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Norma Gressman
Loves Books & People
Norma Gressman
(center) surrounded by family, friends and
B-Team Angels displays her Earth Angel Award
during a surprise ceremony at the Arab
Public Library
Photo by
Dwight Hayes
May 1, 2008 -
By: Dwight Hayes
At age 69
most people are living the retirement life
or at least thinking of retiring, but for
Norma Gressman it was the beginning of a new
career at the Arab Public Library. Now
15 years later and at age 84, she is still
going strong and any mention of retirement
elicits a sly smile and a shrug of the
shoulders. "I want to work as long as
I can," she finally answers. For Mrs.
Gressman it is truly a labor of love as she
takes care of the children's section of the
library.
Talk with her
co-workers and you quickly develop a picture
of a kind, caring, dedicated and unassuming
lady who is a friend to anyone she meets.
Kathy Handle, Arab Library Director, says
she is a simply amazing woman who loves the
library and is very dedicated..
Stephanie Nix,
who started work at the library a just a few
weeks before Mrs. Gressman, said, "She is an
inspiration. She never complains despite her
age and is always easy going and very
pleasant."
Norma Gressman lovingly cares
for the children's books at the Arab Public
Library
Photo by Dwight Hayes
Leilani Hayes, who volunteers
at the library and who nominated Mrs. Gressman, said this in her
letter. "She is an amazing woman, for many reasons. She is
incredibly dedicated to her work, and always cheerful and
willing to help anyone. She is always ready to listen to
anything that I, or anyone else may have to say, which is
something that can be said of few people, and something everyone
can use from time to time..... She will always offer to
help those who come in, and always seems to think of them as
friends. She has one of the most wonderful personalities of
anyone I have met- everyone loves her."
Mrs. Gressman may be well
known for her kindness to co-workers and library patrons but she
also has a following of a feathery kind. Stephanie Nix
shared the story of how Mrs. Gressman has befriended a mocking
bird which evidently lives near the library. "She feeds it
each day and it knows her car," Nix said. "It sits on the
fence [surrounding the air-conditioning equipment] until she
drives up and hops down to the sidewalk for the peanut butter
and crackers that she shares." Mrs. Gressman said
she has been feeding and talking to the bird for eight years.
"We have some pretty good conversations some times."
Asked if the conversations are in English the sly smile returns
and she answers, " Up to you - sometimes you have to translate."
Larry Gressman said his mom
also has a soft spot for Hallie, their dog of eleven years.
Larry said that each evening Hallie will scratch on the door
knowing that she will soon be rewarded with a dog biscuit by
Mrs. Gressman. Hallie disappears for a few minutes with
her treasure but is soon back to play the game again.
Mrs. Gressman is quick to
shower her co-workers with praise. "I love it here, it is
such a pleasant place to work. I love the library and all
of the girls are so good to me."
Before moving to the Arab
area Mrs. Gressman lived on Straight Mountain between Oneonta
and Springville. "We moved to Arab in April 1978 and it
has been home ever since. She has five children; Kay
Wilks of Arab, Larry Gressman of Arab, Greg Gressman of Hazel
Green, Dale Gressman of Texas, and Don Gressman of Ohio.
Letter of nomination
text:
Dear B-Team Angels,
I would like to nominate a dear friend of mine, Norma Gressman,
as an Earth Angel. She is a person who means so much to my
family, but to me in particular. We have known her for years,
but I only really got to know her in the past few years, when I
began to volunteer at the local library. She is an amazing
woman, for many reasons. She is incredibly dedicated to her
work, and always cheerful and willing to help anyone. She is
always ready to listen to anything that I, or anyone else may
have to say, which is something that can be said of few people,
and something everyone can use from time to time. She never
minds hearing everything I have to tell her, and will always
discuss things with me. She always gives me a hug when she sees
me, and everyone can use a friend like that; one who will greet
them with a hug and a kind word.
She will always offer to
help those who come in, and always seems to think of them as
friends. She has one of the most wonderful personalities of
anyone I have met- everyone loves her.
I can’t really relay how
much Mrs. Gressman means to me, but I hope this tells you a
little about her, and what a sweet, kind person she is. And I
hope you will consider her for this award, which I know she
deserves completely.
Sincerely,
Leilani Hayes.
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