Boy Scout’s Project Brings Little Free Library to Holly’s Crapo Park
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Jan. 9, 2019)
Holly, MI –Holly High School senior Ben Clark has made his mark on the community with a  special project that everyone can now use near the pavilion – a little free library!
Little free libraries are a simple idea – creating a space where people can leave books and take books, without the need for library cards and return deadlines.
“I decided to do the library because I had saw plenty of them all over other neighboring towns and I thought it would be a nice addition to Holly,” Clark said.  “Holly’s already a small community where everyone knows everyone. And we do a lot of things together as a town. So putting up the box could bring people together more often and have the children in the town play at the park with other kids while their parents read a book. It can also help the kids keep up on their reading over the summer.”
It took Clarke a month of planning, plus another month to get the required permission to dig the hole in the park (without hitting utility lines), plus another three weeks of actual construction and painting.
He also filled it with books that people can help themselves to.  “I didn’t put any personal favorites of mine in, but I put books for all ages of kids in there,” Clark said.  “I think it’s important to encourage reading because most kids nowadays don’t read enough and they focus more on their videos games. If they read a book or two every now and then they could learn something new that they never knew about before.”
Clark is a senior at Holly High School who hopes to become a realtor and start a family after graduation.  His experiences with Boy Scouts have helped him to grow as a person.  “It taught me a lot of what I know in life. And it’s helped me create friendships that’ll last a lifetime,” he said.
Crapo Park, located in Downtown Holly, is named after former Governor and lumber baron Henry Howland Crapo who served in the State’s top office from 1865-1868.  The park is located near the railroad line he helped bring to the community, and the park now sits where his Holly lumberyard used to be.