• Little Free Library/Eagle Scout Project In One

The count of Little Free Libraries (LFL) in Wildomar is now up to seven with the official ribbon cutting at the new Marna O'Brien location. 

The 7th Little Free Library in Wildomar.

This project started about a year ago as Chris Ramos was embarking on his Eagle Scout project. He was looking to hammer out the specifics and met with Parks Manager Daniel Torres several times to ensure that the designs stayed up to a level that would be accepted by the city.

July 2018, taking a look, thinking of the possibilities.

Chris had about twenty different people helping him with this project. His primary fundraising was with a GoFundMe page, family and friends helped out with some fundraisers too. 

Chris Ramos addresses the crowd of about twenty-five people.

In addition to the LFL, he also put in an ADA compliant path to it, planted a sycamore tree, added new bark and some plants. 

I asked what about what learning experiences he got from this project, "It takes longer than you expect, and it takes more money than planned."

Chris Ramos readies the scissors.

Teacher Natalia Rupp has a Little Free Library in her front yard, and has enjoyed watching the LFL idea spread throughout the city, "Book access is really important for students, especially in low income areas. Parts of Wildomar fall into those guidelines, and book ownership increases student's desire to read and desire to seek out books in their age appropriate level and also content appropriate.

The ribbon finally yielded to the oversized scissors.

When they come to a Little Free Library, nobody's telling them [about] rules, there aren't strings attached to those books, they're absolutely free to take home and to enjoy and maybe bring back. I think that's really important [as we] grow more readers in our community."

Chris Ramos confers with Daniel Torres as Scoutmaster (and Dad) Vic Ramos looks on.

Daniel Torres, who worked with Chris on this project, had high praise for him, "Chris did a great job setting up with his community of the boy scouts, got it all done, and did a great job of it."

Natalia Rupp, Chris Ramos and Daniel Torres. I asked these three to be in a photo because, though there are many that were crucial to this project's success, I see these as the key figures that factored in.

Council Member, and parks subcommittee chair, Bridgette Moore said, "We thank Chris for building another free library in our city, especially in the park. The parks bring the community together. You can bring your family down, grab a book, sit on the bench and read a book."

Wildomar city council member Bridgette Moore, teacher and LFL maven Natalia Rupp, project overseer Chris Ramos, Wildomar city council member Joseph "Legs" Morabito, and Parks Manager Daniel Torres.

•                •                •

A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.
– George R.R. Martin

A reader of Wildomar Rap rolls their eyes a thousand times... the person that never reads this blog obviously has better things to do.

This blog was produced for viewing on a desktop or a laptop. Though it's been optimized for smartphones, the formatting can look odd on a smartphone or if you get this delivered through email (such as missing video links). Link to proper format.