Free little neighborhood library opens for book exchanges

by Tanja Vass/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp

Post resident Judy Woodward led a ceremonial ribbon-cutting and inaugural book stocking of a free little neighborhood library June 2 at the box’s location in front of the historic Sutler Home on Scott Avenue.

Woodward spearheaded the creation and installation of the free neighborhood library. The U.S. Disciplinary Barracks built the custom structure, ensuring the box could effectively protect its contents from the elements, while Woodward took on the responsibility of painting and beautifying the box.

Woodward said her greatest joy is bringing joy to others, and the neighborhood library came to mind when she was thinking about what more she could do to improve the community.

Free neighborhood libraries exist across Leavenworth County and the rest of the country, providing local communities with a steadily changing supply of books and potential reading material. Woodward noted the steady stream of books coming through Fort Leavenworth.

“There are almost 500 families that will transition in and out of Leavenworth within the next five years, and so my dream is, my hope is, that as kids and spouses come in, that this creates some joy as they are transitioning.”

The small ceremony was attended by Woodward’s family, neighbors, and even Clara VanderStaay, the great-great granddaughter of the original post sutler, Hiram Rich, who built the Sutler House in 1841. A sutler was a salesperson who followed U.S. Army troops and supplied them with non-issued items like tobacco and whiskey.

VanderStaay was invited to cut the ceremonial ribbon-cutting alongside 12-year-old Ellie Jo Skrmetta, a neighbor who contributed the first books to the new library.

“I have to give credit to all the neighbors who make it happen and donated most of these books from the (postwide) garage sale,” Woodward said.

By the next morning, she said the library had been visited several times and books had readily been exchanged.

A little neighborhood library’s rules are simple, as outlined on the door plaque of the Sutler House library: “The best books are shared. Take books: If you see something you would like to read, take it! Share books: Pass them on to a friend or return to any free library. Give books: Continue to be a friend! Share and pay it forward (when you can.)”

Similar libraries on post include a free neighborhood library in Iowa Village near Harrold Youth Center and a registered Little Free Library in Infantry Barracks.

The free neighborhood library and landscaped sitting area in Iowa Village was dedicated to the memory of Hailey Grace Bradford, infant child of Katherine Bradford, who passed away in 2016.

The neighborhood library in Infantry Barracks was registered with the Little Free Library organization by 2016 Command and General Staff Officer Course graduate Maj. Neal Miller and was decorated with handprints by the children of CGSOC students in the 2016 class.

To find registered Little Free Libraries, visit https://littlefreelibrary.org/map/.