Starting a new chapter

Carolyn Ford Bock warned people she was feeling "a little emotional" at Monday's ground-breaking ceremony for the Cape Girardeau Public Library's expansion.

More than 70 people attended the ceremony, as tiny orange flags flickering in a light breeze outlined the library's future perimeter and a black, white and yellow banner across the library sign announced the construction.

Ford Bock's voice broke while announcing a $100,000 donation from the Oscar C. Hirsch Foundation. Ford Bock, president of the Friends of the Library foundation board, said the money will double the size of the library's community room.

It is the largest of four major donations helping the library's $8.9 million expansion. Union Pacific Railroad gave $10,000 to create a tutoring room. Praxair Inc. donated $25,000 for computer purchases; Cape Girardeau's Evening Optimist Club gave $5,000 for a children's play structure. The Hirsch Foundation grant will pay for a community room with a 200-person capacity, which can be divided in half when needed. The rooms will be named for the late Oscar C. Hirsch and his wife, Geraldine Fitzgerald Hirsch, founders of KFVS radio and, later, KFVS television. The couple were strong supporters of the library.

"For people and organizations to give of their own resources is just a very, very special thing," Ford Bock said.

Kevin Phelps looks through the stacks for an ACT reference book at the Cape Girardeau Public Library's temporary location on Monday, November 5, 2007. (Aaron Eisenhauer)

The donations are a sign of support after a close vote -- 1,249 to 1,130 -- to approve a property tax increase to fund the expansion.

Library director Betty Martin said such donations will help the library's fantasy become a true story with a happy ending. She thanked the foundation as well as the library's board of trustees, city officials and others in attendance who have given the library unwavering support. Martin also singled out Linda Ayers, her administrative assistant, as well as her husband, the Rev. Mark Martin, for his support during the expansion campaign.

Martin said the library's renovation should be complete "in about 14 months."

In the meantime, readers are using the library's temporary location, 301 S. Broadview St. Library circulation co-supervisor Wendy Lincoln said she's seeing more visitors, many thrilled with the light pouring in from the large storefront windows.

"We're getting a lot of compliments, which is good," she said. "We lost 3,000 square feet, but it's hard to tell, because everything is organized so well."

Library regular Tom Cahill, 50, of Jackson, said he's going out of his way to visit the temporary space. "It's a hangout. It's the place to be," he said.

For Marjorie Hirsch Deimund and her brother, Jim Hirsch, giving $100,000 to the library in honor of their parents made sense. The Hirsch Foundation's "whole purpose is to support the community," Jim Hirsh said.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127

---

Library donations

$100,000

Oscar C. Hirsch Foundation, naming the new community rooms for Oscar and Geraldine Hirsch.

$25,000

Praxair Inc., a gas manufacturer, for computer purchases.

$10,000

Union Pacific Railroad, to create a tutoring room.

$5,000

Cape Girardeau's Evening Optimist Club, for an indoor children's play structure.

The library is offering naming rights for donations of $2,000 or more. Recognition for donations of less than $2,000 is being finalized, according to library director Betty Martin.