Cedar Grove-Belgium Middle School

Megan's Library of Love

I had a phone call this fall
that turned into an incredible experience. Mary Anderson, from Cedar Grove, Wisconsin, called me one morning and asked if we would like some new library books due to our fire loss. Naturally I said yes and she explained that they would be doing a book drive in February. I forwarded an email to the staff that asked for desired titles,
topics, and authors. Little did I know what would happen.
The Cedar Grove-Belgium Middle School runs an awesome project in memory of one of their students.
As a school we ended up with 25 boxes arriving for us at our post office. This was 1613 titles!! The books had been boxed and sorted by age level as well as area of interest if it was needed.
It was simply INCREDIBLE to see.
Since we have several buildings we had different opportunities to open the boxes. The elementary school invited parents to join us for an afternoon celebrating the joy of discovering our new books. Both the elementary and junior high classrooms will have new shelves
that will be designated "Megan's
Library of Love". Everyone of the books have sticker on the inside cover reminding us of why we have it.

The story behind their book drive is
so special I want to share it with you!


This comes from Cedar Grove:
The books were donated in memory of a special student, Megan Brianne Obbink, and in honor of her classmates who formulated the idea in tribute to her.
On February 10, 1996, the Obbink Family was blessed with the arrival of Megan. From day one, Megan
was a part of our school family because she could be found on her
mother’s lap watching her older sisters, Jo Ellen and Jackie, participate in sporting events. Four
years later, Megan became the proud sister to Melanie and her older sisters had another fan.

On November 25, 2005, tragedy struck our small community. While skating on a pond with her father
and Melanie, Megan fell through the ice. Her father went in to find her and sent Melanie to get help. Murky water and thick surface ice
made rescue attempts difficult and rescuers were not able to find Megan or her father until three hours after the accident, too late to save them. Although we grieve the loss of Megan, we have fond memories of her. Teachers were inspired by her enthusiasm for learning. Classmates described her as a bundle of energy and activity. She was so fast, if you blinked, you might miss her go by. Megan loved her family, reading, piano, church, running, basketball, and our fall field trip. She effortlessly scooted up the climbing wall, forty feet in the air, and learned how to shoot a bow and arrow. Megan wrote to a soldier in Iraq and faithfully prayed for his safety. Best of all though, students remember that Megan always opened her heart and was a helpful friend. This project honors her special qualities. In the words of one of her classmates, Megan was, “A good daughter, a good student, a good friend.” We feel blessed to have been a part of Megan’s life. The books sent to you in Megan’s Library of Love are truly a gift of love. It is a project of love that the fifth grade class has been excited to sponsor. It is the love Megan had for reading, learning, and helping, sent in boxes to you, with the hope that your students will be encouraged to read and learn. It is love for your community, and love to heal our hearts as well. Thank you for being our recipient school. We imagine a student in White Mountain choosing a book from Megan’s Library and smiling as they begin the story. This thought has given students at Cedar Grove-Belgium Middle School the chance to smile as well.






























To Mary, the 5th grade class, and all of Cedar Grove - the students of White Mountain and the Community - thank you!!