Check-out cake pans at Monroe County Library System

ERIE — Shaped cake pans can now be checked-out at the Monroe County Library System.

The Virginia (Ginny) O’Neill Memorial Cake Pan Collection debuts Monday and is the newest offering in the library system’s “Library of Things” initiative, which brings non-traditional circulating collections to patrons. More “things” will be added soon.

The O’Neill Cake Pan Collection includes 41 metal Wilton pans that will circulate for free. An open house to unveil the collection will take place from 5:30-7 p.m. Monday at the Erie Branch Library, 2065 Erie Road.

Served will be cakes baked by Todd Hershberger from the Erie Bakery & Café/Erie Restaurant. Hershberger will bake the cakes in some of the pans from the new collection.

“Todd is using the truck, teddy bear and unicorn pans,” said Shannen McMahon, community librarian for the Erie and Luna Pier branches. Bonnie Berry also will lead a cake decorating session at 6 p.m. Registration is recommended for the session. To register, visit bit.ly/erieoneill.

“Everyone will be able to decorate at least one cupcake,” McMahon said.

Fifteen of the O’Neill Collection’s pans will be housed at the Erie Branch Library; the others will be at the Bedford, Carleton, Erie, Frenchtown-Dixie, Ida, Maybee and Summerfield-Petersburg branches and at the Ellis Library & Reference Center.

O’Neill was a lifelong Erie resident who died in 2019 at age 88. An avid baker, cook, gardener and library patron, her children wanted to combine several of her loves into one memorial.

“I had the idea to make baking somehow part of her library memorial,” said O’Neill’s daughter, Debbie O'Neill Hine of Bowling Green, Ohio. O’Neill’s sons are Kenny of Lambertville and Denny of Saline. Another son, David, is deceased.

Hine and her brothers donated money to the MCLS, which purchased the pans. The collection is inspired by a baking lending collection at the Way Public Library in Perrysburg, Ohio. MCLS also has a circulating collection of pans donated by MCLS staff member Joyce Taepke.

“My brothers and I wanted our mom's memorial donations to benefit the library. Specialty pans are expensive and often are only needed for one special event or birthday. This way, many people can borrow rather than buy a pan,” Hine said. “When our dad died in 2008, we also listed the Erie Library as a memorial option, which is how our dad's favorite Norman Rockwell picture was installed at the library.”

Hine said O’Neill was known for her baked goods.

“My mom was an amazing baker. She just had a knack for knowing how long to bake anything," Hine said. "She was famous for her molasses cookies. Friends and co-workers always wanted her molasses cookies."

Incidentally, O’Neill didn't decorate cakes.

“She enjoyed all aspects of the baking process, except cake decorating. She never ‘decorated’ cakes or cookies other than to frost them and maybe add sprinkles,” Hine said.

The pans in the O’Neill Cake Pan Collection come in a variety of designs, sizes and themes. Each comes with instructions and/or pan brochures. Patrons can check out up to two pans at once, and they will circulate for one week with one automatic renewal, said Barbra Krueger, who works in community outreach for the library system.

A graduate of St. Mary Academy, O’Neill was married to Jim O’Neill from 1953 until his death in 2008, according to her obituary. A member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, she worked as playground monitor for Mason Consolidated Schools from 1974-91.

“It was a humble job, but one she took great pride in,” Hine said.

Hine said her family frequently visited the library to borrow cookbooks and other materials. She and her brothers hope their donation can add even more diversity to the library's collection.

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“It's another service the library can provide; it brings people into the library,” Hine said. “Today's libraries provide a lot of things besides books: video equipment, hot spots for home and travel, wall art, laminators, iPads, the list goes on and on. Now baking is one more item the community can get at their neighborhood library.”

“We are tremendously grateful to the family of Virginia O’Neill for this generous bequest, which will enrich the lives of our patrons in a whole new way,” said Nancy Bellaire, library director. “We are excited to see the joy and inspiration it brings to our patrons.”

Previous Coverage: New at the library: Check-out houseplants

More offerings in the MCLS’ “Library of Things” are planned, including a collection of pickleball and traffic cone sets. The Bedford Branch Library has Sphero Minis that are available to borrow, and many branches have circulating collections of artwork. Several branches offer house plants and garden seeds that don’t have to be returned. To learn more about the MCLS and its offerings, visit mymcls.com.

— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Check-out cake pans at the Monroe County Library System