Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
Stefan Abuan served the local community at Yelm Timberland Library for over two decades, and ahead of his final day before retirement, he was celebrated by library members who have grown to love him in “Mr. Stefan’s Last Storytime.”
Surrounded by over 170 community members in attendance, Abuan presented his final storytime and mingled with attendees once the reading was concluded. Abuan served the role of public service specialist for roughly the last three years but has been a part of the local library community since 2001.
Tonya Edwards, who will work as Yelm Timberland Library’s public service specialist alongside Wendy Stout following Abuan’s retirement, said the event to celebrate the retiree was special for everyone in attendance.
“The event was very large. We counted roughly 175 or so people. We went through all of the cake, all of the bubbles’ solution. It was an awesome time,” Edwards told the Nisqually Valley News on Tuesday, Sept. 2. “There were a few tears here and there. I think this event helped with closure for young kids. A lot of them were sad, but having that actual opportunity to say goodbye was good for them rather than walking into the library next week and not seeing him there.”
According to Edwards, Tuesday, Sept. 2, was the first day at Yelm Timberland Library without Abuan’s presence. As part of the public service specialist team, she hopes to continue the retiree’s efforts of growing the amount of activities and events presented to youth in Yelm.
“Things are still going to happen at the library. We’re still going to have programming. We’re still going to have outreach. There will still be lots of fun activities for the kiddos and in the teen hangouts. Everything is still the same, it’s just different people running the programs,” Edwards said. “I don’t have the words to describe the excitement and gratitude I have. I come from a world of retail management, and to be able to hangout with the kiddos all day every day is amazing. I’m incredibly blessed.”
Additionally, Edwards said she and Stout will continue to grow programs that’ve already existed — like the teen hangout and storytime — and expand them to further build community outreach.
“We’ve already had the teen hangout for a while, but they’ve got some siblings who are sitting out there waiting for their older siblings to be done. So we’re going to start a kids hangout, twice a month on Fridays. There will be games, movies, snacks, all that stuff — just like the teens have,” Edwards said. “The library is there for the community. We have programming. If there’s programming needed, we’re open to everything. We take suggestions. I’m new at this, so I’m trying to get as much going as I possibly can. I’m from here. I’ve lived in Yelm since 1978, so this is my opportunity to give back to my community. I cannot even tell you how excited I am for that.”
