Ed Krieg, of Parkville-Carney, likes to be first, and he did it again March 9.

The retired man, who reads 50-60 books a year, was first in line Monday at 9 a.m. when the doors opened for the first day of the new Perry Hall Library.

He said he had arrived at 8:04 a.m. to assure the position.

That was the second "first" for Krieg at the library on Honeygo Boulevard, which opened just one year after its groundbreaking last spring -- with more than twice the space and double the collection of materials of the old library.

A couple weeks ago, Krieg was the first person to use the new library's drive-through window, which opened before the interior.

Krieg was not alone Monday.

Right on his heels, as watches nudged nine o'clock on the dot, about a dozen others entered, including Chuck and Maggie Schaum, of Windsor Condominiums at Perry Hall Farms.

Chuck Schaum enjoys the magazine Reminisce; his wife said her interests are history, cookbooks and antiques.

Karen Benson of Kingsville was there with her 3-year-old granddaughter Bella Voshell, who made a dash for the playroom for preschoolers.

"We came over here last (Sunday) night and peeked in the windows. She saw this playroom then, with the tiny kitchen and dress-up clothes. I knew this was the place she'd head for today," Benson said.

As branch manager Darcy Cahill exchanged notes with county library director Jim Fish, Lettie Dietz Hack sat in an over-stuffed, green chair holding a box of old photographs. She thought they may qualify to join the 30 historic photos of old Perry Hall already mounted on a library wall -- as a loan, she said.

Near Hack's seat in the teen area, a flat-screen TV overhead gave a slide show of old scenes and events from Perry Hall.

The steady trickle of early morning turned into a stream by early afternoon, said library spokesman Bob Hughes.

"The counter on the door said 124 in the first hour," he said. "By 3:30 p.m., we were up to 760."

Cahill said one woman liked the library so much that her eyes teared over.

"'Awesome' was the word I heard most often," she said.

The drive-though window accepts returned materials and delivers items that patrons have already ordered.

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user comments (1)

user davidmarks1 says...

Regarding Lettie Dietz Hack, the Perry Hall Improvement Association has donated three pictures of the Dietz and Tanner properties as they appeared in 2000. These structures were a beautiful sight along Belair Road, and patrons can view them in near the library's new reading room. Unfortunately, the Dietz and Tanner families ignored pleas from the community and sold the area for a development. The pictures are all that remain, and they are far prettier than the Safeway and Walgreens that replaced the properties.

Posted 9:47 PM, 03.11.09

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