We're grateful to Wendy Dresang for taking the time to submit this Love Letter.
"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
It’s easy to love you, dear Caviglia-Arivaca Library! Through these twenty-two years our relationship has continued to be strong and vibrant.
I have loved you from your inception, from how you arose from the desert and blended in with the spacious natural surroundings, this building with pleasing veranda which we enter through the walled courtyard. Myriad flowers, hummingbirds, an occasional visiting cat, some sleeping dogs nod a welcome.
Oh, that veranda, site of many Dia de los Ninos pinata celebrations, Friends of the Library Annual meetings, Native American Flute practice, school groups coming to visit, talks by library program speakers, patrons sitting on mesquite benches using the internet, or just taking a moment to reflect.
The grounds have recently brought people together for the annual Star Party, complete with amateur astronomers and their telescopes. People young and old gazed, mesmerized, at the wondrous night sky, while munching on refreshments: Milky Way bars, Moon Pies, Starbursts, and cheese cake. How I love our library for the enthusiasm of the staff who enabled this experience for us all.
I have loved you as you’ve grown and matured, forming an integral bond with this tiny rural community of Arivaca, reached by twenty-two miles of winding, scenic road. A question often asked here is: How did you find Arivaca? Answers vary, but chances are, for those who decided to stay, our library helped in making that decision. “It’s so beautiful!” “We love this library.”
Our good fortune is to have this staff who are so loving, creative, knowledgeable, professional, compassionate – and who also have a superb sense of humor! Our librarian Jodio, Madian, Jodi, Debbie, Sienna, Mary, and Leesa are at the heart of my love for our library. They help connect us with each other, the community, the world, (the Milky Way!), with a smile, a recommendation, an inspiration, a creative craft activity.
As with all good relationships, I will love you as I age, as this busy active community life drifts into the more contemplative, perhaps serene. I may sit on the large ceramic tortoise in the courtyard as I marvel at the community of infants, children, teens, adults, the elderly who all come to our library to play, read, participate in workshops, attend library programs, learn through Book Club group discussions, use the computers, all guided by our library staff.
And yes, at the end of the day, I’ll treasure the memory of a dish of cat food, placed lovingly in a mesquite tree, near the veranda of our Cavliglia-Arivaca Library.
How do I love thee? Let me begin to count the ways: as many as there are stars in the sky...
Wendy Dresang is a Founding Member of the Friends of the Arivaca Library. In 1975, she and her husband Mark moved to Arivaca intending to stay for three months. They've been there ever since.
Love Letters to My Library is a collaborative project between Pima County Public Library and Rachel Miller of Love Letters to Tucson. Has the Library helped or changed you in some way? Does a particular location, service, or program hold a special place in your heart? Please tell us about it. Submit your Love Letter today to library.news@pima.gov.
