Laureen Gosselin is a self-avowed “doer,” so when retirement and the pandemic coincided, she looked to volunteering to fill her time. Retiring from a “stressful” career, Laureen had two requirements for herself. She wanted something fun and free from stress. The opportunity arose when the library was closed to the public during the pandemic. Laureen was able to contribute during “lockdown” by doing whatever was needed. Shelving books and general cleaning kept her busy and helped our community at Fletcher as well. It was a win-win. Fueled by Laureen’s passion for reading and a love for the library and gardening, she provided assistance to our staff and many patrons.

Since the pandemic, Laureen’s favorite part of volunteering has been her interactions with patrons- especially when asked for book suggestions! She especially enjoys helping with the children at the library with their reading and story time. Laureen feels like she is continuing with a circle of giving and honoring the fond memories of coming to the library as a child with her mother.

When another need arose at Fletcher–maintenance of the gardens–Laureen stepped right in. After some initial help from her husband and a friend with trimming and mulching, Laureen is now tending all the plants on a weekly basis. The garden is her “happy place” and she enjoys her time there.

In addition, Laureen finished the arduous task of identifying all the plants, shrubs and trees so as to provide their proper care. She has completed the diagraming of all of the gardens for library records and taken photos of all of them in order to identify them and create labels for them. These records will allow others to care for and/or replace plants in the future. Laureen is proud to care for the gardens and hopes all enjoy them, especially our Certified Butterfly Garden.

Encouraging reading, creativity, and curiosity have always been important to Laureen. These are reflected in the painted pavers of book covers created by Laureen’s grandnieces that appear throughout the gardens. Her favorite is “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” by Mo Willims because the children love seeing that and then take out the book! The charming pavers are just one indication of the helpful hand and caring touch that personifies Laureen Gosselin

Beth Regan