Melanie Taylor-Ridgway, the long-serving Adult Programmer and Volunteer Coordinator for the Lincoln Pelham Public Library, is headed north, to beautiful Burks Falls. And not just for the weekend.
“My husband Mike and I have had a cottage at Burks Falls, in the Almaguin Highlands just north of Huntsville, since just before Covid,” she said. “We thought maybe in retirement we’d relocate there full-time. Then Mike got an opportunity, and we said, ‘Why not?’ He’s accepted a job as principal at an elementary school in nearby Bracebridge. Our home in Niagara Falls was listed, and sold very quickly.”
Taylor-Ridgway said she enjoyed working with her library volunteers, and had the pleasure of many great conversations revolving around their mutual love of books, and living and working in the community.
“I have mixed emotions about leaving Niagara, but I’m looking forward to this new adventure.”
Taylor-Ridgway’s last day of her 16-year career at the Fonthill Branch was last Thursday July 6, and she was feted to a farewell party that afternoon.
A Niagara Falls native, Taylor-Ridgway attended Brock for a degree in psychology and subsequently earned diplomas in volunteer management and sign language.
“I was working in community support services in Niagara and a friend noticed a job notice for a senior services coordinator at the Pelham Library,” she said. “I had grown up loving libraries, so a role looking after volunteers and introducing programs for seniors really appealed to me. I applied and got the job.”
Taylor-Ridgway was instrumental in introducing a seniors resource centre at the library, along with a book club.
“We had to have books in large print and audio for seniors,” she said. “I had Dorothy Rungeling, the local aviation legend, attend the book club, and read from her own books she had authored. We had her 100th birthday here at the library.”
A books-on-wheels program was started by Taylor-Ridgway to address the reading needs of homebound seniors. Along the way, she I earned a diploma as a library technician.
“I've presented at the Ontario Library Association conference over the years, talking about programming for seniors, and before the pandemic, I helped organize the Ontario Library Technician Association conference for a couple of years. It's really been a great experience.”
Taylor-Ridgway said she miss her workmates and volunteers, and the regular patrons.
“I'm going to spend a good chunk of time just relaxing. I want to hang out with all the woodland creatures in Muskoka, and introduce them to my big brown rabbit named Moose. I plan to go swimming in the lake, and do some reading, of course. Maybe I’ll write a children's book, and get back into some poetry writing. There is a vibrant arts community up there, and I’d like to dabble in different crafty things. It’s a chance to sort of reinvent myself.”
