“When I look at this beautiful facility, I can’t believe it all started from a storefront in Colonial Park Plaza over 50 years ago. And with a dirt floor at that!”
I was sitting in a large, air-conditioned East Shore Area Library conference room across the table from Madelyn Wickert Smith, whose face broke into a smile every time she mentioned the library.
“Back in 1961, only one library existed in Harrisburg—the Harrisburg Public Library,” Smith said. “That library was housed in the present day McCormick Riverfront Library building. A group of us were not happy with our library support and were determined to do something about it.”
And that’s exactly what happened. On Sept. 22, the Friends will mark 50 years as an organization, a group that helped spearhead a new library in the quickly growing suburb of Colonial Park.
From the Ground Up
To start out, the group formed a steering committee, which sent a flier home with students at four elementary schools indicating that a planning committee for a new library was being formed and asking for volunteers.
“We received such a good response that we conducted a survey of slightly over 4,000 persons in the Colonial Park Shopping Center,” Smith said. “Over one-half of those surveyed said they would use a library in the shopping center, and would you believe nearly one-third of respondents told us they would pay taxes to support a library? How about that? We were delighted.”
The Friends of the East Shore Area Library officially formed several years later, in 1965, as a nonprofit organization. It then sent a letter to the head of the Harrisburg Public Library outlining the committee’s plans for a new library. It would be open 52 hours per week, have a book collection of 10,000 to 15,000 volumes and have a certified librarian on staff.
“In June of 1967, we were instrumental in helping the library receive a federal grant of $100,000 to open a new branch and to operate a bookmobile,” Smith said. “Our dream became a reality in October 1967, when the branch library opened in the Colonial Park Plaza. I remember that the plaza was divided into several sections, so we actually started out with a dirt floor. That’s why I’ve always said our effort really began from the ground up.”
The Next Step
The new facility quickly caught on, out-circulating other libraries in the system. So, the Friends soon began advocating for a new, larger building.
“In July of 1975, thanks to a capital campaign and the support of the Friends, ground was broken on Ethel Street for a building to house an expanded library,” Smith said. “In March of 1976, the library relocated to a modern brick building directly adjacent to its first temporary home. What a thrill for all of us.”
With its popularity increasing, the East Shore Area Branch Library became the main library of the Dauphin County Library System in 1985. Another expansion was undertaken in 1990-91, which doubled the public space in the building, and the branch designation was formally dropped from the library’s name.
Today, the role of the Friends is to enhance community awareness of the library, encourage gifts, endowments and bequests and sponsor special programs in cooperation with the staff.
“We’re proud of all we’ve done,” said Bonnie Hindman, the current vice president. “Today, we have over 300 members. At least a third of our members provide the energy for our two book sales each year.”
Over just the last few years, the Friends have raised more than $100,000 for the purchase of shelving, chairs, audiobooks, water fountains and supplies. In 2012, they began scheduling adult programs for the community, a service that the library had not been able to offer for many years due to budget constraints.
“One of our biggest accomplishments was sponsoring the Dr. Henry Greenawald room,” Hindman said. “This renovated room provides a dedicated space for children’s programming and was named in honor of a longtime Friend and book sale organizer.”
Help Celebrate
The 50-year celebration this month will follow the annual meeting of the Friends and will feature two presentations.
“First, we will share the history of the Friends and have on hand a display of memorabilia and artifacts from over the years,” said co-chair Andrea Morrison. “The second presentation will be ‘Things You Never Knew About Linglestown’ by Polly Murphy, which highlights the upcoming 250th anniversary of Linglestown.”
Fred Heagy, along with his daughter, will provide music for the occasion, their songs ranging from present-day hits to musical selections from 50, 40, 30, 20 and 10 years ago.
“The Friends plan to conduct tours of the library for all attendees,” co-chair Pat Lacasse said. “We will cap the celebration with food, a large cake and lots of door prizes. We hope you all will plan to attend.”
Friends of the East Shore Area Library will celebrate its 50th anniversary on Sept. 22 at 1:30 p.m. at the library, 4501 Ethel St., next to the Colonial Park Mall. For more information, visit www.dcls.org/esa or call 717-652-9380.
Don Helin published his first thriller, “Thy Kingdom Come,” in 2009. His novel, “Devil’s Den,” was selected as a finalist in the 2013 Indie Book Awards. His latest thriller, “Secret Assault,” was selected as the best suspense/thriller at the 2015 Indie Book Awards. Contact Don on his website, www.donhelin.com.
