Sullivan Free Library — Attraction in Town of Sullivan

I loved the well stocked book sale room. The area set aside for adult reading made a nice touch. The building rambles a bit as all buildings with additions ramble. I wonder what began the collection of cookie jar on top the bookshelves. One has to appreciate that the library stays open until Eight Monday through Thursday. An old painting of an early lawyer named William Fuller desperately needs restoration. Paint flakes off the canvas. The old pull hangs on the wall outside the office of historian, Chittenango New York. The hours of the city historian and his assistant can be posted on the office door.

First Act

This morning, I am still washing pine sap off my palms after helping to sell over forty trees Sunday.

Forty trees out of two hundred trees sold so far, with about one hundred trees left to sell.

I loved to see the trucks and minivans arriving.

Just throw the tree into the truck.

Just shove the tree into the back of the van.

Tree made the entire interior smell like Christmas.

Sedans though caused extra work.

Trees had to be tied to the roof of the sedans with twine.

Trees had to be lifted on top of sedans too, a difficult lift.

I tied a number of trees on top of sedans, making sure I got the trunk secured with the first pass of twine.

The second and third pass kept the tree down, pressed against the roof.

The really organized people wrapped the tree in a blanket before we lifted it up on the roof.

A tree thick with needles probably couldn't scratch roof paint too much, but can you see roof scratches up on the roof?

Trade the car in before the roof scratches allow the rust to look ugly.

I liked that mothers and fathers came to the yard with their children.

A few toddlers were on their feet in booties and gloves.

"Let's come back here next year", a young girl proposed.

I gave her older brother the wedge I had cut off the tree trunk.

She was wearing perfectly clean white mittens and pine sap wouldn't come out.

A few moms carried newborns in baskets, by the flip up handle of the car seat, pretty much the same design of seat carried by myself two decades ago when I had a baby in the car seat.

The fathers usually didn't have to help with the tree at all.

I could lift the seven foot high balsams.

The eight foot high firs we carried for the families together, the dads walking along side us.

Most of the bottoms cut off the bottom we saved in a bag for a local crafter, who made something out of them.

The big cuts of an inch or longer when we shortened a tree went into the fire.

The local lumberyard had donated a stack of firewood and a barrel of kindling cut from pine lumber so we could keep warm, burning a fire in the bottom of a burning barrel.

We made our base on the shores of Chittenango Creek, near a gazebo that looked like a Greek Temple.

"It's the Christmas Temple", I said to a customer.

"We call it the gazebo", said Paul, a lawyer with his office on Main Street.

"We moved it here from Bridgeport when the town expanded the fire station".

We ran an electric chain saw because some electrician had run power out to the gazebo.

As dark set in, lights set under the roof turned the gazebo into a vision of Christmas colors, green and red, silver and gold.

Santa, however, met his fans at Doctor West park.

I was fatigued when I walked up to the Ten Pin lounge for the only open door in town with an open loo.

I think the Burger King might have kept the doors open, but you couldn't be sure.

It's easier to run a burger joint when it's drive through only, so I couldn't be sure.

Dinner would have been far far cheaper at the BK.

I stepped into the Ten Pin, which had a fire in a Franklin Stove, and a woman waved at me.

"Hey, I know you from work"!

The bartender gave me a PBR and it was so good after working outside...

If I could rate this library 0 stars I would. The staff/angry old women who work here are probably the rudest librarians and the least helpful people in this area. I drive out of my way to go to different libraries with friendlier staff and people. There is no reason for these people to be as bitter and rude as they are. Libraries are supposed to be a fun and quiet place to go to and kid friendly. This library is the...

We stopped here to get a park pass to take our littles to a few parks and they refused because our address isn’t in Chittenango. We are in Madison county and I’m sorry but if a family benefits from it then that is absolutely wrong! We will move on to find the person who wants to be helpful and a blessing rather than spread disappointment into...