Louise Hall feted at Farnham’s 60th Library Anniversary
Louise Hall, longtime resident of Farnham, was the star of the show at a ceremony last Thursday marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Farnham town library. Before the library, books circulated between towns in specially converted busses sponsored through a program supported by Mcgill University. Louise, alongside her sister Adelaide Lanktree, spearheaded the start of a permanent library in 1958 along with the parent committee of Farnham Elementary School. There was a campaign to gather books over several months and the town gave space to house the library. Five years ago the town took over the operation of the library. It was then officially called the Louise Hall Library.
The special presentation took place at the library, where commemorative bags were given out and several presenters spoke. The mayor, Patrick Melchior, spoke glowingly of Louise and Adelaide’s contributions to the town. A former student of Louise’s, Ross Lemke, spoke of how he came to Farnham many years ago from Ontario when he was in grade six, and he stayed as Louise’s pupil for several years. Over that time, he said, he went from not speaking any French to being fluent in French. He grew up to be a teacher too. He thanked Louise for making such a profound difference in his life. Fay Cotton, a distant cousin, spoke about the generousity of her two Farnham cousins throughout her lifetime. Dino Coude, who is responsible for the library team, spoke, as did Luc Beranger, a local author.
Louise received flowers and a special book in which quite a few people had written special messages. Then she addressed the large crowd in perfect French for ten minutes thanking everyone for their good wishes and for continuing to make the library a vibrant place to come. The library is free for all residents of Farnham. It is hoped that the value of the written word will continue in Farnham for many years to come.