You may never know how far your little idea may go. Ask Emma Manion, a student of history in Dousman, Wisconsin, not far from us here in northern Illinois.
Emma’s middle school project for National History Day last year was a dramatic presentation about an “unsung hero”--a librarian named Lutie Stearns. Between 1895 and 1914, Lutie Stearns travelled thousands of miles throughout Wisconsin, often in a horse-drawn wagon, delivering boxes of books to towns that had no big libraries of their own.
Emma’s scholarly work can help take you from the Lutie Stearns story to the present. Ms. Stearns’ idea eventually reached far beyond plain wooden boxes of books. In the past decade, for example, Little Free Libraries have reached millions of people around the globe. They’ve inspired Little Free Food Pantries and art galleries. Places to exchange seeds and flowers; art supplies, like blessing boxes for readers.
A lot of the “littles” don’t look at all like the original models. They’re beautifully crafted rest stops for photonovelas, adventures , histories and mysteries. Romance novels and novel ideas.
Can you be a part of all that? Sure! Watch Emma Manion’s YouTube videoin her role as Lutie Stearns. Start small, where you are…and see where it can take you Join the millions of people who, like Lutie and Emma, know the value of small, good ideas. Spread the word.
I’m Rick Brooks, and that’s my perspective.
