New library box near Ligonier will honor late social worker, conservationist

People searching for a good summer read and tips on outdoor activities soon will find a new resource just outside Ligonier.

Derry resident Kristy Mathews, with help from family and friends, plans on Sunday to install a Little Free Library on the grounds of the Loyalhanna Watershed Farm, 6 Old Lincoln Highway West.

The book-sharing box joins more than 100,000 registered Little Free Libraries in 108 countries. It will be placed at the Children’s Garden adjoining the grounds of the Ligonier Country Market, held 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

That location is appropriate given Mathews’ intent of honoring a nature-loving friend of two decades, Cathie Donohoe, 72, of Jeannette, who lost her battle with cancer in December.

Donohoe “loved nature and recycling, bird watching, planting and flowers,” Mathews said. “We thought this would be a nice way to remember her and provide educational books for adults and kids on those subjects.”

Mathews plans to include seed packets, bookmarks and volumes of fiction in the library box, which will bear a memorial plaque featuring Donohoe’s image. Friends donated the wood for the library box and constructed it for Mathews.

Donohoe’s love of books was another factor that inspired Mathews’ library project.

“She enjoyed reading all sorts of things,” Mathews said. “She kept a notebook and catalogued every book she read since the 1990s.”

Mathews, the activity director at Hempfield Manor, became friends with Donohoe when the latter’s calling as a social worker brought her to the nursing home. Donohoe also had served as director of social services and admissions at Baldock Health Care Center in Irwin.

Donohoe’s husband, Tom, said his wife placed a high priority on caring for others, for animals and for the environment.

“Cathie was a great conservationist, always supporting worthy causes,” including The Sierra Club and the National Wildlife Federation, he said. “We started recycling in 1972.”

The Donohoes also volunteered with Wildlife Works, a wildlife rehabilitation organization in Youngwood, and got Mathews involved there.

Mathews happened to chance upon the watershed farm after other potential locations for the library didn’t pan out.

“I could not think of a more perfect place to put it,” she said. “I think my friend kind of had her hand in that.”

Mathews is confident the library box will be well used. In addition to the crowds that attend the Saturday markets, “the grounds are used a lot by people for walking,” she said.

Susan Huba is executive director of the Loyalhanna Watershed Association that is headquartered at the watershed farm. She said she’ll encourage association members to donate new or slightly used children’s books to help keep the library stocked.

“The library project fits right in with the mission of both LWA and the Ligonier Country Market to involve the next generation in watershed stewardship and sustainability,” Huba said. “The Market Sprouts program developed over the past few years has become a really popular feature of the weekly market.”

Introduced in 2016. the Market Sprouts program offers educational and art-related activities on nature, agriculture and nutrition for children while their parents shop at the Saturday market.

Each Little Free Library works on the honor system. Though it’s not required, those who take a book are encouraged to leave one at the same library box or another one in the area.

Visit littlefreelibrary.org to search for local box locations using a map on the website or a downloadable app.