Peabody Public Library raises $5,000 for endowment fund with Saturday night gala in Columbia City
(Talk of the Town photos by Jennifer Zartman Romano) Above, attendees at the first annual gala for the Peabody Public Library's endowment fund enjoyed a delightful evening. Below, library director Janet Scank gave an overview of the many programs and activities that make the Peabody Public Library such an integral part of the fabric of Whitley County.
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
A little over 157 years after his day of birth, a birthday party was held Saturday evening lauding the man whose gift of philanthropy endowed the development of the library bearing his name – Simon Jack Peabody.
The Peabody Public Library held their first annual formal endowment benefit gala, Happy Birthday Mr. Peabody, at The Eagle’s Nest Event center. Welcoming a cozy crowd of supporters and local, present day philanthropists, the event highlighted the many programs presented by the library. 
Adding to the ambiance of the evening, guests enjoyed harp music by Sarah Wall and paintings by Sarah Creason and Barbara Born. Dinner was prepared in high style by Chef Stan Horne featuring salmon filets and filet mignon, with aesthetically and palate-pleasing accompaniments.
It wouldn’t have been a birthday party without cake and so there was a towering cake of lemon and vanilla in honor of Simon Peabody, with a token photograph of him placed nearby.
Janet Scank, director of the Peabody Public Library, thanked the many sponsors for the event, including Star Insurance Agency, Star Financial Bank, Bloom Gates Sigler & Whiteleather LLP, Ronald E. Longenbaugh OD, Dr. Chad Christman, W.W. Consultants, C.L.W. Investments, Inc., Site Inc., Columbia City Dock, Jim & Kay Fleck, Nick & Laurell Steill, TNT Floral, Eagle’s Nest Event Center, Advantage Document Solutions, All Occasion Cakery and the Whitley County Community Foundation.
“We’ve had a really tremendous response,” Scank said of the financial support given to bolster the endowment fund Saturday evening.
Scank also recognized library board members in attendance, including John Meyers, Rita Longenbaugh, Bob Brittain, Margaret Malcolm, Laurel Steill and Mayor Jim Fleck.
“These are very dedicated people,” Scank said.
Library employees in attendance included Euphemia Wiss, Beth Seaton and Linda Craig. Additionally, several members of the Friends of the Peabody Public Library were in attendance, including Frances Brown, Jon Pontzius and Sandy Sloan.
Scank shared a little history on the library’s namesake, Simon Jack Peabody. Peabody had been born in Noble County in 1851 and later moved to the Arcola area with his family, which included seven children – several of whom succumb to an outbreak of typhoid. Not a wealthy family, Scank said they barely scraped by. Yet, young Peabody had an entrepreneurial spirit and passing by a grove of oak trees near the Taylor Farm in southern Whitley County, he had an idea that eventually sprouted a lumber company.
Peabody had come from a family of philanthropists and so it was little surprise that Peabody donated land and money to construct the first community-supported library in Whitley County in 1917. Previous libraries had existed, but they were private institutions.
The first Peabody Public Library, originally located at the corner of Jackson and
Main Streetin Columbia City, was razed in 1999 and rebuilt at its current location near the wetlands off East Van Buren Street.
“We realized we couldn’t do what other libraries were doing in that building,” Scank said. Prior to the move, the circulation was around 60,000 per year. That figure is now closer to 300,000 items in circulation per year.
“Since the move, we’ve had 1.6 million people walk through the door,” Scank said. “That’s impressive for a town our size.”
Before the move, Scank said the library offered 15-20 programs – now that figure is in the thousands.
Using the stories of library patrons, photographs of ongoing activities and anecdotes, Scank shared an indepth look at the library.
Beginning with the children’s department, Scank talked about the department’s important role in introducing children to books and joy of reading through story times, Reading Rainbow and other special events. She spoke of Renee Erickson’s onsite art project where children have the opportunity to watch her paint murals of Northeast Indiana wildlife. She added that preparations are underway to create a writing program similar to Reading Rainbow for older children and for children whose work did not fall into the traditional parameters of that writing contest.
Scank also talked about Book Buddies, a program that prepares parents to teach their children to read. “Before a child learns to read, there are skills a child has to have,” Scank said. The program helps parents ensure their children have those skills. “What we want to do is teach parents how to develop those skills in their children.”
The overarching purpose behind why Peabody Public Library presents the many programs they do in the children’s department: “We want to make sure that when a child is asked, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up,’ that the answer can be anything you can dream of,” Scank said.
Moving on to the adult area of the library, Scank commended Columbia City High School art student Ryan Shaffer on the creation of the library’s new logo. The logo, a stylized path of sorts, is now emblazoned throughout the library and could be seen Saturday evening on the cake, on engraved items for the evening even on tiny tags hung from boxes of DeBrands chocolates at each place setting.
Scank mentioned several successful projects including the popular Jeopardy competition, the Wait to Read program (which provides out of circulation books in local waiting rooms and coffee shops) and the recording of local resident’s stories through the Veteran’s History Project and the oral history project that is currently underway, documenting local residents’ memories of the area.
Other popular events and activities in recent history have included Talk Like A Pirate Day, the Judy Garland exhibit, beading workshops, computer classes, gaming and a plethora of others.
One area Scank said the library feels they have not been fully able to address are teens. Yet, through the development of the endowment, they are hopeful to transform a currently unused are of the library into an area with a teen focus.
“These are our challenges and why we’re raising funds for our endowment,” Scank said.
“What began an originally a $5,000 endowment is now up to $30,000,” she added.
As a result of Saturday night’s gala and efforts surrounding the event, Scank was pleased to share that $5,000 was put into the endowment fund.
Further contributions, appreciated in any amount, can still be given to the library’s endowment via the Whitley County Community Foundation or by bidding on two pieces of artwork donated by artists Sarah Creason and Barbara Born. The artwork will be on display at the library and bids will be accepted there.
Contributions to the Peabody Public Library endowment can be mailed to: Whitley County Community Foundation,
400 North Whitley Street, Columbia City, IN 46725. Be sure to include “Peabody Endowment” on the memo line of your check.