The President's Letter
We Appreciate Your Support!
The Friends of the Cascade Library is a group of dedicated volunteers serving the interests of the library, its patrons and the community. And, we have had a lot of success over the years supporting library expansion, sponsoring numerous events and helping to fund initiatives not included in the KDL operating budget.
But, that success has only been made possible by the continuous support offered by the rest of the community. If you have been part of that generosity, we thank you and hope that you will continue to be our guardian angel.
If you would like to support the efforts of the Friends, here are a number of ways you can make that happen:
Purchase Used Books. We have 4-5 sales events each year and offer high quality, low cost used books in the library’s Chapter Two bookstore. The vast majority of our revenues come through the sale of books.
Donate Used Books. Needless to say, we wouldn’t have books to sell if members of the community weren’t generous in donating their books to us. There are bins outside the Wisner Center where you can deposit your books.
Become a Member. Membership dues are extremely low ($5 annually for seniors, $10 for adult non-seniors, $15 for a family). When you become a member, you’re giving us a vote of confidence and making sure you stay in the know about events and other initiatives.
Make a Financial Donation. Historically, very little of our revenues have come from the donation of money. But, that’s probably just because we haven’t asked. So, please consider a financial donation when you pay your membership dues, purchase books or attend an event.
---Joe David
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Benefits of a Friend's Membership
When you become a Friend, you help support an important part of the social fabric of your community. Plus, you earn "Early Bird" privileges at most book sales, which means you gain entry to the sales in advance of non-members to have first shot at the books of greatest interest to you. And, we will notify you of any scheduled book sales or special events. So, you'll never miss out on an opportunity.
Kdl, Mary Free Bed Join Up to Support Kids
The library staff at the Cascade branch of KDL has been partnering with Mary Free Bed YMCA for four years to help encourage summer reading for children in the community. But, their recent “End of the Summer Reading Celebration” marked the first time that they actually held a celebration to mark the completion of the program.
Cascade Librarian Nanette Zorn said that they have always encouraged kids at the day camp to participate in summer reading, but the format made it difficult to gauge their progress and to properly reward the kids.
“They read or are read to every day at camp,” she said. “But, some are in camp for just a week and others for the full summer, making it tough to track their progress and get completed reading logs from them. This event made it easy for the kids to get rewarded for their reading efforts.”
Those rewards included free books donated by the Friends of the Cascade Library. “The generous donation from the Friends made it possible for the 81 kids in attendance—ranging from ages 5 to 12—to do private reading during the event and, for those who had completed their summer reading, to take home another free book as a reward,” Zorn explained.
She added that another bonus of the event was that it had the effect of boosting Cascade’s summer reading “completers” by 81, “which was a tangible deliverable for the hours we spent on our outreach program this summer. It makes it easier to justify this kind of effort if we can see the results of the staff time.”
The celebration event included eight stations that the kids rotated through, including a book mobile scavenger hunt, popsicles and KDL tattoos, a STEAM station, an obstacle course, a prize redemption station, a button-making station, a story time station and a visit with the library’s elephant mascot, Katie L.
“I can’t say for certain if we’ll do another celebration next year,” Zorn said, “because it will depend on staff time and what the outreach program looks like. But, the YMCA is a passion of mine, so I definitely hope that we are able to repeat this wonderful event.”
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Cascade Library Intern Kate Lane reads to kids at the "Summer Reading Celebration."
Our Newsletter Is Going Digital
Most of our members have made the move to digital communications in recent years and are comfortable receiving our newsletter in their email inboxes. etter, we’ve made the fiscally responsible decision to discontinue a printed version and, instead, distribute it via the internet and email.
Most of our members have made the move to digital communications in recent years and are comfortable receiving our newsletter in their email inboxes.
In fact, we only have 55 members remaining on our print distribution list, which makes the cost of each printed copy of the newsletter quite significant. So, we have sent a postcard to each of those members asking them to share their email address so that we can include them in future newsletter distributions.
