Altamont Library Notes for Wednesday, June 9, 2021
As you may have read elsewhere in this newspaper, last week Altamont lost a pillar of our community. Dick Howie was a very special person to many of us in the village and beyond and he will be sorely missed.
As we here in the village have processed his passing, the thing that everyone keeps saying to each other about Dick is, “He was a good man.”
This is a simple and true statement, but in print, it doesn’t quite express what we all mean when we say it. When people say he was a good man, we mean that in all he did, and in every interaction, he radiated goodness and kindness.
In the six-and-a-half years that I knew him, I saw Dick’s goodness, decency, and compassion on countless occasions, and in acts large and small. Core to Dick’s goodness were his strong faith, his work ethic, and his commitment to the many communities of which he was an active member. He was a person that you could look up to, and say: “That’s what I want to be like.”
I may be wrong about this, but I don’t think that Dick stumbled accidentally into being a role model for so many of us. I believe that he worked hard at it. I know that he read more, thought more, and studied more about how to be a good person than almost anyone I’ve ever met, with the sole exception of his beloved wife, Ellen. He was assisted in this work by his church, his community, and his family.
Dick showed up. If there was work to be done, he would be there.
If the library was having a board meeting, a fundraiser, a book club, a potluck, or anything else, you could be certain that Dick would be there to do whatever he could to help. The library was far from the only recipient of his energies, and he was an active member of Altamont Reformed Church, and Community Caregivers among, I’m sure, many other organizations.
Dick was so proud to have helped to renovate the train station over the many years that it took to transform it into today’s library. At the time of his passing, he was an active member of our board of trustees.
A few weeks ago, Dick rode in the Altamont Reformed Church’s Memorial Day Parade float, spreading the word about the church’s weekly community dinners. I’m glad that he got one last parade. I’m glad that, as a member of our book club, he got to read one last good book. I’m glad that right before he went into the hospital, he got to attend one last Sunday church service.
I’m glad that he got to spend so many afternoons on his porch at the top of a hill with Ellen by his side. I’m glad that in the end he died as he lived, embraced by community and surrounded by love.
Rest in peace, Dick. May your memory be a blessing.
Come on in
For the past few months, the only way for people to come into the library has been to make an appointment. Not anymore.
As of a few weeks ago, you no longer need an appointment to come into the library to browse, make copies, use the computer, or whatever else you need to do. Just walk right in!
Now, sometimes you may have to wait a few minutes, since the building capacity is capped at 10 people. In order to make sure you never have to wait too long, visits will still be held to 20 minutes or less. And, in order to protect our patrons who cannot or have not gotten vaccinated, all patrons over the age of 2 must wear a mask for their entire visit regardless of vaccination status.
So stop in and say hi if it’s been a while. Our doors are open, so come on in!
Saturday hours
It seems like every week recently, we’re taking another big step back toward normalcy: Two weeks ago, we brought back in-person story times in Orsini Park. Then last week, we opened up our doors for walk-in browsing.
Well, here’s one more step along the path back to normalcy: On June 5, we’re resuming Saturday hours! We’ll be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays going forward, so come and pay us a visit!