It’s a small thing, really.
A red box planted in the ground at the corner of Canterbury Road and Deerfield Drive in Aurora, where young and old alike can take a book or leave favorite titles for others to enjoy.
But this little library in Orchard Valley subdivision’s Canterbury Park has a special significance for those who loved the woman many knew as Aurora’s “Christmas Lady.”
In the decades leading up to her death in August at age 61, Karen Bozarth had opened her and husband Jim’s home to thousands of people to enjoy a wonderland of holiday magic. Because she loved this time of year so passionately and wanted to share that joy with others, her house was decorated to the hilt, with dozens of glittering Christmas trees – nine in the living room alone – 300 snowmen and over 400 snow village buildings which included thousands of parts, many of them moving, that covered their entire basement.
Karen also worked at Scholastic Inc. at its St. Charles location for nearly 20 years, selling children’s books, learning resources and educational material to schools in multiple states. So it’s no surprise that Karen loved reading as much as she loved Christmas.
And “everyone at Scholastic, all the way up to the owners, absolutely adored Karen,” said co-worker Mary Reynolds. “She just had that way of making everyone feel like you were her best friend.”
Determined, insisted Reynolds, “not to let that light of hers dim,” Scholastic, which moved its offices to Hoffman Estates in April, decided to erect this small free library in Karen’s memory.
Even though it is officially a lending library, where people of all ages can take a book and leave one, Scholastic, which for over 100 years has specialized in children’s publishing, plans to keep it filled with brand new books for kids ages birth through 12.
And yes they are free to anyone, especially those who might not otherwise have the money to spend on new titles for their kids.
Putting this library in place, said Reynolds, was a labor of love from coworkers and friends, who came together upon its completion Nov. 19 for a “Hot Chocolate and Sugar Cookie Cheer” gathering: a Yuletide memorial to this beloved woman who could, like Christmas itself, put a smile on everyone’s face and joy in their hearts.
Reynolds wants to give a shout-out to all those who made the project possible, including neighbor and co-worker Terry Witte who assembled the box; to the Fox Valley Park District for giving permission and digging the hole; to friend and co-worker Eva Di Martino for painting it; and to Stan Rayford and his 6-year-old son little Stan who, along with Jim Bozarth, are in charge of making sure the library – which will be festively decorated for all seasons – is always filled with new Scholastic books.
So far, an average of 20 to 25 books are going into the library at one time. And this weekend that will include Christmas titles, Reynolds said.
“Karen would have been loving all this,” she added. “It’s just who she was.”
Of course it will be a different Christmas for Jim Bozarth, who you may recall from a previous column was watching one of his wife’s beloved Hallmark movies on Aug. 7 with her when she quietly passed away.
No one knows more than her husband how much Karen loved this season. Which is why Bozarth is finding it difficult to put up one tree this year, never mind the dozens he used to help trim that glittered in every room of their home.
This first holiday without her will be especially hard, Bozarth said, adding that he and Karen even got engaged on Christmas Day. While driving past the red box in the park brings him “some comfort,” it is also a reminder that “she is not here” to enjoy it.
Still, as the memorial plaque on the library’s little door points out, there is “never a final chapter.”
“A huge part of the Christmas season is keeping alive those memories with loved ones,” Bozarth told me, adding that he and Karen “have many,” including decades of good cheer when their home was opened to visitors from near and far.
“This little library,” he insisted, “is just a continuation of her giving spirit.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com