Alaina Brown and family enjoyed the Little Free Library (LFL) while camping at Red Top Mountain State Park, but realized LFLs were not located near their hometown. After volunteering with Greenprints Alliance and mentioning it to members, she was connected with Preston Pooser of the Cherokee Recreation and Parks Agency. He liked the idea of installing an LFL beginning with the Noonday Creek Trail in downtown Woodstock. Alaina felt good about the support but needed help to bring the project to life. She reached out to members of the Woodstock Mommies & Minions Mommy’s Group for help. This is when I came on board. I immediately loved the idea and quickly responded that I would like to help. I worked for the Cobb County School District for more than 12 years. I resigned just a couple months ago to stay home with my kids. I work with them and try to teach them how to be involved members of the community and give back. By getting involved with the Little Free Library project, I knew this was a great opportunity for my kids to engage with one of our favorite things — reading — as well as give back to the community. I’m also excited about assisting in the maintenance and upkeep of the library, and take pride in knowing my kids were part of creating something special for their community. On the day of installation, they were very excited and couldn’t wait to pick out some of their own books to put inside for other kids to read.
I contacted my father-in-law, Tony Tate, to help with construction. He is craftsman and can make all sorts of ideas come to life. After doing some research, he came up with the windmill idea, along with the bench for people to sit and enjoy reading. A little more than a year ago Tony was stung by a bee, and although he had an EpiPen, was unable to reach it in time. He passed out and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Throughout the following year, he had multiple tests and saw multiple doctors. There are still a lot of unanswered questions, but the doctor has recommended that he stay engaged in activities to help keep his mind sharp and help with his recovery. I hoped the Little Free Library could be one of those projects for him.
Preston has been great to work with and has even expressed some interest in continuing to work with us on another LFL project at other parks in Woodstock. The ultimate goal is to promote literacy and community in our wonderful city of Woodstock.
By Melissa Tate
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