Library celebrating 100 years in Forrest City on Saturday

The Forrest Public Library will be celebrating its 100th anniversary on Saturday with a full schedule of events for children and adults to enjoy.

The celebration will begin at 11 a.m., at the library on South Washington and continue until about 2 p.m.

Library director Arlisa Harris asks for those planning to attend to follow Covid safety guidelines.

"We are following the recommendations from the CDC and recommending that visitors continue to wear their masks and social distance," said Harris.

Sheila Gracey, youth and children's service coordinator for the library, has been helping plan the celebration.

"We will have an open house, food and door prizes," said Gracey. "We'll be serving hotdogs and cake.”

Gracey said library officials are also hoping that people from the community will share their memories of the library with the public during the celebration.

"We have been getting good feedback," said Gracey. "We've gotten letters and notes of things some remember."

Gracey said she will have the letters and notes typed and available for people to read during the celebration.

(Continued from Page 1) One popular story Gracey has been hearing is of Anne Proctor, one of the facility’s first librarians, who would send birthday cards to each child on their birthdays.

"She'd have a card that had their age on it and knew all of their birthdays," said Gracey.

Gracey said Proctor also was well known for decorating the library during holidays. "She was just a phenomenal lady, it sounds like," Gracey added.

During the open house, some of Proctor's handmade Christmas decorations will be on display in the library’s Arkansas Room.

"I'm also working on a little timeline of the best things to happen to the library,” said Gracey.

Gracey said the celebration will also include a disc jockey, a visit from Marty Boone, the balloon man from noon until 2 p.m., and numerous door prize giveaways.

"We have several prizes to give away," said Gracey. "We are hoping for a good turnout."

Gracey said any donations left over from the event would help fund the library's summer reading program.

"Please come join the fun as we celebrate 100 years of service in the community,” said Gracey.

Brodie Johnson • Times-Herald The Forrest City Public Library has a big day planned on Saturday to celebrate the library’s 100th year of existence in Forrest City. The celebration will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the library on South Washington. René Ward, left, and Sheila Gracey, organize door prizes that will be given away at the event.