By Kathryne Rakowski
Sisters Maryella and Elizabeth Annal are continuing to make a difference in the Baldwinsville community three years after their death in a car accident that occurred when they were 11 and 9 in September of 2020.
The Baldwinsville Public Library has completely updated a children’s room in their honor that youth will be able to enjoy for years to come.
All are invited to a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the Maryella and Elizabeth’s Children’s Corner on Thursday, July 27 at 6:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served.
The library was a special place for Annal family, who visited frequently. Library Director Meg Patten remembers fondly the joy the sisters shared there.
“They loved it here,” she recalls. “I remember whenever they would visit, one would leave with an armful of books and the other with an armful of tablets.”
Parents Tom and Maureen Annal knew that the library would be the perfect place for a special memorial to their daughters.
“When we formed our foundation, Annal’s Angels, we created a mission statement that focuses on fostering the love of reading in children,” Maureen shared. “The community was so compassionate and generous with us after the crash, we wanted to find a way to give back and honor the girls at the same time.”
During the 10 years that VanPatten has been the director of the library, she had always hoped to one day re-do the children’s area, but it was something she could never get off the ground.
But with the help of fundraising by Annal’s Angels and several other donations, this dream has now become reality.
To help with renovations for the space, the Baldwinsville Rotary granted the library a $10,000 match if they raised $10,000. This paved the way for what is now an extraordinary space, and one that will honor Maryella and Elizabeth.
Their favorite colors were highlighted in its design, and so were their favorite animals.
A life-sized tree in the area will hold a koala bear and a sloth, and there will be a contest to name them.
Picture books which sat on shelves before will now be displayed in bins to make for a more welcoming and interactive space.
Cubby’s will be used for children to sit in and will also hold stuffed animals to play with. There will also be a section of a canal boat for children to sit in with a mural painted behind it for all to enjoy.
“We hope the renovation will create interest and bring families into the library that may have not been there before,” Maureen Annal said, recalling how much her daughters loved going there. “The library has so much to offer for all ages. By naming the new area after Maryella and Elizabeth, we hope it will keep their memory alive within the Baldwinsville community.”
VanPatten looks forward to welcoming children into the space.
“It will be such an inviting area for children,” she shared. “The kids with know it’s their space.”
On the day of the ribbon cutting, a balloon sculpture will be on display with a koala bear and a sloth amid the balloons. VanPatten said she and her staff are very excited but admitted that the day is bittersweet.
“There is a bit of sadness because the girls are not able to be here,” she said. “But this is a beautiful way to memorialize them.”
