Lincoln Academy dedicates Grady Lambert Memorial Library

May 13—Inside the newly dedicated Grady Lambert Memorial Library at Lincoln Academy, it's bright and cheerful. With yellow paint on the walls and blue and yellow couches and chairs, the colors embody the spirit of Grady Lambert, after whom the library is named.

On a wall filled with art pieces, Grady's portrait is central.

More than 60 friends, family and guests from Stillwater Public Schools joined Mark and Julie Lambert at the dedication of the new library in honor of their late son, Grady Lambert, at Lincoln Academy in a ceremony on April 25.

The Lamberts told the News Press that the dedication was a moment focusing on the hard work of their son, who initiated the project in 2007.

"I like to think when students come in, they understand this is a bright, energetic space to spend time in, (with) comfortable seating — a safe place," Julie told the News Press.

The yellow paint in the library also reminds patrons of the quote "Stay gold, Ponyboy," from "The Outsiders," a book by S.E. Hinton.

It's a quote that's painted above the doorway inside the library and one that Grady had tattooed on his wrist.

"The people that (Grady) ran with, the people that he would meet, his parting words would be, 'Stay gold,'" Mark said.

In 2022, Grady was struck by a pick-up along FM 2575 near Amarillo while running across the country to honor frontline workers and encourage compassion.

Julie recalled that once when Grady was a toddler, she found him on the counter with the spice cabinet opened, where he had pulled the lids off each bottle, smelling and tasting each one.

"That was his wanderlust for life," Julie said. "It should have been a sign of what was to come."

Grady's love of reading started with the stories his mother and father read to him when he was young.

"He was an avid reader," Mark said. "... The sheer volume that he had read by age 20 was almost insatiable."

Grady's favorite genre as a child was horror, such as the Goosebumps series, then he moved on to the Harry Potter series. Later, he picked up adventure stories.

As a 16-year-old, Grady learned that students at Lincoln Academy didn't have a library, so he took action. He was a Life Scout with BSA Troop 828, and chose to build a library as his Eagle Scout Project.

Grady wrote to local groups and merchants and collected $3,600 in community funding. He also wrote a grant proposal, and the Stillwater Public Education Foundation contributed an additional $1,800 to purchase shelves for the library.

The original monies helped provide approximately 2,000 books for Lincoln students, new book shelves, a computer and bean-bag chairs to read on.

"I do believe that at age 16, Grady knew that the students at Lincoln Academy had some life challenges that a lot of students at the main high school did not," Mark said.

The Lamberts were grateful that the SPS Board of Education voted in October 2023 to have Grady's name on the library, but they said a common thread throughout the whole time has been the involvement of the Stillwater community.

"We're sitting in a room that, at the end of the day, is as much a product of the community of Stillwater as it is Grady Lambert," Mark said.

The students at Lincoln were also included in the planning process of the new library, Lincoln Academy Principal George Horton said. He said the staff at Lincoln collaborated with the district and the Lamberts to complete the project.

"One of the things they wanted was to see their artwork and other pieces of artwork," Horton said. "So that became a theme."

The former library was in a back room and shared a space with Our Daily Bread Marketplace, but Principal Horton helped make it so much more, the Lamberts said.

"Mr. Horton made sure that the library is front and center, so that it could be more than just books in a room," Julie said.

SPS painted the walls and laid new carpet. The new space holds about a dozen bookshelves, a seating area and a conference table.

The space will also be a multi-purpose room, with technology that will allow the school to hold faculty and professional development meetings.

Each book includes a stamp with Grady's name, made specifically for the library.

A timeline, or storyboard, made of newspaper articles about Grady's life will be placed in the library so that future students at Lincoln may know who Grady was and what he stood for.

"The last piece of that storyboard is, in essence, the dedication of the library," Mark said. "If somebody walks in here in 10 years they can learn the history."

Stillwater Medical Center also designated a scholarship in Grady's name. The Grady Lambert Scholarship has raised at least $80,000, which is "stunning," Mark said.

Donations also came from people in 15 states Grady ran through during his Run With Me campaign in 2022.

The scholarship, which will begin in the fall of 2024, will provide support for past or current students at Lincoln who are pursuing a professional career in frontline services, such as healthcare providers, firefighters or police officers.

The library is also a vehicle for the scholarship funds, Mark said.

Julie said she hopes that the students for whom Grady initially did this for understand the gift, that they know there was somebody out there who thought of them — somebody just like them.

"For me, personally, I would like his name to be spoken occasionally," Julie said. "... I just love the idea of somebody saying, 'Grady Lambert — I wonder who he is?' — and maybe be interested in researching a little bit to find out who he was."