Ray Ricci is a master craftsman who has been building things his whole life. “At 70 years of age, I have lost count of how many projects I have built and worked on, but I am sure it must be in the thousands by now! It feels good to create things. There is a satisfaction knowing something didn’t exist and then with a little design, hard work…and luck, you slowly bring something into being. Hopefully some of my projects will be around long after I have gone and I like that.

The first step in a project is to identify a need. “Here at the Library, we long ago ran out of space to keep up with our programming,” said Joanna Breen, Library Executive Director. “During the summer we bring programming outside; there isn’t a space large enough inside to accommodate the summer increase in patrons. That, and…it’s beautiful out in the center of town! We have outdoor games, chairs, tables, etc. that needed to be stored in a space so staff can haul them in and out safely. The basement has a very low ceiling and is often damp, which doesn’t make it the safest place to store supplies either. Ray came up with the idea of adding an outdoor storage shed in a previously underused area next to the parking lot, and that kickstarted things.”

“Once I did the shed design” Ricci continued “The next thing I did was to reach out to Ray Bernier at Bath Regional Career & Technical Center as I felt this might be a perfect beginner project for his first year students. Learning skills through hands-on application is how I learned and I wanted to pass that on. Ray and the students did an excellent job with the construction and once the job was completed, Pat Leighton and I moved the nearly 2,000-pound structure to the site, and spent several hours getting it in position. I worked hard to match the overall architectural look of the Library building itself” Ricci added “so the building blends in seamlessly and (hopefully) feels like it has always been there.”

Breen agrees, “The shed looks dope,” she laughed, “And it’s extra special because the building itself was made possible by donation from Rotary in memory of Robert "Skip" Kreahling, a dear friend of the Library and Rotary, and longtime c0mmunity servant. I worked closely with Skip, he was like my consigliere here, I miss him, I think he would enjoy knowing he’s still supporting the library mission. But, I’ll have to ask Sue.”

Thank you to everyone who made this project possible. In particular, Ray Bernier, Bath Regional Career Center Carpentry Instructor and his first year students for the construction of the shed, Timothy O'Connor for his site prep and installation work, to Pat Leighton for volunteering his trailer to transport the shed from Bath, to the Rotary for their gift, and to Ray Ricci for pulling it all together. We are thankful for the support the library continues to get from our community. It takes a village to make a library.