This large free library does not have a LFL sign on it, and is not chartered with the LFL organization.
This library was placed by family members on honor of their father, Patrick Duffy, a longtime resident of Hartshorne OK (not The Man from Atlantis or Bobby Ewing) who died in 2017 after a many decades of service to this community.
From the McAlester News-Capital: (
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"Duffy Little Library dedicated in Hartshorne
By James Beaty | Managing editor Jan 5, 2017
HARTSHORNE — Local residents and travelers through the Twin Cities now have access to a new library available 24 hours a day.
Friends and family of the late Patrick “Pat” Duffy gathered Saturday to dedicate a small library in his memory.
The Patrick Duffy Little Free Library is on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Hartshorne, just east of the traffic light at the Pennsylvania Avenue and the Ninth Street intersection.
Designed from a concept by the Twin Cities Revitalization Project, books are kept in a red cupboard on the outside of a building at 906 Pennsylvania Ave. recently painted by project volunteers. The idea is to make books available to community residents or even to those who might be traveling through the community and who are in need of something to read.
The Patrick Duffy Little Free Library resulted from an idea by the Twin Cities Revitalization Project to make books more available to those wanting to read.
“The concept is leave a book and take a book,” said Brenda Russell of the Revitalization Project.
As the project neared completion, those involved had the idea to dedicate it to Duffy.
“We thought more and more of Pat,” Russell said. “We all knew how he loved books and we decided to dedicate it to him.”
Duffy, who died in 2014, was deeply involved in the Hartshorne-area community. A carpenter and painter by profession, he also served as a longtime baseball coach and commissioner for the Hartshorne Summer League. He gave pottery lessons to youth in the area and also opened his Blue Mountain Pottery Shop, served as Boy Scouts leader and served as a volunteer with the Court-Appointed Special Advocates for Children.
Russell, who said her husband, Ernest Russell, built the cabinet holding the library books, joined several other speakers who addressed those attending the dedication ceremony, including Hartshorne Mayor Leon Mace.
Mace said he fist got to know Duffy through Duffy’s work as a carpenter.
“We became great friends,” Mace said.
He recalled how he and Duffy were once working on adjacent houses when Mace was injured in a nail-gun mishap. He told how Duffy came to his aid and advised him to seek immediate medical attention.
“Pat was a good man,” Mace said. “He truly was a man who made you feel good.”
Duffy’s wife, Joan Duffy, and his sons attended the ceremony, along with a number of his friends. One of their sons, Elijah Duffy, read from one of his father’s old college papers regarding his love of reading.
He also recalled how his father and mother moved to the Hartshorne area in 1988 to raise their six sons.
“My parents could not have found a better place to call home,” he said.
Another son, Shawn Duffy, spoke of the family’s appreciation.
“To us, this is a special day,” he said. Also attending were Pat and Joan Duffy’s other sons Michael Duffy, Zack Duffy and Gabriel Duffy. Another son, Aaron Duffy, is deceased.
Pride in McAlester Executive Director and McAlester Board of Education President Stephanie Giacomo also addressed the group during the dedication ceremony.
“I love that this gives the opportunity for people to share knowledge in books,” Giacomo said.
Pat and Joan’s granddaughter, Ember Duffy, hoisted a pair of scissors to cut the ribbon on the cabinet holding the books. Those present then gathered nearby for some refreshments and some music from singer and guitarist Chris McCoy.
“It was very nice how the community came together,” Shawn Duffy said Wednesday. “It was great for them to honor my father like that.”
Duffy said he’s not only appreciative that the Twin Cities Revitalization Project honored his father, but he noted that the group has done other projects on behalf of the community as well."