Little Free Library Dedicated to Late THFD Volunteer
Eproson Park’s Community Garden is the site of Tuolumne County’s newest Little Free Library. The family of the late Ralph Geissler, a Twain Harte Fire Department volunteer, installed and dedicated the library in his memory on September 27, 2019.
Geissler passed away on June 16, 2019. The former CAL FIRE captain loved to read and garden – among many other interests — so the Little Free Library, painted to look like THFD’s fire house, is a fitting tribute.
“He was known for being a mobile lending library himself,” says Geissler’s daughter Rachel Geissler. He liked to share books he loved, she explains, handing them out to people in the community.
Little Free Libraries are small, outdoor structures that house books for free book exchanges. “Anyone may take a book or bring a book to share,” according to littlefreelibrary.org. The nonprofit registers and maps the more the more than 90,000 Little Free Libraries worldwide.
Geissler’s ex-wife, Lise Lemonnier, constructed the library with the assistance of several friends. Notable among them is Shirley Wilson Rose, whose detailed painting of the exterior accurately replicates the fire house. Twain Harte Community Services District (THCSD) installed the metal base and placed a picnic table nearby. Geissler’s daughters – Sydney, Rebecca and Rachel Geissler – helped mom Lise bolt the library to the base and install the miniature replica fire hydrant next to the library.
The dedication was held in advance of Geissler’s memorial service on September 28, 2019, to which the family requested that attendees bring both memories and books to share.
