Chatham Branch

JACKSON INDEPENDENT

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2014

Chatham Branch of JPL opens doors

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JAMIE STEPHENS
Staff Writer

The Chatham branch of the Jackson Parish Library opened its doors to a huge crowd on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Chatham. The library staff gave tours of the building, held a ribbon-cutting event, and raised an American flag donated to them. Even Santa and his Elf helped to welcome the public to the new facility.

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The Jackson Parish Library board members, the Chatham community, JP Police Jury, and the Chatham town council all contributed to this addition to the eastern side of Jackson Parish. The library includes books for adults and children, 12 public access computers, children’s computers, audiobooks, DVDs, and two meeting rooms. There are currently two full-time and two part-time employees at the new branch.

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The library held the grand opening on the 73rd anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day and celebrated by raising an American flag that Woodmen of the World donated. Woodmen of the World, a World Life Insurance Society, donates American flags and state flags for schools and other non-profit organizations. Since 1947, they have presented more than 2 million flags. James Fitzpatrick, president of Woodmen of the World, and his grandsons, Brantley and Bryceton Aranda, raised the flag at the grand opening.

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The Chatham branch plans to hold many future events. The first one scheduled is for pics with Santa set for December 20th from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. "It took a local collaboration, and we are very pleased with the way things turned out. We’re looking forward to being a community resource on this side of the parish,” said Crystal Gates, JP Library Director.

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Chatham Branch Library Board: (From Top to Bottom, Left to Right): Mayor of Chatham Herman Lenard, Paula Essmeier, Todd Culpepper, Dean Rushing, Sherri Ezell, Carol Massey, Margaret Ford, Carolyn Crawley, Sylvia Baker, Crystal Gates.