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Lincoln Public Library hosts its
second 1902 Club fundraiser
[October 22, 2025]
Lincoln Public Library hosted
another successful fundraiser on Saturday night at the Carnegie
building in downtown Lincoln. The special event, named The 1902 Club
for the year the Carnegie building was built, featured a candlelight
concert, historic building tours, hors d’oeuvres, desserts, drinks,
and a chance to enjoy the ambiance of one of the few Carnegie
libraries still operating as a library in Illinois.
Patrons arrived in their best
attire at 7:00 p.m. and were welcomed by library staff and 1902 Club
planning committee members. The Carnegie building was decorated with
gorgeous, seasonal flower arrangements provided by Melanie and David
Welch of The Bee and Prairie Threads. The heavy oak built-in for new
book displays near the circulation desk was tastefully decorated
with gift bags for patrons to take home afterward. The whole of the
interior was lit with 500 pillar candles and over 100 luminaria.
The food for this year’s event was
catered by local small business The Buttery. Savory hors d'oeuvres
were arranged tastefully on the long table in the Scully Reading
Room, plated with four different kinds of gourmet deviled eggs and a
variety of delectable crostini with specialty butters and spreads.
Once patrons had all arrived and
had an opportunity to enjoy the hors d'oeuvres, Library Clerk and
event organizer Ashley Ried officially welcomed guests and thanked
them for their support of the Lincoln Public Library. She also
thanked donors Steven and Susan Rohrer (library board member) who
provided a curated wine selection and Derek Ried (Squeaky Clean
Window Washing) who provided both a custom-blended autumn cocktail
and mocktail and also power washed the front steps in preparation
for the event. She continued her thanks to the library board of
directors. Ried explained that initial plans were to begin the
evening outdoors and then move inside for the concert, however, the
rainy weather caused some rearrangement. Any inconvenience to
patrons due to this change of plan was negligible.
The candlelight concert featuring a
professional string quartet from central Illinois consisted of four
sets of four songs introduced in turn by each of the members of the
quartet. The concert began with “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen
introduced by first violin Kamen Petkov who was raised in Bulgaria
and now lives in Illinois. He has been playing violin since the age
of 7. He explained “Hallelujah” was written by Cohen in 1984 and
came to fame in 1994 with Jeff Buckley’s cover and later in the
movie, “Shrek.” The next song was “All of Me” written by John Legend
for his wife and performed at their wedding at Lake Como in 2013.
The third number was “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay inspired by Frida
Kahlo. The last of this set was The Beatles’
“Here Comes the Sun”
written by George Harrison inspired by a beautiful day the Beatles
spent at Eric Clapton’s house.
The second set was introduced by second violin Meredith Crifasi,
originally from Rochester, now living in Springfield. She has played
the violin since age 4 and the piano since age 8. The second set
began with “Cinema Paradiso” composed in 1988 for the film of the
same name. The next song in the set was “A Thousand Years” composed
by Cristina Perri for the fourth installment of the Twilight movies.
This was followed by “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz and “Wildest Dreams”
by Taylor Swift from her fifth album.
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The third set was introduced by the viola player, Megan Forness,
who started with the violin at ten years old and was switched to
viola by her high school conductor after all the other viola
players graduated. The third set began with “Dancing in the
Moonlight” originally written in 1970 and covered several times
since. This was followed by “Make You Feel My Love” written by
Bob Dylan in 1997. This song has over 400 covers by a variety of
artists including Adele, Pink, and Garth Brooks. The third in
the set was another Taylor Swift song called “Love Story” from
2008 and inspired by Romeo and Juliet. The last of this set was
“The Prayer” originally performed by Celine Dion and Andrea
Bocelli.
The final set of music was introduced by cellist Bob Hauser
originally from northern Illinois, but now residing in
Bloomington. As a full-time musician he travels 35,000 miles and
books 45 weekends per year. The concluding set began with “Can
You Feel the Love Tonight?” by Elton John followed by “Dream a
Little Dream” originally performed by Ella Fitzgerald, then
“What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong and finishing with
“So Happy Together.” For an encore, the quartet performed
Queen’s “Somebody to Love.”
Following the candlelight concert, The Buttery provided a
scrumptious spread of bite-sized desserts. Two flavors of cream
puffs, three varieties of petit fours, two kinds of gelee, plus
spiced apple tartlets and walnut and chocolate ganache tartlets
were the delicacies artfully created by the caterers. Patrons
were able to mingle with the musicians while enjoying the food
and the ambiance.
Again this year, one of the eagerly anticipated aspects of the
night was a tour of the upstairs Director’s Room. Originally the
office space for librarian Ida Webster, the Director’s Room
boasts views of Latham Park through latticed windows, original
architectural features, and interior windows that open to the
topside of the stained glass dome. This area is typically closed
to library patrons. Planning committee member Pam Moriarty
arranged and gave tours of the upstairs space providing
information about Isabel Nash, the stained glass dome, and other
architectural elements of the Carnegie building.
The 1902 Club was a successful celebration of an historic
Lincoln landmark. The existence of the library is due to the
women of Lincoln whose contributions made the Carnegie building
possible. Isabel Nash donated the land for the library building
and Ida M. Webster, LPL librarian for 55 years, not only grew
and organized the collections, but was instrumental in the
building’s design. Lincoln has Webster to thank for the
attractive bump-outs at the sides of the Carnegie building that
add to its Neoclassical charm. Proceeds from The 1902 Club go
toward restoration work of the Carnegie building’s original tile
roof to address leaks that have compromised the integrity of
this local jewel.
Reflecting on the event, organizer Ashley Ried said, “The event
was ethereal and better than we could have imagined. Although
the rain caused some changes in plans, the atmosphere of the
night was certainly not dampened. I think Ms. Ida Webster would
have loved to see that building so full and would have been
proud to see her hard work put to this use some 120 years later!
We are already looking forward to next year.” Ried wanted to
“extend a special thank you to the volunteer committee that
helped create this special night. Pam Moriarty worked hard to
get the Director’s Room and materials ready for an audience
again. The tours are a fan favorite and her dedication to
providing them is deeply appreciated. Curtis Fox has offered his
enthusiasm and support since the event’s inception, as well as
being the sommelier for the evening. And finally I would like to
thank Cheryl Hall who showed up to do the tedious work of
filling luminary bags, fitting chair covers and turning on SO
MANY candles. Our library is a better place because of patrons
like these three!” Additional exciting opportunities are planned
for the future to support Lincoln Public Library’s mission and
legacy. To find out more, visit
www.lincolnpubliclibrary.org
Stephanie Hall]
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