Colby celebrates 140 years of library service

The Colby Community Library (CCL) hosted a 140th birthday celebration on Dec. 5. There has been library service for Colby area patrons since 1879, making the Colby Community Library the 24th oldest library in the state of Wisconsin (out of 367 libraries).

Door prizes were awarded to 57 guests. They won them by checking out items at certain times or in special quantities or by doing various activities. For example, someone sang “Happy Birthday” to the library, another wore a Colby Community Library shirt, and still another did a birthday dance.

A craft project was available to provide table decorations for the local nursing home and assisted living facilities.

An interesting activity encouraged guests to find themselves in the scrapbooks on display, which included history and artifacts from the last 140 years.

Trivia contest slips were given to patrons checking out items during the event. Trivia winners were Mary Holtman of Colby, April Brill of Abbotsford, and Myra Hopperdietzel of Colby.

The Pearl Vorland History Room had a steady flow of visitors to peruse yearbooks dating back to 1923, leaf through local centennial books, and view historical items from early Colby years.

The day’s refreshments included oldfashioned cookies provided by Kountry Kitchen Katering and several varieties of Colby cheese (hopefully soon to be the state cheese) from Ray’s Market.

Over 200 people visited the CCL during the celebration and wished the library good luck as it moves into its 141st year of service.