Nestled in along the edge of Elmira’s Barnswallow Drive you’ll find a new yellow-roofed addition to the neighbourhood.
Easily visible with its blue, red and yellow paint, the Little Free Library was built and installed by a local Cub Scout eager to spark in others his love of reading.
His handiwork is the first registered Little Free Library to come to Elmira. The non-profit organization provides an online mapping tool to foster neighbourhood book exchanges worldwide, with the purpose of inspiring a love of reading and creativity.
The free book exchange works on a take one/leave one system where people can enjoy reading a new-to-them book, while leaving one of their own previously read books.
The idea to install the library came to Hayden George, a 10-year- old John Mahood Public School student, when he was deciding what to do for his Cub Scouts capstone assignment.
“I love reading and I think reading should be a habit for most people because people learn from it,” said Hayden.
The capstone assignment was the final task needed to receive the Seeonee Award, the top award in Cubs. Hayden had to reflect on his experience as a Cub with the group, earn ten levels in outdoor adventure skills, do 15 hours of community service as a Cub, and complete the final capstone project, one that would add to his community in some way.
He is the first Elmira Cub to receive the Seeonee Award.
“Scouts Canada as a whole program has switched, just this year they have gotten rid of the star system and have introduced something called Canadian Path,” said Mathew George, Hayden’s father and Cub Scout leader. “The Seeonee Award is brand new for the Canadian Path, so he is the first one in Elmira to ever get it.”
As father and Scout leader, Mathew says he was very proud of his son giving back to the community by facilitating the library.
“The project needed to mean something to the Cub for the community, some sort of capstone project to encapsulate your three years to look back and reflect that I did that as a Cub and feel proud,” said Mathew. “Ultimately the youth gets to choose their project, us leaders have to decide whether we think it is suitable or not.”
Although it was his idea, he did received some helpful hands from family in building the structure and cutting the plexiglas.
“So I got a lot of help mainly from my granddad, basically he cut the wood and then helped with the screws and mainly the making of it. I did the painting myself, and then my mom put in the plexiglas and, my dad mostly helped me get this (the plaque) for the registration,” said Hayden.
After completion, the Georges chose Barnswallow Drive as the location for the library.
“You know we are pretty lucky to have a backyard back onto a main street where it is very visible so that was kind of the good fortune for us,” said Mathew. “We have already had a lot of people comment on it just by driving by.”
Hayden says he is happy to see that people are using the library, with the majority of the original books already exchanged.
“It feels good, I now know that people are actually reading because we checked on it and its some other books so I think that, yeah, I feel good,” said Hayden.
The library is open to anyone hoping to get a new good read in exchange for an old one.
