Families new to Elkhart connect and socialize at the library
Ellen Longcor fills many roles: mom, assistant principal, fitness coach. Still, she finds the time to slow down and unwind.
Two active little boys keep Ana and Zac Buckley on the move. As recent homebuyers, they needed a place to go to that could satisfy everyone’s interests and help them get to know the community.
Coming from Tennessee, new resident Jennifer Strunk wanted to find out more about Elkhart, too. She also needed to find the right place for her kids to learn and grow and have fun.
Each family, at different stages in their journeys, found themselves in a new community searching for a place to connect to their unfamiliar new hometown. They discovered the library.
The busy mom
Life is always busy for Ellen. Waking up for 5 a.m. workouts at CrossFit Bravura. Shuffling the kids to theatre rehearsal or swim practice. Helping students at Goshen’s Model Elementary School achieve in the classroom.
Last summer, she and her kids, Hannah (13), Grace (10) and Nehemiah (8), moved to Elkhart following her divorce. She found a home near Johnson and Orchard streets, which she bought through LaCasa Inc.
It brought Ellen closer to CrossFit Bravura, where she teaches classes a few nights a week and trains for competitions. She caught the CrossFit bug several years ago but has been coaching for four years now.
“CrossFit takes away the stress,” she says.
Her kids tag along with her often and are found reading in a corner while Ellen leads classes.
As a family with a passion for reading, they quickly discovered the downtown library was within walking distance from their new home.
“During the summer, we come all the time,” says Ellen. “It’s closer and easier to get to than the library was when we lived in Goshen.”
While the gym is where she goes to destress, the library is the place for the whole family to unwind and slow down a little.
For Ellen’s oldest daughter, Hannah, the library is one of her favorite destinations.
“It’s a really comfortable place and I feel safe there,” Hannah says.
Ellen adds that Grace, her middle child, is trying to expand her reading horizons with help from the library.
“Grace loves graphic novels,” says Ellen. “She got challenged to read other types of books and the librarian gave us some great suggestions.”
Ellen says they pop into the downtown library once a week in the summer and as often as they can during the busy school year.
“I couldn’t afford the books on my own,” Ellen says.
She loves the library for fitting into the many different parts of her life.
“It’s full of good resources and a lot of them are free,” she says. “The staff are always so nice and genuinely want to help you. You can see the passion they have for kids and their literacy. It’s always refreshing to see that.”
The young family
Ana Buckley and her husband, Zac, also moved to Elkhart from Goshen last summer.
After finding a house near Bearsley Elementary School, they began visiting Elkhart Health and Aquatics and Walker Park with their two kids, William (4) and Logan (3). The Walker Park visits turned into regular stops at the nearby Osolo Branch.
“It’s really rewarding moving to Elkhart,” says Ana. “If I didn’t have the library, our lives would be kind of boring. Not everything is free out there.”
Ana and her boys became regulars at Miss Janell’s Storytime at Osolo over the summer.
“It makes my kids very excited about the books,” she says. “Like now when my kids see Pete the Cat and his buttons, we sing the song Miss Janell sings and it’s a blast.”
It becomes a place for families to connect and meet others, Ana says.
“It sparks up the unity in the community, because I get to know people here,” she says.
While they’re at the library, it’s easier to pick out books to read at home.
“It motivates me to be more intentional, to see what new book we’re going to read that night,” says Ana. “I think reading to my children is really important for their development. You get to introduce them to history and science in really fun ways. I do believe that knowledge is power, and I try to pour so much of that knowledge into my kids’ brains.”
Beyond the books, it’s a chance to spend time together as a family.
“It gives us something to look forward to,” Ana says.
Zac works for a tree service, giving him more time in the winter to go on family trips to the library. They spend time doing the available crafts or competing in the scavenger hunts Miss Janell sets up in the children’s room.
“He loves coming over here during the offseason,” she says. “We did a snowman craft and had so much fun.”
They also visited the downtown library for one of Miss Cheryl’s preschool parties.
“We came to the Dragons Love Tacos Preschool Party and got a free book. It offers these great moments that you don’t have to pay for, you can just show up,” Ana says. “As a homeschool mom and a stay-at-home mom, it is really important that we get out of the house. The library brings that safe environment where the kids are in a new setting. You have puzzles and maybe a craft.”
She sees the impact having books around makes on her boys.
“Even if they don’t know how to read yet, they will pick up a book and pretend to read. There’s a big difference.” she says.
Ana says the activities and events encouraged her to sign her kids up for the challenge.
“All of the Summer Reading Challenge events they had seemed like a good time for my kids,” Ana says.
New in town
Moving to Elkhart from Tennessee was a jarring experience for Jennifer Strunk, her husband and their three kids, Scarlette (10), Oliver (7) and Vera (4).
They made the move to help take care of a family member in the area. But Jennifer says she didn’t really know her way around. The kids didn’t know anyone their age.
Living near the Pierre Moran branch, they decided to check it out. Soon they were visiting all of EPL’s locations for activities.
“We were looking for something to do with the family,” she says. “The library offers many different things. Games, puppet shows – it inspired us to visit all the libraries in the area.”
Soon the kids were seeing classmates and expanding their social circle.
“We came to some of the library events, they interacted with other kids that they knew from school,” she says.
It helped smooth the transition to the family’s new city. The library is now part of their routine.
They visit Pierre Moran every week or two. Oliver loves books about animals, while Vera enjoys books about princesses. All the kids enjoy the LEGO station.
“Scarlette is getting into reading graphic novels,” Jennifer says. “For my 4-year-old, it’s more of an introduction, a lot of picture books for her. If brother and sissy get a book, she gets a book.”
Jennifer says that their family never utilized the library in Knoxville, Tenn. But she says they feel like EPL is a big part of their lives in Elkhart.
“What we had in Tennessee is not like what we have here in Indiana,” she says.
Jennifer signed the kids up for the Summer Reading Challenge, too.
“The reading program was more emphasis to get more books and do the scavenger hunt and do more things,” she says.
Soon, they were earning rewards like free ice cream or Pokémon cards. The rewards offered another benefit, Jennifer says. Visiting local businesses got her familiar with the area.
“It helped for me to find my way around,” she says. To redeem them, they began visiting local businesses like Vanilla Bean Creamery or Secret Door Games.
“That was really nice. Kids these days want to know what they get out of it,” says Jennifer.
Helping connect
Families new to Elkhart find the library as a place to slow down and spend time together or with others.
It’s also a place to put down roots and connect more with their new city.
“I like to plug in to our resources,” says Ellen. “Those types of things that families might not know about.”
Start your library journey this summer by signing up for a library card. Learn more about the Summer Reading Challenge here.