Not only is the Mansfield/Richland County Public Library (MRCPL) the place to find books, movies, magazines, and music, it’s also a place for fun crafts, classes, and community. Families enjoy adult, teen, and children’s programs, many of which plant the seed for family holiday traditions. A recent gingerbread house project delighted local children.
“Gingerbread House” decorating was hosted in each of the nine branches of the library.
Children crowded the MRCPL Bellville Branch last week to hear a story and decorate their own gingerbread houses. Youngsters covered cardboard forms with frosting and candy as parents and grandparents snapped pictures, recorded video, and tried to keep the mess to a minimum.
Sarah Reef, Children’s Assistant at the MRCPL Bellville Branch said, “The Gingerbread House program is sponsored by the Friends of the Library. Families look forward to it. It’s kind of like a family tradition and a library tradition.”
Diane Tobias, Coordinator of Services for Children at MRCPL said of the “Gingerbread House” program, “It started in Lexington, blossomed into a few branches, and branched out system-wide. We’ve been doing it for years, and it turned into the beginning of a lot of people’s Christmas celebrations.”
Janet Madden, a former MRCPL Lexington Branch Librarian, started the program at the Lexington Branch. Her husband, Steve Madden, an engineer, designed the houses, which were made of recycled cardboard from book boxes.
Tobias notes that the Monday after Thanksgiving has been set aside as the “Gingerbread House Sign-Up Day.”
“It’s gotten really popular,” said Tobias. “We have waiting lists.”
“We’ve had some very fun programs,” says Mary Frankenfield, MRCPL Bellville Branch Manager. “The craft programs for the adults always seem to be the most popular. People really enjoy being able to try their hand at different things, without having to invest in all the supplies they would need to do them themselves.”
Penny Bechtel of Butler led a “Keepsake Cookbook” workshop at the MRCPL Bellville Branch last week. Hers was one of many holiday workshops hosted by the library this month.
The cookbook program was inspired by Bechtel’s efforts to make a family heirloom cookbook for her own daughter. Each recipe is accompanied by a favorite photo and a memory of the event or person featured in the photo.
Bechtel also displayed one of her own family traditions – the family tablecloth. Signed by each family member in attendance for Thanksgiving dinner, the signatures are then embroidered into the linen tablecloth, using a different color for each year.
“There are signatures of people here that are gone now,” Bechtel said, pointing out signatures of long lost loved ones. “This still is on my table, and we gather around it and we all share memories. Their names are on here never to be forgotten.”
Bechtel, a former substitute librarian, has been teaching various craft workshops for over ten years, often assisted by her mother, Norma Miller, a retired librarian from the Butler Branch of MRCPL.
MRCPL hosts activities for all ages and interests from computer coding to knitting, as well as from self-defense for teens to magic lessons for children.
If you have a skill you’d like to share with the library contact Deb Smith, MRCPL Volunteer Coordinator at 419-521-3145.
MRCPL can be found on Facebook and Twitter, as well as their website. The MRCPL Main Library is located at 43 West Third Street, Mansfield, Ohio. The main library and the branches will be closed on Christmas eve and Christams day.
“It started in Lexington, blossomed into a few branches, and branched out system-wide. We’ve been doing it for years, and it turned into the beginning of a lot of people’s Christmas celebrations,” said Diane Tobias.
