Gala co-chairs Lindsay Griffin-Boylan left, and Molly Hoegen, right, were looking forward Friday to an evening of celebration that would include presenting the Evergreen Award to long-time Osterhout Free Library supporter Traci Cross, center.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
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In keeping with ‘The Secret Garden’ theme of the gala, Mary Kay Pivovarnik of Scranton, left, wore a wreath of flowers in her hair. She admited she never read the children’s book, by Frances Hodgson Burnett, but her friend Sarah Borland, right, read the book, saw the play and is a huge fan of both.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Arriving at the Westmoreland Club for Friday evening’s festivities are Bridget Giunta and Kerianne Geist, both of Kingston.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
John Panzitta, who serves on the Osterhout Free Library’s board of directors and his wife, Sandra, who has devoted many hours to researching family genealogy at the library, arrive at the Westmoreland Club for the gala.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Eddie ‘Day’ Pashinshi greets co-chair Molly Hoegen as he arrives at the Westmorlenad Club for the Osterhout Free Library gala.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Lissa Bryan-Smith of Wilkes-Barre, Stacy Smulowitz of Shavertown and Sue Dantona Jolley of Dallas socialize during the cocktail hour before the dinner.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Lois Miller of Pittston Township, representing FBCB Bank, and her husband Robert Miller are greeted by gala co-chair Molly Hoegen.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Among the many items up for auction in connection with the Osterhout Free Library gala was a private 10 for 10 people at Mattern’s.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
One of the many auction items on display at the Osterhout Free Library gala on Friday evening was a ‘bourbon basket.’
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
“The Osterhout Free Library has been here for 135 years, and we want to make sure it’s around for another 135 years,” Lindsay Griffin-Boylan said Friday evening as a capacity crowd of 300 guests mingled at the Westmoreland Club.
The occasion was the 20th anniversary Gala and Auction to benefit the Osterhout Free Library, co-chaired by Griffin-Boylan and Molly Hoegen, and attended many people who recognize the importance of the Osterhout and the entire Luzerne County Library System.
Why is it important? All you had to do was walk around the room during the cocktail hour and ask.
“It’s not just about books. It’s about community,” said Traci Cross of Nuangola, who had been chosen to accept the Evergreen Award during the gala for her years of dedication to the library. “It’s about people from other countries coming to the library to learn English as a second language; it’s about people learning about computer science; it’s about all kinds of programs.”
“My whole life, I’ve supported the library,” said Sue Dantona Jolley of Dallas. “It provides an opportunity for everyone to have access to information, to books, to programs.
“My son started coming to the library at 18 months for storytime,” Dantona Jolley remembered with a smile.
“I’ve spent many hours with the microfilm,” Sandra Panzitta of West Pittston said, explaining her research into family genealogy has taken her back to the 1500s in Italy.
“I’m the executive director of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) and a lot of our kids come to the library to take part in the programs,” said Mary Kay Pivovarnik, who had accessorized her ensemble with a floral wreath for her hair.
The flowers seemed especially appropriate because the theme of the gala was “The Secret Garden,” named in honor of a 1912 book by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Not all of the guests had read the book, but of those who had, Sarah Borland of Wilkes-Barre may be the most avid fan.
“It’s a beautiful story,” Borland said, recalling that her mother read it to her when she was a child; then she read it herself and eventually she saw the stage version “and became obsessed.”
The book shows that “even if something is dormant, it’s not dead. If you put care into it, it will come back,” Borland said. “That’s true for people. It’s true for gardens. It’s true for organizations. And it’s a beautiful thing.”
Following the cocktail party, which was held indoors at the Westmoreland Club, the party was to move outdoors under a tent for sumptuous fare followed by dancing to the music of the Deja Groove Party Band.
Before the evening was to end, a lucky winner would be chosen in the raffle drawing of a trip, worth $6,000, to Asheville, N.C.