Loyal Patron wins Oyen Library Raffle
By Heather White
President, Friends of OAC Libraries
Brenda Sanderson is the lucky winner of $1,205.00 in the Town of Oyen Library’s 50/50 raffle. When Brenda heard that her name was on the winning ticket, drawn on April 30th, her comment was, “I am thrilled and honoured to be the first winner of the Oyen Library 50/50, but I owe half of the winnings to my husband, Denny, as we each put in $50.00. He said $100.00 was the better deal as each ticket cost $1.00. Brenda revealed that most of her share of the winning money will be put back into the library to add to the Audio CD selections. She says she plans to purchase one essential Pampered Chef cooking item for herself and keep back a small sum for future Library 50/50s.
Brenda has been a long-time loyal member of the Oyen Library. She explained, “We are so lucky to have had our wonderful library all these years. I have always made sure my children, my grandchildren, the many children who came to play at our house while their moms worked, and all the children I worked with at the Assumption and Oyen Public Schools and on the Acadia and Meridian Colonies always had the opportunity to be read to and to be surrounded by books from our library. Our library has been a hub for the children in the community to gather for Story Time, crafts, and to lick the yummy icing off the cupcakes before taking the first bite.”
The library has not only been important to the children in Brenda’s busy life, but, as she revealed, it also played an essential role in the lives of her mother, Beth Barnett, and her lifelong friend, Sylvia Wiechnik. Their eyesight began to fail as the two ladies aged, so Brenda and Denny took up the Audio CD run. Brenda ordered the latest books in Audio CDs, and she or Denny would pick them up from the library. The titles were faithfully listed in Beth’s record book when she listened to them, and then they were delivered to Sylvia for her enjoyment. This gave the two ladies something besides the weather to discuss – the good and the bad elements of each story. They had their own little book club.
Brenda now enjoys listening to good stories while she bakes, cleans, etc. She stated, “I also read as much as I can to enrich myself and keep myself uplifted and entertained.”
This loyal Town of Oyen Library patron concluded, “Our library is one of the most important essential services in our little town. Another important service is the walking paths that the Town of Oyen has created for us dog walkers and walkers who get out and exercise every day. I met some of those walking gals who came from all across Canada to live in Oyen while their TC husbands worked on the pipelines, and they too read books from our library. I ask each and everyone who reads this article to donate to the library or invest in the Library 50/50 raffles sponsored by the Friends of the OAC Libraries. We need to maintain a good library service in Oyen.”
