also are avid readers and help their mother select volumes to display.
In case you’re wondering, Kelly doesn’t mind if someone keeps a book.
“Not everyone can afford to own or buy a book,” Kelly told Huckleberries. "We give it to them free. It’s a ministry. This is something God has given us that we can give others.”
In June, the Whites staged a mini grand opening to launch their Little Library. Neighbors were invited to bring books and were given homemade bookmarks. It strengthened community bonds.
There are two other Little Libraries within walking distance of the Whites’ house. All Little Librarians out there deserve credit for bringing joy to others in these dark times.
‘Glory Hallelujah’
This area has a tie to Julia Ward Howe, the suffragist, abolitionist, and writer of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” She owned property in Post Falls. In an article published on Aug. 6, 1951, The Press told of a gift made to the Coeur d’Alene Library by pioneer Mrs. A.A. Crane: a handwritten letter from Howe. The reformer had asked the tax collector for her annual tax notice and a copy of the original deed for her property in "Post City" (Post Falls). Crane speculated that the "Battle Hymn" author must have bought the property during a visit to the area. Howe provided no legal description for her holding but said she'd paid taxes on it for years. And that she had once redeemed her property after it was mistakenly sold. The letter was written from Boston, Mass., on Feb. 10, 1910, the same year Howe died.
Huckleberries
• Poet’s Corner: Sometime between youth and golden age/most people find they will reach a stage/where they will be speaking and being heard/and all of a sudden can’t find the right …/uh … /you know – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Of Senior Moments”).
• In the garden section of North 40, an employee’s voice rings out, “I need to find a female.” On cue, his customer responds, “Does your wife know that?” Relax, everyone. The worker was looking for a female hose end to make sure a split faucet connector was the right size.
• Bonnie Kesson of Coeur d’Alene is but one of my Facebook Friends who re-posted this caution: “It’s important to lock your car doors, especially now. Your neighbors and friends and even strangers will put free zucchini in your car.” You’ve been warned.
• Jan Dunlap Cooke is still chuckling about that $25 gift card for Panera Bread that a friend gave her five years ago. With a straight face, hubby Ken said of it then: “So, you have to buy 25 dollars worth of bread?” Jan laughed and said: “I need to let the man out a little more often.”
• If you follow the Kellogg PD Roll Call report, as I do, you’ll learn what “on the nod” means. The KPD broke through a door at Silver Inn to find a man “on the nod,” not dead. In other words, he was unconscious, high on opiates. And ultimately experienced the strong boot of the law.
• It’s 10 minutes to lunch time and 17 hungry Rotarians are ready to order. What do you do when the power goes out? The quick-thinking staff of the Post Falls Filling Station served up tasty Caesar salads all around. And earned a Facebook shoutout from Pam Houser of Post Falls.
Parting Shot
What’s a nice Christian woman like Katrina Wright Swaim of Coeur d’Alene doing at a liquor store asking for the cheapest bottle of 150-proof hooch? Well, it wasn’t for drinking. She started to explain that to a clerk who gave her what Katrina describes as an “aggressively uninterested” look. He didn’t care. At all. In case you do, however, Katrina was concocting a do-it-yourself knockoff of a deodorant brand called Pit Liquor. Everclear grain alcohol is a key ingredient.
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You can contact D.F. “Dave” Oliveria at dfo@cdapress.com.
