AUBURN - The usually quiet library was filled with the sounds of celebrations - and sad goodbyes.
Jennifer Meyers / The Citizen
Kaye Brown, center, speaks with retiring Seymour Public Library Director Stephen C. Erskine during an open house in his honor Sunday afternoon. Videotaping them is electronic resources librarian Jim Vivenzio.
Kaye Brown, center, speaks with retiring Seymour Public Library Director Stephen C. Erskine during an open house in his honor Sunday afternoon. Videotaping them is electronic resources librarian Jim Vivenzio.
Countless patrons, former employees and friends lined up to hug or shake hands with Seymour Public Library director Stephen Erskine on Sunday at his retirement party.
Despite the growing queue, ever the gentleman, Erskine took his time with people, greeting them with a “How do you do?” and thanking them for coming.
He told city councilors Thursday, when he accepted a key to the city, that he was searching for a better word than retirement.
The 66-year-old plans to spend the first part of his retirement deciding what to do with the rest of it. His 60-hour a week job left him little time to think about it.
Hiking and, of course, reading, are high on his list.
The time off will give him plenty of opportunities to gather more stories to dazzle his friends.
“It's like reading a book, listening to him tell a story,” said Leah Lesch, a library board trustee.
Sally Collins, a former part-time library worker, said the first question for Erskine's successor should be if the applicant likes cats. Page and Dewey, two strays who have made the library their home, will stay beyond Erskine's tenure.
The search committee is still interviewing candidates to find a replacement.
During his 37 years in Auburn, Erskine says his greatest accomplishment was “helping, and I emphasize helping because I did not do it on my own, setting up the library district.”
The district translates to secure funding, he added. Residents approved the district in 1992 after the city council slashed the library's budget by 25 percent and threatened to continue cuts.
“What I oversaw as far as the physical (additions) is nice but the district is the foundation to the library,” Erskine said.
Patron Robin Knight is new to Auburn and praised the library for helping her become acquainted with the city and its residents. She also thanked Erskine for supporting programs such as the monthly fiction and non-fiction book clubs, and craft groups.
Erskine graciously thanked people for compliments, but declined to take credit for accomplishments in the library, Knight said. She sat near the fireplace in the fiction section, listening to Bernie McNabb and Bob Piorun perform Christmas carols and standard songs during the festivities.
“It's very gratifying,” Erskine said of Sunday's turnout.
“They could be shopping. I'm surprised the stock market hasn't gone down,” he added, showing off his famous wit and infectious laughter.
Sue Ann Cunliffe, who was affiliated with Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, befriended Erskine during the library's budget woes in the early 1990s. The playhouse's children's theater group raised money to keep it afloat.
“He is, just by the nature of his job, well-read, and has a policy of life-long learning. He said he wants to know how to bake, so he learned everything he can about baking,” Cunliffe said.
And his new hobby paid off for his staff.
He became so good at baking, he took over the job of bringing treats on Mondays from then staff member Jean Fennessy, who spent 18 years at the library. Fennessy freely admits Erskine was better than her at the sweet task.
Cunliffe, an actress and employee of DLA Advertising, believes the library will continue on the path Erskine plotted and will always be the safe haven she visits to clear her head on bad days.
“If people have done their jobs right, the institutions have its own personality,” she said. “And that's what we love about here.”
Staff writer Jessica Soule can be reached at 253-5311, ext 267 or
jessica.soule@lee.net
Despite the growing queue, ever the gentleman, Erskine took his time with people, greeting them with a “How do you do?” and thanking them for coming.
He told city councilors Thursday, when he accepted a key to the city, that he was searching for a better word than retirement.
The 66-year-old plans to spend the first part of his retirement deciding what to do with the rest of it. His 60-hour a week job left him little time to think about it.
Hiking and, of course, reading, are high on his list.
The time off will give him plenty of opportunities to gather more stories to dazzle his friends.
“It's like reading a book, listening to him tell a story,” said Leah Lesch, a library board trustee.
Sally Collins, a former part-time library worker, said the first question for Erskine's successor should be if the applicant likes cats. Page and Dewey, two strays who have made the library their home, will stay beyond Erskine's tenure.
The search committee is still interviewing candidates to find a replacement.
During his 37 years in Auburn, Erskine says his greatest accomplishment was “helping, and I emphasize helping because I did not do it on my own, setting up the library district.”
The district translates to secure funding, he added. Residents approved the district in 1992 after the city council slashed the library's budget by 25 percent and threatened to continue cuts.
“What I oversaw as far as the physical (additions) is nice but the district is the foundation to the library,” Erskine said.
Patron Robin Knight is new to Auburn and praised the library for helping her become acquainted with the city and its residents. She also thanked Erskine for supporting programs such as the monthly fiction and non-fiction book clubs, and craft groups.
Erskine graciously thanked people for compliments, but declined to take credit for accomplishments in the library, Knight said. She sat near the fireplace in the fiction section, listening to Bernie McNabb and Bob Piorun perform Christmas carols and standard songs during the festivities.
“It's very gratifying,” Erskine said of Sunday's turnout.
“They could be shopping. I'm surprised the stock market hasn't gone down,” he added, showing off his famous wit and infectious laughter.
Sue Ann Cunliffe, who was affiliated with Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, befriended Erskine during the library's budget woes in the early 1990s. The playhouse's children's theater group raised money to keep it afloat.
“He is, just by the nature of his job, well-read, and has a policy of life-long learning. He said he wants to know how to bake, so he learned everything he can about baking,” Cunliffe said.
And his new hobby paid off for his staff.
He became so good at baking, he took over the job of bringing treats on Mondays from then staff member Jean Fennessy, who spent 18 years at the library. Fennessy freely admits Erskine was better than her at the sweet task.
Cunliffe, an actress and employee of DLA Advertising, believes the library will continue on the path Erskine plotted and will always be the safe haven she visits to clear her head on bad days.
“If people have done their jobs right, the institutions have its own personality,” she said. “And that's what we love about here.”
Staff writer Jessica Soule can be reached at 253-5311, ext 267 or
jessica.soule@lee.net
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June McHale wrote on Dec 4, 2006 2:34 PM: