News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Behind the doors of the new Sisters Library lies a whole world — the past, present and future, the wonders of the farthest reaches of earth and space and the mysteries of the human heart.
Well over 100 community members gathered on Saturday, January 21, to mark the official opening of that portal into a world of wisdom and knowledge in a Grand Opening Celebration to mark the completion of the new 8,000-square-foot facility.
“It’s a remarkable achievement by a lot of people going back many years — and it’s just fabulous,” said Beth Pearl-Gent, Sisters’ representative on the Deschutes Public Library District Board of Directors (DPLD).
Pearl-Gent emphasized that Sisters owes a debt of gratitude to the countywide voters who approved the library district back in 1999.
“One of the promises we made was that we’d expand services at the Sisters Library and this (facility) is the fulfillment of that promise. And I’m thrilled with the way it was fulfilled.”
Pearl-Gent, along with Sisters Library advisory board members Paul Alan Bennett and Dwight Smith and Librarian Peg Bermel, joyfully wielded “Golden Scissors” to officially cut the ribbon on the grand opening.
The crowd flooded into the library, viewing a massive art exhibit artfully hung by Myrna Dow and featuring more than 70 Sisters artists.
Sisters High School art teacher Mike Baynes was thrilled to see that the library had installed a sophisticated system for hanging art, noting that it speaks of a commitment to making the library an arts center.
In his remarks, DPLD Director Michael Gaston took note of the physical surroundings of the library, noting that the library’s mission “manifests itself in the wood, the tile, the carpet...” creating a welcoming space for community members of all ages and interests.
He noted that the expansive children’s section is “about new beginnings, about possibility and potential.” The teen section will provide a place for discovery on many levels for young people just finding their path in life.
Gaston’s remarks were reinforced by keynote speaker Kit Stafford, who read several poems by her late father, Oregon’s poet laureate William Stafford, and by her brother, Kim Stafford.
Kit Stafford recalled a childhood shaped by words and books and reflected on her memories of libraries and the discoveries made there from childhood to adulthood.
She remembered the tiny Sisters Library she and her family visited on camping trips to Central Oregon.
Reading from her brother’s poem, “A Reader’s Prayer,” she invoked the spirit of the community members present to breathe life into their new library.
“Enchant this place. Awake!”
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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