Gentry library plans celebration
GENTRY — The Gentry Public Library and the Gentry Public Library Association will host a public reception on Friday, Oct. 20, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., to celebrate the library’s anniversary. Ten years ago, the library moved into the renovated former Carl’s Hardware Store building.
Before then, the library was housed in a small building on Main Street. In 2002, realizing the library had outgrown its building, then library board director James Furguson and librarian Darla Threet began a search for a larger facility. The vacant Carl Hardware store was selected, and awardwinning architect Marlon Blackwell was chosen to plan the building’s redesign. The library moved to its current location in October 2007.
During planning for the building’s 10th-anniversary celebration, Threet noticed a building with the heading “Public Library” on a 1916 city map. This led to further investigation into the history of Gentry’s library. Stories about a lending library in Gentry appear in Gentry newspaper archives from the teens through the 1940s. At times, the library was located on Main Street; other times it was housed in the high school. For many years, the librarian was a Mrs. Hale. The library would appreciate any information about her since none has yet been found. The library seems to have been absent from Gentry for a couple of decades; but then, in 1975, the current library was founded and housed in a small building on Main Street.
The reception recognizing these historical milestones is open to the public, and current and past library board members and library staff are cordially invited to help celebrate architect Marlon Blackwell’s award-willing building design and the intermittent century of service of the Gentry Public Library.
McKee Foods Corporation will provide and serve finger foods and refreshments. Local authors will be available for discussion and have books for sale. Displays of Gentry historical photographs and a slide show will run continuously. Tours of the library will be offered.
In a fundraising effort, a Facebook auction of gift baskets and home décor items will run through Sunday, Oct. 21. The articles can be viewed at the Gentry Public Library on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon; and on Facebook on the Gentry Public Library Association page, where bids can also be placed.