(Oct. 22, 2015) The Berlin Parks Commission will host a pair of openings at Dr. William Henry Park on Flower Street on Saturday, as the town unveils its new memorial to the park’s namesake, as well as a Little Free Library geared at elementary school-aged children.
The two-pronged event will begin at 11 a.m. with the dedication of the Dr. William Henry memorial.
“The parks commission has sought more information about Dr. Henry for several years in hopes of erecting a monument so that everyone using the park can learn about him,” Mary Bohlen, administrative services director and liaison to the parks commission, said in a press release last week.
“Dr. Henry filled a number of roles in the Maryland education system, most importantly as the first African-American superintendent of schools. We’re very proud to finally be able to share his story.”
The NAACP will have a speaker on hand to formally dedicate the monument.
Immediately following will be the ribbon cutting to the Little Free Library, which is the brainchild of 7-year-old Berlin resident Emily Zollinger.
Zollinger spotted a similar Little Free Library at Ben’s Red Swings in Salisbury and received approval from the Town Council last month to create her own version at Henry Park.
Wisconsin resident Todd Bol invented the mailbox-sized structures in 2009, when he built a small model of a one-room schoolhouse as a tribute to his late mother. Bol placed the model on his lawn, filled it with books and hung a sign that simply read “free.”
Six years later, the boxes have become a national phenomenon, inviting people to use the honor system and “take a book/leave a book.”
Zollinger said she wanted to create the Little Free Library in Henry Park because, “the kids there don’t have as much access to the library.”
During a council meeting on Sept. 14 her mother, Rose, quipped, “She’s pretty much the only kid who goes to a playground and finds a library.”
For more information, contact Bohlen at 410-6414314 or mbohlen@berlinmd.gov.
The two-pronged event will begin at 11 a.m. with the dedication of the Dr. William Henry memorial.
“The parks commission has sought more information about Dr. Henry for several years in hopes of erecting a monument so that everyone using the park can learn about him,” Mary Bohlen, administrative services director and liaison to the parks commission, said in a press release last week.
“Dr. Henry filled a number of roles in the Maryland education system, most importantly as the first African-American superintendent of schools. We’re very proud to finally be able to share his story.”
The NAACP will have a speaker on hand to formally dedicate the monument.
Immediately following will be the ribbon cutting to the Little Free Library, which is the brainchild of 7-year-old Berlin resident Emily Zollinger.
Zollinger spotted a similar Little Free Library at Ben’s Red Swings in Salisbury and received approval from the Town Council last month to create her own version at Henry Park.
Wisconsin resident Todd Bol invented the mailbox-sized structures in 2009, when he built a small model of a one-room schoolhouse as a tribute to his late mother. Bol placed the model on his lawn, filled it with books and hung a sign that simply read “free.”
Six years later, the boxes have become a national phenomenon, inviting people to use the honor system and “take a book/leave a book.”
Zollinger said she wanted to create the Little Free Library in Henry Park because, “the kids there don’t have as much access to the library.”
During a council meeting on Sept. 14 her mother, Rose, quipped, “She’s pretty much the only kid who goes to a playground and finds a library.”
For more information, contact Bohlen at 410-6414314 or mbohlen@berlinmd.gov.