Baltz Library gets new Reading Garden

From the Pontiac Daily Leader

By Luke Smucker 

Posted Jun 23, 2018 at 11:56 AM 

Patrons of the Baltz Library of Chatsworth Township have a new outdoor place to sit and enjoy a good read thanks to the generosity of the late Terry Miller, who chose to donate memorial money to the children’s wing of the Chatsworth library before his passing. The library, located at 501 E. School St., Chatsworth, recently announced that the Terry Miller Outdoor Reading Area is now complete. The reading area, a roughly 20-foot-by-30-foot garden located near the library’s children’s department, was designed by Miller’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren, aged 4 to 12. “Right now it doesn’t look like much because the trees aren’t big enough, but this is going to be a memorial that will continue to live and grow,” said Terry’s wife and current library director Mary Miller. “That’s what the kids really wanted.” Terry O. Miller, who died on Aug. 20, 2017, served as the treasurer of the library for 10 years. He was also on the Chatsworth Town Board for more than 20 years and ran a business in Chatsworth called Bennett’s Cleaners for more than 30 years. “He also bowled in a few leagues, golfed in a few leagues — he just never sat still,” Miller recalls. “The family and I have been planning the garden idea for a while now. We decided to make a garden shortly after he died and said that whatever funds are leftover from his memorial donation after we finish would be used  to purchase children’s books for the library in his memory.” Miller said her late husband chose to leave all of his memorial money for the children’s wing of the Chatsworth library. According to his wife, the donation was the largest memorial donation to the library since she became the director in 2008. The only stipulation was, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren had to determine how that money would be spent. “Whenever our grandchildren come here from out-of-state, they always have to come to the library with me,” Miller said. “One day, one of them said, ‘grandma, there are no trees at the library. We have to have trees.’ “Terry loved trees and birds. He always fed the birds and our grandchildren have fond memories of working with their grandfather out in the yard and things like that. Even as his cancer got worse, the grandchildren would help him do odd jobs around the house.” As the idea of planting trees continued to grow, the grandchildren said they wanted to make sure the library had some flowering trees because that’s what Terry had at the house and that’s what he liked. In addition to the trees, the grandchildren also decided to add mulch to the garden. “I personally raked 145 bags of mulch for the area,” Miller said. “Then, our daughter said she wanted to see flowers and the whole family agreed the garden should have a birdbath and feeders because he fed the birds all the time. So, we have a few bird feeders and a fountain birdbath in the garden — all designed by the kids.” From the viewing window located in the children’s wing of the library, children can check on the progress of plant growth in the garden. The library director said younger trees were purposely planted on the side of the garden closest to the window so that children can watch everything grow. “We have a few magnolias, a red dogwood and a white dogwood,” Miller said. “We also have added a couple of lilac trees, one on each end of the reading area. In two flower gardens nearby, we have some marigolds, hostas and coral bells. “We also have two picnic tables in the center, which were donated at another time by Futures Unlimited. The garden also features two stone benches with a plaque on the end of each one in memory of Terry. The board calls the garden ‘Terry’s corner.’” Since the library opened at its current location in 2014, Miller says it has had very little landscaping. The Miller family had several different designs for the outdoor reading area and voted on them before proceeding. “We decided not to plant the trees last fall because they are flowering trees and the farmer’s almanac predicted a bad winter, so we didn’t start planting until this spring,” Miller said. “I would say we planted all the trees and spread the mulch during the month of May. The flowers were planted by the summer reading kids.” Miller says the high temperatures throughout June have prevented people from enjoying the new outdoor space, but she hopes people will be enjoying them this fall. “This is something great that will be here for quite some time,” she said.