Out and About with Outreach

Submitted by Lorraine Lane

At our visit to Gracemont last week, we were greeted immediately by a new resident, Myrtle Harben. Ms. Harben used to be a Mailbox Books patron until her sight started to fail and I set her up with a GLS (formerly GLASS) digital player to enjoy.

Ms. Harben had another connection with the library in that she worked with Sarah at the Dawson County library and had volunteered at the Cumming Friends bookstore. We had lost touch with her since she transferred her service to GLS, and it was so dear to connect again.

Our interactions at Gracemont continue to be touching in so many ways. Alex, retired military who uses a wheelchair, came to visit and share the list of books that he had read. I had visited him months before in his room after another resident asked if I would pay him a visit. The funny thing is he continues to share that he isn’t a reader and isn’t interested in our services but yet he has a pad full of titles that he has read. I think he just likes to visit and have someone interested in what he has to say.

We then travelled down the road to The Oaks at Hampton Park, where Joanie and I presented Tales and Travels Las Vegas to a group of 6.  Even though the group was small we had good interactions with several of the residents. One resident in particular, Eugenia, made a connection with Joanie when she learned that they both lived in the same town for a period of time.

One of the performers mentioned during the presentation is Lena Horne, one of the first Black women performers in Vegas. A resident was enjoying a Lena Horne picture book that we brought when she connected with a portion of the book. She shared that she worked at a shoe store as a young woman and noticed on Saturdays that African Americans would come and shop for shoes bringing in a piece of string that was the length of their child’s foot.  Lena Horne shared in her book that her shoes were always too small because they didn’t allow African Americans to try on shoes. Eugenia now understood why her Black clientele would bring in the string.  It was so nice to have her contribute her light bulb moment with the group.

As you can see, our time with our senior patrons takes us all on a journey. I know I can speak for the entire group when I say that we love our jobs and consider ourselves blessed to come alongside our patrons and be a source of encouragement as we provide a listening ear.