Friends History-1990s
A Mature Group Works Hard
By now, the Friends committee was a well-oiled machine, which annually held two huge fund-raisers, conducted a membership campaign, and sold items at both libraries. Leaders of the committee during this decade were:
Kathy Hutcheson, 1987-1988
Kaye Gnazzo & Joan Ware, 1988-1990
Kaye Gnazzo & Barbara Rowland, 1990-1995
Victoria Gerent, 1995-1996
As a result of the efforts of the committee, in 1991 they won a state-wide award given by Friends of Conn. Libraries (FOCL) as the Outstanding Friends group.
Kaye Gnazzo, Co-Chairman, 1988-1995
The book sale continued to grow, with net profits at about $8000 by 1996. In 1989 the timing of the sale was changed from fall to spring in order not to conflict with Dickens.
Dickens also grew and grew and by 1996 was a 3-day event, with preview party, Teddy Bear Tea for children, and the house tour. In its heyday, Dickens was making a profit of $16,000-20,000, split evenly between the library and the Stanley-Whitman House.
1991—Barbara Rowland, MaryBeth Langton, Barbara Gibson, & Jack Short of FOCL
