Kent Memorial Library – So Much More to Offer!

There is a lot to love about Suffield and over the past year I have been intent on showing my grandkids some of my favorite places. We have scooted on the ice at Stoney Brook Park, picked blueberries at Kuras farm, checked out all the gravestones at Woodlawn Cemetery, looked at the calves at Hastings farm and listened to birds at Sunrise Park. But one place in Suffield was on our radar all year, in good weather and bad, and each visit proved to be a home run. That was the Kent Memorial Library. I would find myself heading up the steps with a grandchild or two in various states of dishevelment. But no matter that we are strangers to a hairbrush, each time we rounded the bend to the children’s department we were blown away. The KML team had all sorts of tricks up their sleeves which helped to extract the grandchildren from their remora-like grip on my leg. And before I knew it, they were toddling off fully engaged in the activity planned for the morning One day the kids learned how to write their names in serious jet-black paint using Chinese characters, another day they got to make friends with a baby goat and rub his velvety ears. In the spring, they watched the eggs roll around in the incubator and the magic happened for kids and grown-ups alike when they hatched into chicks. No one could resist. Just this past week I popped in with my two granddaughters and they got to paint rocks and make necklaces and as if that wasn’t great enough, they were encouraged to spin for a prize for the summer reading program and then had time for a puppet show and a whole bag of books. The staff made it all so fun and I knew a lot went on behind the scenes to make the children’s program so appealing.

And on those dark days of winter when the grandkids are not in tow, I love the library as an escape. The Garden Club has lovely displays of exotic amaryllis bulbs of every color and other times they balance that with locally grown forsythia which is pushing the spring forward. There are art exhibits which inspire dioramas to critique, and if all else fails, I like to check out the display of books. My favorite is the color wall of books as you head up the ramp. It is a vision that stops you in your tracks. The titles jump out at you and make me want to run home and spend the day rearranging all my claptraps.

So, it is no surprise that the Library is a big draw for us. It’s the books and so much more. If you are looking to add some wonder or inspiration to your day, head on over. z