LaGrange Bear Creek Unity Library
Contact Info
Next Meeting
Hosts Needed
Hours
Officers
LGBC Unity Association thanks the forward-thinking Town Council of the Town of LaGrange for providing the first “library” space in 1992, the same year LaGrange High School was closed. At that time, LaGrange faced the possibility of losing both the Goshen County Book Mobile as well as the high school library. The Town Council granted Unity Library the use of the Town Hall meeting room. The Town Hall was located on Main Street (5th Ave.) across from the Post Office. As more books were accumulated, more space was needed. In the early 2000’s, the Town of LaGrange purchased the LHS building and designated two rooms as the current space for the library and history center. LGBC Unity extends deep gratitude to the Town of LaGrange and the LaGrange Heritage Square planners for providing this impressive facility. Thanks to the many generous donors of time, talents, and dollars, LGBC Unity Library and History Center thrives as a dazzling treasure on the Wyoming range.
– If you are looking for a specific item you can do a search in the file to find it easier.
SUMMER READING 2024
DRAGONS!!
Mondays & Thursdays in June.
9:30 – 11 Ages 3 – 11
* 3 & 4 year-olds must have an adult present.
Sign up at the Library or Town Hall.
Please register early so we can plan crafts and snacks.
Contact Pat Ham: 307-834-2405 or Patty Larrisey: 307-715-2238 with questions.
LaGrange-Bear Creek Unity Association is offering grant money for community projects!
The LaGrange Community Endowment fund was established in 2009, started with donations to the Mrs. Archie (Kathy) Johnson memorial fund. This “designated” LaGrange Community Endowment Fund is invested as part of the Wyoming Community Foundation’s portfolio with the earnings from this fund being disbursed annually to the LaGrange-Bear Creek Unity Association to address the priorities established by the Unity Board of Directors. Because it is an endowed fund, only the earnings are distributed to Unity, enabling the Fund to exist in perpetuity.
One of the priorities set forth by the LaGrange-Bear Creek Unity Association’s Board of Directors is to distribute a portion of the earnings to nonprofit and service organizations within the LaGrange-Bear Creek community in the form of grants for projects that will enhance the quality of life in and for this community.
If your nonprofit or service organization wishes to apply for this LaGrange community grant, read more about it on this link or pick up a packet at Unity Library. The grant application deadline is November 1. The decision will be announced in January. Grant awards will be made based on the availability of endowment distributions from Wyoming Community Foundation. All decisions will be at the sole discretion of the Unity Board of Directors, and not necessarily on an annual basis.
Fall Round-Up
Dear Unity Friends: Greetings from the impressive LaGrange Heritage Square, Home of LaGrange-Bear Creek Community Library & Museum!
LaGrange-Bear Creek Unity Association was founded in 1992 with the express purposes of providing a library, preserving local history, and promoting appreciation of our community. With the support of the LaGrange Town Council, Unity Association founded the LaGrange-Bear Creek Community Library in the previous Town Hall. In keeping with the association’s purposes, and in support of the historic preservation of the former LaGrange High School building, renamed LaGrange Heritage Square, the Community Library will soon be moving into the new LaGrange Heritage Square. In addition, Unity Association, being a 501-C-3 non-profit corporation, has agreed to serve as the administrator of the newly established LaGrange Community Endowment Fund. Donations for the Endowment Fund have been made as gifts and memorials in honor of cherished community members or as instruments to continue the legacy of LaGrange for future generations. The Endowment Funds will provide a safe, secure way to develop and maintain LaGrange Heritage Square, which in turn provides a home for our library, preserves local history, and promotes our community. As the Endowment Fund grows through continued charitable giving, LaGrange-Bear Creek Unity Association will direct the use of the endowment earnings to the support of LaGrange-Bear Creek Community Library and History Center, LaGrange Heritage Square, and other beneficial community needs, in line with Unity’s purposes. You may read more about LaGrange-Bear Creek Unity Association and the LaGrange Endowment Fund by clicking on the related links. Donations to these causes are deeply appreciated. A gift to the endowment fund will have far-reaching benefits: preserving our heritage, giving back to your community, and passing LaGrange’s legacy to future generations. Your support can make these dreams a reality.
Unity’s Year At a Glance
- January – Curl up with a good book! All ages welcome: Preschoolers to Out-of-schoolers.
- February – Open House/Annual Meeting/Soup Night
- Spring – Easter Egg Hunt/Story Time/Book Sale
- Summer – Summer Reading for Kids
- Closure for Summer Reading – Family Night Celebration and Awards
- Fall Round-Up – Fund Drive
- Winter – Planning and Corporation Matters
- All Year – Provide a library. Preserve history. Promote Awarenenss & Appreciation for our Community.
A Peek into the Past – Over 100 Years Ago
Excerpt from Trails, Rails, and Travails, The LaGrange History Book °We came to Wyoming Territory August, 1888. I was just a girl at that time. It seemed so lonesome, so far from one place to another, nothing but hills and stock. °We came by train to Pine bluffs . . . . We were met with a team and farm wagon, . . . drove all day, and arrived at the old Whitehead Ranch about sundown. This ranch was just across the creek west of where Jelmer Johnson now lives. °The trip over the divide was all new to me. We drove miles without seeing a home. Then they were small log or sod buildings with a dirt roof and some dirt floors. It was all open range at that time, not a gate to open or lane to follow. When we got to the creek we found there were ranches all up and down it. . . . . °The Texas Trail herds were brought through every summer from fifteen to twenty hundred in a bunch. . . .² . . . . °The fall of 1889, the first school house of LaGrange was built, one small log room, having four small windows. The walls were just logs with plaster to fill in the cracks, no ceiling and a low dirt roof. A big wood stove stood in the center, pipe reaching through the roof. Miss Mattie Thomas better known as Mrs. Winnie was the first teacher. . . . °The most of the pupils had to ride to school, either horseback or in a cart. They brought long ropes and a picket pin and staked their ponies out till school closed. . . . °Near Christmas 1889, every one favored having a Christmas tree and short program. The school teachers gave readings, had a few songs, then Santa appeared. . . . Besides the ornaments, the tree was loaded with gifts for old and young. . . . After the program, there was a dance and all that cared to stayed the remainder of the night. . . .² Continue enjoying this history by Miss Dema Tremain found on pages 5-8. Purchase your copies of Trails, Rails, and Travails for $20 to support the library.
Fine, hard-bound copies of the LaGrange community history book, full of fascinating local pioneers and families, are available for $20. You can own your own copy of the history of the LaGrange and Bear Creek communities compiled by the LaGrange history association. Proceeds go to support Unity’s library and historic preservation projects. Purchase your copy of Trails, Rails, and Travails, available from B&V Café, Martha’s Store, Bear Mountain Stage Stop, LaGrange Town Hall, and LaGrange-Bear Creek Unity Library & History Center in the LaGrange Heritage Square.
Easter Egg Hunt
To promote literacy and community spirit, Unity hosts the annual Easter Egg Hunt, followed by story time. 
Summer Reading
Miss Scott helps with Summer Reading. 
Ready to turn egg cartons into dragons. 
Summer Reading treasures guarded by dragons and Little People. 
Miss Ham draws the kids into the books. 
Little people fit right in at the New Library!
