Message to the community from Luren E. Dickinson

Marking the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11 was a significant event at the Shaker Library not only because it memorialized that date, but also because it was the dedication day for our new flagpole, which replaces the original one that was eighty years old.

The Main Library occupies the old Moreland School, which opened in the fall of 1926.The trees that were planted around the property in those early years eventually outgrew the 60-foot steel pole, overshadowing and obscuring it. Over eight decades rust and other factors took their toll and the flag was no longer flown. Friends of the Shaker Library applied for and received a $3,000 Neighborhood Grant from the City toward a new anodized aluminum pole, which is the same height as the old one and should last for generations to come.

The September 11 dedication ceremony was made even more special by the presence of Mary Katherine Graham, a woman who received most of her early education in the late 1920s at Moreland School. The Shaker Heights High School graduate and a longtime resident of the community joined with others in raising the first flag, that measures 12 feet high by 18 feet wide, to half staff.

We are extremely fortunate to have such a supportive Friends organization. Not only did they obtain the initial grant funding for the new flagpole, but they also have agreed to supply an additional $6,000 toward its cost and installation. In addition, the Friends Board has pledged $25,000 to the library to be used for a variety of library programs and projects in 2006-2007.

I hope that more people will become members of the Friends of the Shaker Library and support them. The Fall and Spring Book Sales are the Friends’ biggest fund-raising events. Please make a note on your calendar for the “Friends Only” Sale scheduled from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, October 19. The Book Sale continues from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, October 20 and Saturday, October 21, and concludes with a Bag Sale from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, October 22, when all bags of books will cost $5. Hardbound books sell for as little as $1 and paperbacks for as little as fifty cents. Take advantage of this event to expand your personal library and to join the Friends.

Luren E. Dickinson, Director
dickinson@shakerlibrary.org