Little Library Adorns Site of Former Preschool

By Caleb Pope After 60 years welcoming young Lake Forest children -- about 3,000 in total -- Joytime Preschool closed its doors in 2013. For decades, the school had been run by Joy and Earle Hodgen, alumni of Lake Forest College who had founded it in 1953 on Maywood Road near South Park. After her mother Joy passed away in the 1990s, Kathleen Hodgen – who had served as a teacher there – operated the school until it shut down.

 Kathleen Hodgen (third from left) and others celebrate the Joytime Little Library near South Park.

As a final act of goodwill toward the community, Hodgen (who was addressed as Miss Kathleen by her students) worked with City of Lake Forest Superintendent of Parks and Forestry Corey Wierema and Lake Forest resident Jennifer Karras to install a Little Library at the former school site last year.

Hodgen was approached by Karras, who proposed placing the Little Library by a boulder and bench adjacent to South Park. The project was funded by former Joytime families who wished to commemorate the school.

To create the library box, Karras worked with the City of Lake Forest to install the platform and post. A collection of shells and other curiosities also decorates the site in a treasure box.

“That idea was from my friend Beth Cook,” said Karras, who once lived steps away from the former Joytime site. “The purpose of the treasure box was to add another special element for younger children who are not yet reading. Her thought was that when sharing the gift, you are sharing a special message with someone else.”When the library was installed, a small dedication took place with Hogden’s family and others.“We had a few families come by, and I had my brother and his family come by, and I said a couple of words to thank everyone involved,” Hodgen said.

 When the school closed, an oak tree was planted and labeled by Hodgen as the Hugging Tree or the Joytime Tree. It was dedicated to alumni with a plaque.

“Years ago, over by the South Park tennis courts, there was a huge oak tree, so we used to walk there to see how many kids it took to hug the tree,” Hodgen said.

The former Joytime site is surrounded by trees, two of which were planted by Hodgen’s father; a pair of evergreen trees, one of which is still present today, next to the boulder. Writing on the boulder displays the Joytime philosophy: “Never hurt anyone on the outside. Never hurt anyone on the inside.”

On the library box appears the message, “Joytime Little Library. Take a Book – Leave a Book.” It is followed by a quote from Ernest Hemingway: “There is no friend as loyal as a book.” Hodgen is thrilled the Little Library has come together. “I’m so happy about the library; it gave closure to everything,” she added. “I have the bench, the boulder, the tree, and now the library.”