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On March 21, 1975, a groundbreaking ceremony
occurred for the new city library. The land on Charles
Street was donated by Mr. and Mrs. James Doss. The
combined efforts by the FOL, the Doss family, and a grant
resulted in the construction of the new 7,200-square-foot
facility in 1976. In January, 1992, Weatherford voters
passed a $600,000 bond issue to build an addition to the
library, more than doubling its size. The FOL promoted
the passage of the bond issue with an extensive campaign
to educate the public on the need for the addition.
“I believe that raising money is important but not
as important as raising awareness of the library,” said
Weatherford Councilman Dale Fleegar. “I encouraged
them to be a positive voice of the library, and they were.
I think they are an essential part of the library and their
voice that makes people aware of our library.”
The purpose now of the FOL is to foster closer rela-
tions between the library and the public; to promote
knowledge of the functions, resources, services and needs
of the library; to develop improvement of library services;
and to aid in provision of materials or equipment not
available through a tax-supported budget.
In 1987, FOL began their spring luncheons, still
their main fundraiser. An interesting speaker, either an
author or reviewer, delivers a talk, and a delicious meal
is served to sellout crowds every year, and is very much
a great social event to attend. So far there have been 30
consecutive luncheons with the 31 st scheduled on May
5, 2017. Past speakers include crowd favorite Rose Mary
Rumbley who spoke four times, authors Elmer Kelton,
Suzie Humphreys, Vicki Hitzges, Julie Ziglar Norman,
Cynthia Ulrich Tobias, numerous reviewers, crowd favor-
ite Jody Dean and Laura Bush—First Lady of Texas, wife
of then-Governor George Bush. The luncheons have
been held at many locations, including Couts Memorial
United Methodist Church, which was the largest hall
in Weatherford in 1997, to have Laura Bush, and most
recently at the Doss Heritage and Cultural Center.
FOL group started out planning the menu for the
spring luncheons to coincide with the speaker’s theme,
and each individual FOL member would purchase the
food out of their pockets, cook it, serve it, and decorate
for the luncheons. This changed to catered events the
year Laura Bush came. The price of a ticket started at
$5 and goes for $25 today. The group still spends a lot
of effort decorating for the luncheons and planning far
ahead to make it a special event. Securing sponsors for
the luncheons began in 2005.
In the spring of 1989, FOL’s Caroline Dickerson gave
a $2,000 memorial in her husband’s honor that started
FOL fundraising for the Summer Reading Program. Now
the FOL funds this program each year. Sponsor items
included in the Summer Reading Program are: special
speakers on all kinds of topics; many book reviews;
shelving and books; computers; electronic items; the
adult reading program; annual book sale, helping
secure donations for the sign for the library; promoted
Children’s Book Week in the fall and National Library
Advanced copy luncheon attendees choose reading material
Week in the spring; provided staff Christmas gifts, paid
the movie licensing fee; first grade tours; and recently
gave a substantial gift towards the 2016 Library Needs
Assessment.
These programs enrich the lives and knowledge of
community members of all ages. Crystal Brown is one of
them.
“I spent many afternoons in our public library when
I was a student at Hall Middle School waiting for my
dad to pick me up after he finished work,” said Crystal
Brown, Coordinator of Public Relations at Weatherford
College. “I would often select random books or search for
books on various topics and end up reading material that
I had never even considered. It helped fuel my desire for
knowledge. It later became one of my go-to places to
take my daughter. At first, it was simply to read stories
together, and now it’s to help her with school projects.
It’s important for her to see how to find the answers in
places other than the Internet.”
Today the FOL helps financially and with volun-
teers for the Summer Reading Club, Young Adult
Summer Reading Club, story time, Kick Off Carnival,
the ice cream social, and a Safe Halloween Contest at
Weatherford College, and of course, the annual spring
luncheon. They decorated the library for Christmas each
year and have Santa photo opportunities.
The FOL is one of hundreds of similar groups through-
out the United States that work to support their public
libraries. Consider making gifts to the library “In Honor
of” or “In Memory of” your friends and loved ones.
Become a friend’s member today or apply to be on the
FOL Board by contacting Nora Even, membership chair,
at 817-341-2298.