I left Hastings around 1:00 p.m. I was heading south on Showboat Road. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but we had had a real rainstorm on Thursday night. Some areas south of Hastings got more than 4 inches of rain in a hurry. The radio and TV were still talking about localized flooding. I didn’t know if I would get all the way to Guide Rock (my intended destination) or not, but I wanted to try.
When I got to the intersection of Highway 78 and Highway 4, there was a “Road Closed” sign for anyone heading west, towards Blue Hill. I continued south on 78 and made it to Guide Rock around 2:00 p.m.
The streets around Auld Doudna Public Library were full of cars. I didn’t know what to think, but when I got inside, I realized it was a Summer Reading Program day. Between volunteers, teen helpers, participants, and younger siblings, there were 23 people in the library! It was so great to see, and I was really mad at myself, because I forgot my camera. Rats!
The program is for children 4 years old though 4th grade. They heard a story, made a craft (a star picture with glitter), had snacks, and checked out books. (During all my years of teaching Sunday School, being a Girl Scout leader, and directing Vacation Bible School, I never had enough nerve to use glitter, so I am always impressed when others do.) Sounds like a great day at the library to me!
I got another surprise…Guide Rock has a new Library Director, Carol Morris. It was Carol’s second day on the job. (Nothing like trial by fire…right in the middle of Summer Reading.) Carol and I visited for a while, between little patrons, but I could see she was really busy. I decided to leave, promising to send some print information about the system for Carol to review.
I thought about going west to Red Cloud for a quick hello, but I was still concerned about the “Road Closed” sign I had seen. I decided to just take Highway 78 north to Hastings and call it a day.
