Check out the GRRL’s winter reading program for adults and teens. See the librarians to sign up or for more information.

In conjunction with the group’s yearly potluck, the members dressed the Howard Lake Library in its Christmas finest for all to enjoy.

Many thanks to all who have supported the Friends this past year through actions, donations, suggestions  and good words. We appreciate you and look forward to 2014.

After missing a year, the Friends of the Howard Lake Library’s pumpkin event was back and better than ever. Thanks to the Untiedt Vegetable Farm, the pumpkins were amazing and a perfect palette for the young artists.  Cookies, Kool Aid and a treat bag to take home topped off the morning.  The Howard Lake Royalty was on hand to paint pumpkins and visit with the painters.  See you again in October 2014.

The enthusiasm was high for the old-fashioned celebration. Featuring sack races, pin the shovel on the garden, drop the clothespins, bean bag toss, hopscotch and cookies and Kool Aid, the summer readers and their families enjoyed the evening. Highlight was the announcement by Friends of the Library President Judy Forst of the 2013 Grand Prize winners.  Three of the winners were present to receive their prizes and a big round of applause from the crowd.

Our sincere thanks to the Howard Lake Royalty for attending and lending us a hand.

See you next June for the 2014 program and keep reading!

Thanks to all who attended this year’s Book/Food fundraiser sale. We had many good books, bountiful good food and wonderful conversations  around the food tables. As always, the Bag of Books for a Buck the final 30 minutes of the sale  was a huge attraction.

We appreciate your support and hope to see you for next year’s sale.

After final book sorting

Waiting for the 9:00 AM start

Howard Lake Royalty in attendance

The next generation of readers.

The framed portraits of Abe and George have been moved to a different wall and replaced with a color mural. The 4′ x 8′ photo mural has been installed on the wall by the computer terminals.  The original photo was taken from the Munson Lakes Nutrition tower (thanks, John) and shows Howard Lake, Memorial Park and surrounding areas in the Spring.

This is the first stage in the Friends of the Library’s plan to give our indoor library space an update.  The photos don’t do the mural justice, so please stop in and have a look.  We appreciate your feedback.

The 2012 SRP started with ice cream cones and ended with old time games, Kool Aid and cookies.  It was a successful summer with many readers enjoying their books and the prizes they earned by reading.  The Friends of the Howard Lake Library hosted the ending celebration on August 9th on the library plaza. The weather was perfect and even construction debris couldn’t hamper the games.  The three grand prize winners were announced and everyone who participated in the games that evening got to choose from a variety of prizes from the big blue tub.

Thank you to the library staff for all of their hard work. And readers, we hope to see you again in 2013.

Check out the photos to see some of the fun.

Thanks to everyone who attend the Friends of the Howard Lake Library’s used book and tasty food sale.  The people seemed to find just that book they were looking for and many enjoyed our offering of sloppy joes, strawberry shortcake and cupcakes.

Through your support, we were able to qualify for matching funds made available through Thrivent. Out sincere thanks to Thrivent for recognizing the important work done by the Friends group.

Put us on your calendar for next year: the Saturday of Good Neighbor Days, 2013.  See you then.

Attendees at the Martha Speaks event on Saturday February 18th were in no hurry to leave. After being welcomed with the story of how Martha the dog  found her voice, the craft tables stayed busy the entire time. The children eagerly made  bracelets, dog puppets, dog ears headbands and dog bone shaped book marks.  They tested their noses with a sniff test and could also color dog related pictures.  Martha Speaks DVDs were available to watch and an internet connection was provided to the Martha games website.  Drawings were held for various Martha books and Martha soups.  Refreshments were available.

The stars of the day were of course canines Penny and Jerry.  The dogs enjoyed the many stories read to them.  Our sincere thanks to Jerry, Penny and their people for sharing the day with us.

Click on the thumbnails provided so see some of the activities.