Gifts that Span Generations

Where were you in 1972?  I was a sixteen-year-old girl in her junior year of high school in Stillwater, Oklahoma.  I was devouring Catcher in the Rye, struggling to make sense of Trigonometry and working part time to earn money for college.  I wore bell bottom jeans, John Lennon style granny glasses and waffle stompers on my feet.

Like most teenagers, I thought my parents were square, my friends were hip and being cool was the ultimate goal. In a nutshell, I thought I knew just about everything there was to know. 

Fast forward 38 years to 2010. I’m a 54 year old woman whose fashion preference is anything loose and comfortable.  Reading glasses hang from a chain around my neck and arch supports literally keep me on my toes.  And cool? That’s what I feel only between hot flashes. 

And one thing I do know is that amazing things happen that can never be predicted.  Such was the case 38 years ago. Who could have predicted I would someday move to Pullman, Washington and cross paths with a woman named Marcia who was only four years old that same year I was sixteen?  Not me.  And yet, it happened.

In 1972 Marcia Hill was one of 20 students in Pullman’s City Preschool. That year, teachers, Mrs. Susan Lamb and Mrs. Zella Bassett had their class do a project that resulted in twenty charming works of art.  These were then given to Neill Public Library, where they still hang proudly on the entry wall across from the children’s department.

Fast forward again - this time to 2005, when I met first met Marcia.  She and her husband, Jeff Gossard brought their sweet little boy, Julian to the library’s weekly baby programs. From the moment I met this new mama and daddy, I was impressed with their kind, gentle manner and the wonderful ways they were parenting their son.  

As I got to know Julian and his parents, it clicked - little Marcia Hill was now grown-up Marcia Gossard and her ladybug artwork from 1972 hangs on our library’s wall. Amazing!  What a gift!

Marcia’s connection to the library grew as she did and eventually her library became her little boy’s library.  And now as a result, Julian (a big kindergartener) is a book lover and reader who knows his way around the library like a staff member!  It is the legacy of family literacy, one generation to the next.  Does it get any better than that?

Well, actually, it does.  A few weeks ago, at almost the exact same age his mother was in 1972, Julian came to the library with his own gift. He stood at my desk holding a huge bag of wooden train set pieces - cars, people, bridges and track. He said he no longer needed them and thought some “little kids” at the library could use them.  As his proud mama and daddy looked on, the gift went from his hands, to mine and then out to the train table set we have in our children’s area for everyone to enjoy.  Generation to generation, kindness is passed down and gifts are given to others. 

Now, that’s quite a story isn’t it?  It’s a story about the passage of time, family literacy and sharing the joys of the library.  And perhaps most of all, it’s a story about giving.

So, here’s to you, Marcia and Jeff and Julian. Thank you for your gifts that span 38 years.  Thank you for being a part of our Neill Public Library family. 

And one more thing I do know is that the torch will pass again.  In another 38 years or so, Julian will walk through our doors on Grand Avenue and share the library with his children. He’ll read up a storm to them, just like his mama and daddy have always done with him. I’m confident he’ll also stop and show his children their grandma’s ladybug artwork and tell them all about the importance of kindness and sharing and the gifts his parents gave to him and to our community.  Gifts, indeed.  Thank you, Gossard family for your gifts to us.

Kathleen Ahern

Children's Librarian

published 11-27-10 in Moscow-Pullman Daily News