Roger Gingrich, President
Roger has lived in Barrington since 2012, having moved here from Iowa City, IA following retirement in 2011. Barrington is the home of his middle child and her family and has a lake which made good on a promise to his wife Patty who was born in the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”. Grandchildren, reading, spending time on Swains Lake, garden projects, helping with End 68 Hours of Hunger, working with his son-in-law, a good movie once in a while, and the Foundation fill out most days and offer a great deal of contentment and joy.
Roger grew up on a farm near Peoria, Ill. Reading was a big deal at bedtime for him and his 5 siblings. His fourth grade room had a bookcase with many Augusta Stevenson biographies of Americans. Roger read over 40 of these during that year. When the farm’s owner – who had a college degree – died, the family was allowed to move into home which had a small but very nice library that contained the Lincoln Library of Essential Information. Taking “Essential” literally, he began to devour this 2000+ page text. Countless hours were subsequently spent in libraries in college, medical school, residency and fellowship training, research training in Oxford, UK, and in the care of patients at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Roger believes that being the best spouse, parent, and grandparent, attaining one’s highest potential in life, begins and ends with the love of reading
“Working toward having an attractive, inviting, comfortable town library for our entire community is a big part of my bucket list!”
Rebecca Butcher
Rebecca has lived in Barrington for 26 years. She enjoys playing in and exploring the outdoors that New England offers — skiing, hiking, biking and sailing, cooking and baking for friends and family, and traveling and learning about the people and history of other cultures. On a typical Friday night, you’ll find Rebecca relaxing with family over a glass of wine and easy dinner or take out, talking about the week and upcoming weekend plans, and watching a movie or playing cribbage.
For me, libraries have always been a magical place and an essential way to see beyond our immediate setting and spark imagination for what’s possible. Growing up in a small town in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, the library connected me to the entire world — learning about places I wanted to someday visit, about people and historical events that inspired me to think about what I could do “when I grew up”. Our small library was one of the prettiest buildings in town and when I walked inside, it had a timeless aura to it.
I felt a connection back to my town’s history and the generations of farmers, town and church leaders, railroad and small business owners that had built my community. It was clear they valued public access to knowledge, special collections to spark kids’ imaginations, and record-keeping that would allow later generations to learn from their experiences settling in northern Vermont. My family didn’t have a lot of money, so going to the library was like Christmas to my sisters and me in being allowed to borrow countless books to escape from cold dark winters, hide under the covers with flashlights to finish, or take on long car rides to visit family. For my own children, the Barrington Public Library offered many of these same delights. Programs to help get us out of the house, bags of books and audio CDs to get us to Ohio or Cape Cod, and most recently, e-reader books our son would access from his small stone house in the mountains of Lesotho when, absent electricity or running water, there was wifi to still feel that connection to home.
All of these things inspire my work to support a new library and Community Center in Barrington. How else will we preserve the magic, inspiration, and connection to our past for the next generation of children growing up in this town? If you don’t think libraries are important anymore, ask yourself how you found inspiration as a child, how you escaped into other worlds of mystery, adventure and intrigue when your immediate world was maybe not so good, or how we as adults feel connected to the past and the future and collectively hold together as people who value this town we share despite not always agreeing on everything. Places that foster imagination, conversation and community are the bedrock for our American life — we have to protect them.
Cindy Hoisington
Cindy Hoisington is a local veterinarian, mother of two teen boys, hiker and bookworm.
She joined the Foundation last year to help get the new library done!
Kristyne Pavlik, Treasurer
Kris has lived in Barrington for 4.5 years. She enjoys reading (of course!), volunteering, and cooking. On a typical Friday night you would find Kris enjoying a delicious dinner and movie in the comfort of her home, before, during, and after COVID-19.
I joined [the Barrington Library Foundation] because I was new to town and wanted to meet my neighbors. Now, I stay involved because I believe this town needs and deserves a new library.
Sarah Pfistner
Sarah has lived in Barrington since early 2020 with her husband and two young children. Sarah grew up a voracious reader and fondly remembers libraries and their seemingly limitless number of books. “Mom life” has allowed her the joy of introducing her children to the many wonderful resources, social opportunities and fun the library holds. Sarah and her kids love spending rainy afternoons at various local libraries. She joined the foundation because she wants her children to have a library in town they can be proud to call their own.
The library is a community within our wonderful community and it’s a joy to walk through the doors and feel like it’s a home away from home.
Maureen Sawicki
Maureen has lived in Barrington for 23 years. After over 30 years, she retired from teaching. She taught in Rochester and Strafford.
Maureen enjoys gardening, painting, journaling, biking and hiking. She likes to spend her Friday nights with her husband and friends sharing a meal or watching a movie.
I grew up in Boston within walking distance to our local library. It was one of my favorite places to go with my sisters. We always felt welcomed and part of the community. It was a wonderful place to let your imagination grow.
Ginna Schonwald, Secretary
Ginna has lived in Barrington for 35 years and was the children’s/youth librarian at the Barrington Public Library for several years (moving on to become a school librarian at Deerfield Community School for 14 years). Ginna’s hobbies include gardening, kayaking and hiking (as well as reading). Her Friday nights tend to be spent relaxing at home, though she loves going out to see a band when there is live music available and can still be home by 10 :-).
The library is a wonderful resource to our community – it provides a wonderful place for people to connect to each other, learn from each other and build a stronger community. All this in addition to providing an almost boundless wealth of information and reading material. A new library is a great investment for our community! Look at all the library has done with the resources they have now.
Diane St. Jean
Diane has lived in Barrington since 1976. She recently retired after 20 years of teaching at Barrington Middle School, the last 5 years as school librarian. Diane enjoys reading, printmaking, hiking, biking, and kayaking. On a typical Friday night she might be visiting Seacoast area art galleries with her husband Ron or watching a movie with him at home.
Barrington had 3,300 residents when my husband and I moved here, and now there are around 9,400 residents. As a town we just marked our Tricentennial, and this past year of celebration convinced me that despite big changes, a town can hold on to its sense of community. But it takes work.
We need to work to maintain community connection just as we do to maintain our personal friendships. I joined the Barrington Library Foundation because I believe that a new library is an investment in the sense of community for Barrington’s future.