WHITEHALL — The White Lake Community Library celebrated its 25th anniversary
Friday evening with an open house complete with refreshments, food, and library tours. While many attendees enjoyed catching up and learning more about the library, it was also a time for many in the White Lake area to reminisce about the arduous journey that led to the library’s creation.
Many will recall its predecessor, which was operated out of a room in Whitehall’s City Hall, and many will recall when funding dried up for a dedicated city library in 1996. What followed over the next four years was a saga of legal and policy exploration, city governance battles, fundraising, bonds and a special election to see the doors open on the WLCL Oct. 7, 2000. None of this would have been possible without a dedicated group of library workers and residents who refused to see the city without a space for community members to congregate, learn and grow.
One of these dedicated persons was Bette Carlson, who was honored alongside the library’s anniversary for her part in founding the WLCL. Carlson started in 1984 in the city hall’s library taking charge of the children’s programming and went on to serve as the Community Library’s first director until her retirement in 2011.
Carlson regaled the attendees with the White Lake Community Library story, a story which she described as one of “tenacity, determination, purposeful planning, and a vision for the future by so many people.”
Carlson shared the spotlight with library board members, current and former, and staff, many of whom have been, and remain, lifelong friends.
“You have this library because of the commitment, dedication, and love by a community and so many individuals," she said. "Board, staff, volunteers, you name them, they did a phenomenal job, and this is what you have today because of their work.”
Following Carlson’s speech, current library director Virginia DeMumbrum presented her with a dedication, renaming the meeting room to the Bette Carlson Community Room.
“We might not all be here today if it weren't for [Carlson’s] vision, her grit, and her determination,” DeMumbrum said.
In a closing statement, Carlson, overjoyed by the recognition of her work and looking back on 25 years of the library, said, “This has been the most special night ever, and you are all my friends. I don’t really know all of you, but I feel like I do because we’re all a community.”