The newsletter has always been an effective vehicle for us to share timely information about upcoming events—like book sales, book discussions, Flix @ the Library and more—to update members on how our revenues are being used to support the special needs of the library, and to provide insights into the people and purposes that drive the Friends.
The newsletter will continue to serve those ends. In fact, we think it can do an even better job by offering more flexibility in the timing and frequency of our communications. But, it is still a change that will prevent us from meeting the preferences of a few of our members for printed newsletters.
For that, we apologize. But, we hope even those who prefer printed materials will find their way to move ahead into the digital communications era with us and give us feedback on how we can make the newsletter and the Friends organization better meet the needs of our community.
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Going forward the Friends' newsletter will only be published digitally, online and via email.
2-Day Book Sale on Tap September 25-26
Something New: Bag of Children's Books for $5
We haven’t been able to take the pandemic lid off most of the Friends-sponsored events, but at least we’ve been able to open the doors on our used book sales once again.
Our next sale is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday September 25 and 26 in the library’s Wisner Center. Because of some competing township events, we won’t be able to kick off the sale until 11 am on Saturday with the “Early Bird” presale for members only. Then, the doors will open to the general public from noon until 4 pm.
On Sunday the sale will resume for everyone at 1 pm and end at 3 pm. Kathy Sullivan, Book Sale Chairperson, said to expect a wide variety of book categories.
“For the first time since closing for the pandemic, we expect to have almost all book categories on display,” she said, “including fiction, non-fiction, biography, children’s, self-help, cookbooks, religious, parenting and more, plus CDs and DVDs.”
She said the popular bag sale format will be an option for shoppers, with a bag of books costing $5 on Saturday and $3 on Sunday. She added that the Friends are introducing something new in bag sales at this event.
“In the past, we have not included children’s books in the bag sales,” she said. “But, for the first time, we will now be offering a bag of children’s books for $5, with a limit of 30 books per bag. We hope that will get young children even more engaged in shopping for and reading books.”
The next book sale is scheduled for early November, barring any turn for the worse in the pandemic. Additional details about that sale will be provided in October via email and the Friends’ website (cascadefriends.org).
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Library Dedicates New Aquarium
Dedicated to Cascade Educator Marion Robinson
Thanks to the generosity of Claude Robinson and the efforts of Friends and library staff, the Cascade branch of KDL was able to dedicate a sparkling new aquarium on May 25 to the memory of Mr. Robinson’s late wife and beloved Cascade educator Marion Robinson.
More than 50 people—including representatives from KDL, the Cascade branch, Cascade Township, the Friends and the Robinson family—gathered at the library to honor the Robinsons and “cut the tape” to officially open the aquarium to visitors.
Joe David, president of the Friends of the Cascade Library, said, in addressing the gathering, that there were three words that summed up how everyone involved with the library felt about the dedication of the aquarium in Mrs. Robinson’s name: grateful, proud and fortunate.
“We are grateful for all Mrs. Robinson did for our children and our community,” he said. “We are proud to have her name associated with our library and aquarium for generations to come. And, we are fortunate that there are people like Claude Robinson who, with one magnanimous gesture, has both honored his wife of 65 years and, in effect, continued her life’s work of caring for children.”
The circular aquarium is 61 inches in diameter and weighs approximately 6,500 pounds. It’s home to a variety of colorful freshwater fish that are already entertaining children and parents alike. In addition to being fun, the library staff is already anticipating ways that the aquarium can serve as an educational opportunity for kids.
For example, the fish aren’t fed every day, but it’s an entertaining and educational event when they are because it gives the kids a chance to learn something about them and their habitat.
The aquarium was literally years in the making, in part, due to pandemic-related delays but also due to the need to secure funding, prepare the building to accommodate the heavy tank and, of course, to create and install it.
In the end, the aquarium became a reality due to the hard work and generosity of many people, including Vanessa Walstra, branch manager, who shepherded the complicated project through its many facets; Claude Robinson, who funded the creation and installation of the aquarium; and the Friends of the Cascade Library, who took on the ongoing maintenance costs of the aquarium.
