On June 25, the James Blackstone Memorial Library hosted a 125th anniversary community-wide celebration. The celebration was a huge success, with an estimated crowd of over 250 people attending throughout the day. I‘d like to thank our trustee Dr. Michelle Blank for spearheading this event and the rest of the 125th Planning Committee (Maryann Amore, Mary-Rita Killelea, Matt Roth, and Pat Sanders) for all of their hard work throughout the past year to make this special day happen.

Many other people also contributed their time and talents, and I’d like to say thank you to them, as well. Thank you to the Friends of the Library, who generously sponsored Bill Harley’s delightful storytelling program and our new collection of lawn games; to all of the trustees, Friends, and volunteers who worked hard to make the event run smoothly; to Jamie Cosgrove for attending the ceremony and delivering his proclamation; to Bill O’Brien and Pam Johnson of The Sound for documenting the day; to the Town of Branford for supplying refuse and recycle bins to help keep the grounds clean; to staff who helped with the event or held down the fort during the festivities; to Hornet’s Nest and Ashley’s for providing refreshments and Covergirl for their fantastic music; to Dr. Michelle Blank and her husband Frederick Jackson for sponsoring the commemorative blankets; to Timothy Blackstone, aka Jon Nichols, for gracing us with his presence; and a HUGE thank you to everyone in the community who came out to enjoy the day with us!

We loved seeing everyone enjoying the wonderful library lawn and look forward to seeing you all soon, back at the Blackstone.

Katy McNicol

Director, James Blackstone Memorial Library