100th day dime collection adds up for library

"Hip Hip Hooray! It's the 100th day!" said a sign in the lobby of Greencastle-Antrim Primary School on Jan. 31.

Classes celebrated with different activities involving the number 100.

As they have done for years, first-graders collected dimes for Greencastle's Lilian S. Besore Memorial Library.

The youngsters gathered in the pit in the lobby and the figures were put on the board as a representative of each of the 10 classes carried up a container of dimes and gave it to teacher Heidi Funk.

When the total was tallied, the dime collection brought in $1,094.90 for the library.

The dime collection is a tradition of "years and years" for G-A first-graders, Funk said.

Cheyenne Bookwalter, Besore's children's librarian, is a 2011 graduate of Greencastle-Antrim High School and remembers the dime collection when she was in school.

Bookwalter explained to the students that children's books will be purchased with the money and a plate will be put in the front of each book indicating the year of the donation.

"We have ones back from when I was your age," Bookwalter said.

She also told the youngsters about some of what the library offers, both during the summer and throughout the school year, including Read-to-Dogs, family nights, author visits and clubs for interests like Legos and American Girl.

The theme of this year's summer reading program is "Libraries Rock" and activities will include music and archaeology, she said.