Marion Robinson, who passed away in May of 2013 at the age of 88, was a resident of Cascade Township and a passionate educational leader and advocate for children. She served as principal of Thornhills Elementary and Ada Elementary before being named Director of Early Childhood Elementary Instruction and Media for the Forest Hills district.
Mrs. Robinson was also an active member of the Friends of the Library, serving on its board.
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Book Discussions Line-Up Set
Next Up October 18: "A Woman of No Importance"
After a seemingly interminable pause during the peak of the pandemic, book discussion sessions resumed in September with the next scheduled at 10 am on October 18 in the library’s Wisner Center, accordingly to Sara Moseley, Branch Librarian.
She said current plans involve in-person discussions rather than online virtual meetings. However, those plans could change if the situation changes for the worse in COVID cases.
“KDL employees are once again required to wear masks, but masks are currently optional for visitors,” she said. “I will send an update to all registered discussion participants in the days before the September meeting if there are any changes to this policy.”
In September the discussion group took a look at “The Giver of Stars” by Jojo Moyes, which is set in Depression-era Kentucky and involves a remarkable journey by a group of women known as The Horseback Librarians of Kentucky.
Here is a list of the books slated for discussion in the upcoming months. All start at 10 am:
· October 18: “A Woman of No Importance” (Sonia Purnell)
· November 15: “This Tender Land” (William Kent Krueger)
· December 20: “Anxious People” (Fredrik Backman)
· January 17: “The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee” (David Treuer)
· February 21: “Leave the World Behind” (Rumaan Alam)
· March 21: “The Dutch House” (Ann Patchett)
· April 18: “Braiding Sweetgrass” (Robin Wall Kimmerer)
· May 16: “The Four Winds (Kristin Hannah)
You can register for the discussions at the KDL website (kdl.org). Library copies of the next month’s scheduled discussion title will be available for checkout at each meeting and, according to Moseley, “We’ll be using ‘Book Club in a Bag’ copies when they’re available.
It promises to be an interesting and provocative discussions series, with a balance of fiction and non-fiction to satisfy everyone’s preferences. Hope you can join Sara and other lovers of the written word in the months ahead.
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Remembering Kathy Wosinski
Editor’s Note: This article was prepared with Kathy’s input just a week before her passing on September 2 after a brave battle against cancer. We decided to print it as it was originally written as a celebration of Kathy’s life and her unflagging dedication to all she held dear, including her family and Friends of the Library.
When the commercial housing bubble burst with a loud bang back in 2008, Kathy Wosinski decided to leave her commercial real estate career in her rearview mirror and dedicate her time and talents to something with fewer financial rewards but much more personal and social value.
She became a volunteer for the Friends of the Cascade Library. And, not just any old volunteer. Over the next eight years, she moved from sorting donated books to stocking and designing the book displays in the Chapter Two bookstore.
Soon, she was helping out with the processing, organizing and display of children’s books and planning monthly themes for bookstore specials to attract patrons’ eyes and increase sales revenues.
From there, she employed her natural organizational and interpersonal skills to, at first, assist in the planning and execution of quarterly used book sales events and then to take over as the chairperson of sales events while serving on the Friends’ board of directors.
“Kathy is a no-nonsense, get-the-job-done-right individual who has taken a critical role in the expansion of the Friends’ operations over the last five years,” said Joe David, Friends’ president. “In addition to the smaller quarterly sales, she assumed responsibility for our huge Fourth of July sale in 2019 and breathed new life into its organization and execution.”
Kathy’s creativity and sense of humor were captured in one of her favorite memories from recent book sales events. “During one bag-of-books sale, all the volunteers at the check out table wore brown paper bags over their heads, which got the attention of shoppers,” she remembered. “Every sale was unique, working with library staff, township staff and our wonderful volunteers.”
