VASSALBORO -- To celebrate 100 years of providing reading materials and a place to socialize with neighbors, the Vassalboro Public Library is heading back to the future.

Events will hearken back to the library's early days and historical documents and photos are being collected by the library to serve as a new resource for the town's history.

But there's no avoiding the fact that the library is much different than it used to be. The library started out in a small cabin, lending perhaps 10 books at a time; now, in a newer brick building on Bog Road, the library has about 1,500 patrons and some 30,000 books and materials, plus computers and Internet access.

"I'm impressed by the growth," said Betty Taylor, who served as assistant librarian and librarian from 1955 to 1998. "It's just tremendously improved, almost beyond belief."

Several upcoming events will mark the library's 100th anniversary. On Aug. 29, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the recreational fields on Bog Road, a benefit lawn party will be held, featuring local act RB Hall Memorial Band and games. There will be a suggested donation of $10 per family.

That event is meant to commemorate a fundraiser lawn party held in August 1909, when the ladies of the library association collected $716.

Based on inflation, that would be akin to raising $17,000 in today's dollars, said Dawn Thistle, the librarian.

"We thought, to honor what they had done in the past, we'll do a modern version," Thistle said.

Next will come the library's annual book and bake sale, on Sept. 12, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the East Vassalboro Grange Hall. The book sale, coincidentally, is celebrating 50 years, and will also feature a silent auction.

Finally, on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. at the Vassalboro Community School, a 100th anniversary benefit will be held with special guest Tim Sample, a Maine humorist. Tickets are $15 for adults and $7.50 for children.

Celebrating the 100th anniversary is also a good time to highlight the library's unique history, Thistle said.

According to news articles and previous librarians, such as Taylor, the library was organized in March 1909 when a group of women met in the Friends Church at East Vassalboro with the assistance of a a Quaker minister. The original building, a small cottage donated by the Kennebec Water District, was initially located on the opposite shore of China Lake and, in the winter of 1914, was moved across the frozen China Lake with four teams of horses to Stanley Hill Road in Vassalboro.

Taylor said she became an assistant to librarian Mildred Harris in 1959, and during that time the library began raising money and purchasing more books.

In November 1979, the original library building was ruined during an accidental fire. But it was actually a "blessing," Taylor said, noting that the library needed to expand and losing the original building provided the needed jolt for the community to seek a bigger and better building.

With $35,000 in insurance reimbursement and the rest either privately collected or donated with free labor, a new brick building was constructed in 1980-81 for $60,000, Taylor said. An addition was later added to the rear.

Former librarian Julie Lyon said her time at the library was "a great joy of my life at the time."

"There's still a people connection," Lyon said. "It's just a people place; you're not lost inside the space."

For Assistant librarian Russell Smith, "to me, it's amazing a small library like this would last 100 years," Smith said.

One of the library's most famous traditions, serving tea at 3 p.m. every day the library is open, started during the legendary ice storm of 1998. During that time, with 10 days of no electricity, the library became a sanctuary for many with its wood stove. And, the tea they brewed to stay warm.

The tea time continues today, Thistle said, with more than a dozen people sometimes joining in and bringing other goodies.

"That's our treasured ritual," Thistle said.

Scott Monroe -- 861-9253

smonroe@centralmaine.com