Luna Pier's Rasey Branch Library dates back to 1935

Tom Adamich
·3 min read

LUNA PIER — A short time ago I wrote about the Luna Pier School, which was part of the Mason Consolidated Schools and served as its elementary school for many decades prior to its closing in 2006. For nearly 20 years — from the late 1930s to the mid-1960s — it also served as the Luna Pier Public Library. Today, the library is known as the Rasey Memorial Library Branch of the Monroe County Library System).

Rasey Memorial Library Branch Librarian Shannen McMahon (who also serves in a similar role at the Erie Branch Library), kindly shared some background on the Rasey Memorial Library’s history in addition to the information I found on the MCLS website. The spirit of community that continues to thrive at Rasey and all MCLS branches is clearly evident in the library’s historical profile.

Previous Coverage: Luna Pier's Victory School opened in 1910

“It was done by the grace of God and the vision, faith and necessities of so many people," said Mrs. Geo R. Navarre, former Monroe County librarian.

The Rasey Memorial Library in Luna Pier has a storied history, both as a free-standing facility and as part of the former Luna Pier School building.
The Rasey Memorial Library in Luna Pier has a storied history, both as a free-standing facility and as part of the former Luna Pier School building.

Navarre had formed the basis of what would become the new library in Luna Pier.

The Luna Pier branch library first opened its doors on Dec. 16, 1935. The librarian at the time was Miss Tyllae LiBey. With a total of 163 books on the shelf, mostly donated, the library was ready to serve the school children of Luna Pier. The library was located in one room of the two-story Luna Pier Elementary School. LiBey would serve until 1943, when Frances Lange-Splittgerber would lead the branch throughout the 1940s.

Both LiBey and Lange-Splittgerber were honored for extraordinary service. LiBey would often use her old car to deliver books to shut-ins and others, according to a library history written by Pauline Faull of Luna Pier.

On Nov. 7, 2020, a flagpole at the Rasey Memorial Library in Luna Pier was dedicated to Cpt. John A. Barber. Barber served in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division (Currahee) and was a forward observer, who was the youngest artillery captain at the time.Barber received several military medals, including the Purple Heart. Barber died Aug. 9, 2018.

A 1950 addition added two classrooms at a cost of $29,894. The additional space would allow the Luna Pier Public Library (now the Rasey Memorial Branch) to move from the second floor to the first floor in 1954. By this time, the school had become part of the Mason Consolidated Schools, formed during the 1951-52 school year.

In 1954, Mrs. Lyla Biswurm, librarian, announced that the library would move from the second floor of the old school building to the ground floor of the new addition. This change brought about the notion of providing a “public” domain for both adults and children to utilize.

In 2018, children were asked to read to therapy dogs in a themed program held at the Rasey Memorial Library in Luna Pier.
In 2018, children were asked to read to therapy dogs in a themed program held at the Rasey Memorial Library in Luna Pier.

In July of 1965, an old summer home owned by the late Mr. and Mrs. James M. Rasey was donated by their daughter, Eva G. Rasey, in their memory to the people of the city of Luna Pier. The building was remodeled to suit patron needs and meet library standards. On April 25, 1966, the newly remodeled building was opened as the Rasey Memorial Library, a branch of the Monroe County Library System. Since the donation by the Rasey family, the library has been enlarged, remodeled and rededicated. The rededication ceremony took place in October, 1981. The acting librarian, Mrs. Susan Koepke, continued to improve library services as well as the collection in the library.

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Today, the Rasey Memorial Library provides numerous fiction and nonfiction materials, children’s and juvenile literature, video and audio cassettes, and a large selection of reference materials and magazines titles. The library offers internet connection capabilities, the ability to reserve materials from various libraries in and out of Monroe County and opportunities for patrons to attend library programs. Monthly programs are scheduled as well. It carries on the good works based on words LiBey wrote in a poem:

“Books bring not wisdom.

Where there was none before.

But where some is…

There, reading makes it more.”

— Tom Adamich is president of Visiting Librarian Service, a firm he has operated since 1993. He also is project archivist for the Greening Nursery Co. and Family Archives and the electric vehicle awareness coordinator at Monroe County Community College.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Luna Pier's Rasey Branch Library dates back to 1935