Kathy is, by nature, selfless and motivated to help others. And, that was never more evident in her volunteer work then when she got involved in the Friends’ Alliance to share her wisdom, experience and talent with other Friends’ organizations in the KDL system to help them better achieve their goals.
Of course, Kathy’s days over the years have been filled with a lot more than just commercial real estate and volunteer work. She is nearing her 51st anniversary with husband Phil who has supported Kathy in all aspects of their lives, including doing the heavy lifting at sales events.
When asked about their early years together, Kathy fondly recalled spending their first year of marriage living near the Air Force base at Karamursel, Turkey. “What a great adventure that was, especially ferry rides to Istanbul for site seeing and vacationing in Athens,” she said.
They have two sons. Their eldest, Chris, and his wife, Felicia, live in Rockford and have brightened Kathy and Phil’s lives considerably by giving them two grandchildren. Their second son, Mike, also lives close by in Cedar Springs with his wife, Stacy, and has also added to their extended family with the addition of two “grandpups.”
As is the case with most parents, their lives tended to center around the kids in their formative years with involvement in scouting, St. Robert’s Folk Group, athletics and rock hunting, with a little personal time set aside for crafting, gardening and exploring the wonders of northwest Michigan.
Unfortunately for the Friends, Kathy had to make the tough decision to step back from her volunteer duties last year to focus on a personal health issue.
“We’re very fortunate that others who worked with Kathy have been able to step into the vacuum created by her health issue,” David explained. “But, it’s hard to replace her energy, smile and creativity.”
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Kathy Wosinski
Still a Lot for Kids to Do at the Library
The COVID vaccine has allowed the library and the Friends to cautiously resume many of the activities that were put on hold by the pandemic. But, the recent Delta variant surge has, once again, introduced enough uncertainty to make it very difficult to predict when many events and activities—such as, Flix @ the Library and Booked-For-Lunch--might resume.
But, even amongst all the uncertainty, the staff at KDL and the Cascade branch in particular—with a helping financial hand from the Friends—are managing to keep reading and other fun activities front and center for the youth of the community. Here is a sampling of some of those programs:
Let’s Talk Books!
KDL’s current seasonal outreach, “Let's Talk Books,” is in full swing, this year expanding to select titles for every K - 4th grade classroom in the five schools Cascade serves!
KDL is in the final stages of selection and then will begin creating digital booktalks before sending the books out to the schools. This was a great gift to our teachers to help expand their classroom libraries and to fortify the relationships between the schools and the library.
YMCA Celebration and Activities!
This year 81 kids participated in summer reading and enjoyed a great big party that was funded by the Friends, including a racecar obstacle course, a bookmobile tour, prizes, popsickles, STEAM activities and fun stations. Cascade librarians Nanette Zorn and Ashley Gelio headed up weekly visits to the YMCA to bring fun activities and books to the kids. The YMCA appreciates our partnership so much!
Racecars for teen programming
This summer teen programming took on a new spin with racecars. Each week kids could participate with different tracks, obstacles, and games that involved a variety of off-road vehicles.
KDLville Transformation
Have you noticed any new and cool toys in KDLville?! We're adding some beautiful Montessori-inspired toys and expanding out into the library to extend the invitation to play. The library has purchased giant blocks, put out a light table, ordered a Hape tricycle, pickler triangle, and other creative and inspiring toys to fit the Fall Nature theme and to go with our WonderKnook transition. It's worth stopping by to see this great space develop with the help and support of the Friends.
KDL Lab
Thanks to the Friends, the Cascade branch has new KDL Lab tubs of materials that can circulate to teachers and homeschoolers! It's a privilege to be able to offer materials to interested families and teachers. These include marble runs, K'nex, and magnatiles to name a few and are high-end quality materials that are great for teaching STEAM!
Cascade Heritage Day
On September 25th we'll be celebrating and supporting kids and families with games, prizes, and giveaways for the inaugural Cascade Day! It's a great chance to connect, promote our giant Friends book sale and have fun with our local community!
