This week, the Cutler Memorial Library in Plainfield is honoring two longtime trustees. Jan Danzinger and Sandra Wells each served for 20 or more years on the library board.Both women will be honored at a reception on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
"Plaques observing their dedication and commitment will be unveiled at 6:30 sharp," a press announcement states. "Light refreshments, provided by the Friends of the Library, will be served."
The Cutler Memorial Library is not a municipal property; it's a private non-profit funded through a trust.
According to the announcement, "Jan Danziger served as a trustee from 1993 until 2015, and as treasurer for most of that time. The other trustees at that time were ready to shutter the place and dissolve the Cutler Trust ... But Jan knew how important libraries are to communities; if it weren’t for her, there might not still be a library in Plainfield at all."
Until her retirement in 2015, Danziger was an art teacher at Twinfield Union School. She also served as editor of a now-defunct Twinfield newsletter called Field Notes.
Sandra Wells was also a teacher at Twinfield, and now works at Woodbury School and Saint Monica-Saint Michael School, in Barre. She is also a mentor with the Twinfield Together mentoring program.
"Ms. Wells served as the chairperson of the board for most of her 20 years as a trustee, from 1995-2015," the announcement states. "During those years, the library trustees raised and borrowed the money to replace the roof, acquired grants to winterize the building and replace the aging furnace, and mentored many entry-level librarians who would go on to make their career in the library field after completing training with the Vermont Department of Libraries."
Shoes like those worn by Danziger and Wells are hard to fill. The announcement went on to state, "Small towns like Plainfield, Vermont, rely on civic volunteerism to oversee many of the vital institutions of the community ... The Cutler Memorial Library is in search of one or two new volunteers to join their board of trustees."
A decades-long commitment is not required!
