During July the Library lost two great friends–Bill Potts and R.C. Wilson. Both of these men left lasting legacies at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. Bill Potts was a retired English professor from OSU who was a scholar of James Joyce. He was able to make this sometimes difficult author understandable. He was also an accomplished woodworker and took a lead role in recycling the Library’s walnut tree that had to be removed during the last Library expansion. Many beautiful pieces were made from that tree by members of the Willamette Woodworkers’ Guild, including the lovely display case made by Bill himself. Please take a moment to remember this remarkable man as you admire his handiwork in our lobby.

Robert C. Wilson was known throughout Corvallis as a builder of buildings and of community. If it were not for the efforts of R.C., we would not have the Library building and system we have now. He was the builder of the 1965 addition and was instrumental in gaining funding for the 1992 expansion and in the establishment of the Library District which provides stable funding for the county’s contribution to library funding. He also established a special fund within the Benton County Foundation for library books “or their successors” which has been providing the library with high quality books in his honor and his first wife Patricia’s memory for a number of years. He will be remembered as a forward-thinking man who wanted to leave his community a better place.