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Old Orchard's new 'library' a gift for new Port Moody Rotary president

Members of the Rotary Club of Port Moody knew they wanted to install a Little Free Library to welcome their new president, a passionate supporter of literacy initiatives, and they also knew just who should build it.
Little Free Library
Rotary Club of Port Moody president Trudy Gallant and Walter Peachey, who built the Little Free Library at Old Orchard Park.

Members of the Rotary Club of Port Moody knew they wanted to install a Little Free Library to welcome their new president, a passionate supporter of literacy initiatives, and they also knew just who should build it.

They turned to Walter Peachey, a PoMo resident, retired cabinet maker and talented carpenter, who took the task to heart and built the miniature "book house" to more exacting standards than many full-size homes.

"It'll weather nicely, I think," said a modest Peachey.
He had a pattern for the small structure but quickly realized the roofline simply wouldn't do for our rainy climate; he turned it around, extended it and added metal flashing underneath for extra protection.

The roof boasts waterproof plywood shingles but it's the siding that comes with a unique PoMo connection — the cedar comes from wood salvaged from the old Glenayre community centre, which was replaced in the early 1990s.

(That's not the oldest piece of wood Peachey had been hanging on to — that honour goes to a clock recently fashioned from a large cedar knot he'd been saving since the 1970s.)

"It was an interesting little challenge," Peachey said of the book house project, which took two to three months to finish.
And the surprise for new president Trudy Gallant was well worth it.

She arrived at Old Orchard Park Wednesday morning expecting a leisurely walk along the Shoreline Trail with a fellow Rotarian but was met with about 10 members eager to show off the welcoming gift.

"I'm so happy, you made my year!" Gallant exclaimed. "I would have expected something at the end of the year, not the beginning. I love it, I love it, I love it."

Gallant said she is a lifelong reader and was "a very big user of the library" growing up.

"Access to books is one of the best gifts we can give to not only our children, but to anyone who wants to be a lifelong learner," she said. "And this is all about community spirit."

• The Rotary Club of Port Moody has stocked its Little Free Library at Old Orchard Park with children's books but anyone is welcome to take and/or deposit a book of any genre. Visit www.littlefreelibrary.org for more information.

spayne@tricitynews.com
@spayneTC