What better way to celebrate a 100th birthday than by having a new room inauguration filled with local residents, live music and cocktails and scrumptious hors d’oeuvres. That is what happened at the Locust Valley Library Sunday evening, Nov. 9, as the community room was officially renamed the Matinecock Neighborhood Association Community Room. Proceeds from the event went to the restoration of the new room.
Speakers at the centennial celebration included Library Board of Trustees President Charles Brisbane, Library Administrative Director Kathy Smith, Locust Valley Historical Society President Herb Schierhorst and Matinecock Nation Chief Little Running Fox.
“It’s been 100 years since the Matinecock Neighborhood House was built through gifts of money from local residents,” said Brisbane, who is also president of the Matinecock Neighborhood Association. “The building featured a theater, an infirmary and there was a kitchen and a bowling alley in the basement. The basement also housed the Locust Valley Fire Department at that time.”
In 1923, local resident Frank Doubleday added a library wing to the building and in 1936 the Matinecock Neighborhood Association turned over the building and grounds to the Locust Valley Library.
Brisbane said that people are making the library their neighborhood house once again.
“The library offers multiple programs for people of all ages, was a place of refuge and a gathering place after Superstorm Sandy and the newly renamed community room attracts a couple of thousand people a year for events,” said Brisbane.
Smith said that the people of the Matinecock Nation have been very generous with the library over the years.
“They have done a lot of nice things as far as helping with the upkeep of the library and recently donated $25,000 for the renovation of this room,” said Smith.
There are big plans in the library’s second century for renovations that will help to continually improve the look of the building’s interior and exterior.
An additional meeting room on the main floor will help to accommodate many of the local groups who regularly meet at the library.
There is a plan to rebuild the children’s section of the library with an addition of a separate story hour room, a reading room and extra shelving space.
The parking lot will also get a necessary renovation to help alleviate the current lack of parking spaces.
