Thank you to everyone who came to our Groundbreaking Ceremony on Saturday! We had over 100 people attend the event and celebrate with us. 10 shovels held by community members each ceremoniously tossed a bit of dirt to signal the beginning of construction on the library. From Ruth Sandvik, Petersburg’s own Purple Librarian to Bud Bergen, a member of the library’s Teen Advisory Group, over 30 people turned the soil on Saturday showing the many efforts of a range of individuals in our community that have made our new library a reality.
Mary Ellen Anderson, chair of the library board, commented on the significance of the event to the community, “a groundbreaking ceremony is meant to connect communities to their past and future. This groundbreaking is special in that it is a groundbreaking for a public library, an institution that itself serves to build community — it embodies our faith in a better future”. Mayor Al Dwyer also spoke at the event saying of library volunteers and board members who have worked to make the dream of a new library a reality, “I applaud their tenacity and unflappable optimism. I know they celebrate with all of us at the prospect of a fine new public library right here next year. ”
We’d especially like to thank the Friends of Petersburg’s Libraries for providing refreshments, the PHS Brass Ensemble & Tonya Abbott for providing the music, Orin Pierson for documenting the event, and the new library’s Capital Campaign Committee for organizing this wonderful event.
Click here for more Photos of the event on the library’s Facebook page.
Click here to listen to a sound portrait of the event from KFSK Public Radio.
Click here to see a short video of the turning of the dirt
