48°
The Tuckahoe Public Library celebrated its centennial anniversary in the village this year with a series of events, culminating Dec. 12 with a party for patrons at the Community Center.
The library started from meager roots in 1912, when the Women’s Club of Eastchester set up a lending library on the second floor of what would become the Generoso Pope Foundation building. A century later, its Columbus Avenue home – where it moved to in 1979 - still embodies the small community feel, but has advanced in many ways.
“Things have changed in so many ways from 1912, and then again later in the 1980s,” said library director Swadesh Pachnanda. “We went from the bulky card catalog to computers that tell you where things are, not only inside our four walls, but around the county and state.”
County Legislator Sheila Marcotte presented the library with a proclamation in honor of the its long tenure in the village.
“I was reading an article about the library from 1913, which described it as a two-room library with a main reading room stocked with books, and another for supplies,” Marcotte said. “I laughed because while a lot has changed, not a lot has changed. The Tuckahoe Library has always been good at doing more with less.”
Festivities began this year on Jan. 12 with a gala attended by more than 200 people at the Generoso Pope Foundation. Events would continue throughout the year, with each looking toward the finale in December.
Tuckahoe Mayor Steve Ecklond said the library is among the oldest buildings in the village, and that it has been an important part of the community for a century now.
“Being around this long says an awful lot about the Tuckahoe Library,” he said. “It’s a small library, but it’s a small village. The response tonight goes to show how much the community enjoys it.”
Click here to follow Daily Voice Eastchester and receive free news updates.
