A light that stays on in Geneseo
By Colby Richard
Executive Director
Smoky Hills Community Foundation
GENESEO — In a town the size of Geneseo, you measure value a little differently. There is a post office. There are grain trucks that pass through. There are neighbors who know one another by name. And there is a public library that quietly holds the center.
The Geneseo Public Library is not large in square footage. It doesn’t need to be. What it offers reaches far beyond its walls.
I recently stopped in to deliver this year’s annual distribution from the library’s endowed fund, held at the Smoky Hills Community Foundation. The fund is structured to provide a 5 percent spendable distribution each year. It is not a large check. It is not intended to replace the City of Geneseo’s support. It exists to strengthen what is already in place and to provide stability when it is needed most.
Librarian Nathan Kratzer welcomed me and walked me through the space. The library offers a children’s area where young readers can sit and explore. There are tables for students who need a quiet place to study. There is free Wi-Fi and public computer access for residents who may not have reliable service at home. There is a printer available when applications, forms, or school assignments must be completed. Along one wall sit yearbooks and historical records that preserve the story of Geneseo. There is also a strong collection of puzzles and a large table set up specifically for working on them.
As Nathan shared more about their day-to-day work, it became clear how much intention goes into keeping the space useful.
“We try to make it a place people feel comfortable coming into,” he told me. “Whether it is a kid after school, someone needing to print something off, or a person who just wants a quiet place to work on a puzzle, we want the door to be open and ready.”
The City of Geneseo provides the foundational funding that keeps the doors open and supports daily operations. That public commitment is what makes the library possible. The annual endowment distribution adds something different. It provides an added layer of security. It helps address repairs and upkeep. It allows the board and librarian to respond to an unexpected expense without placing additional strain on the city’s operating support.
Nathan described it in simple terms. “The city keeps us going,” he said. “The endowment helps when something extra comes up. It gives us a little room, so we are not always worried about the next thing.”
This fund began with a family’s desire to honor a life. After the passing of their daughter Dawn, Don and Lois Pruitt sought a lasting way to reflect what the library meant to her. Through the Community Foundation, an endowed fund was established in her honor.
Her sister, Kendra Ploutz, shared, “After the death of my sister, Dawn, my parents were looking for a way to honor her long term. Knowing what a strong impact the Geneseo Public Library had on Dawn’s life, the answer was simple. A gift was given to begin a fund with the Smoky Hills Community Foundation and the rest is history.”
She added that it has “been a great asset for the little library, helpful for larger needs for repair and upkeep. The longevity of the gift and continual impact is a beautiful thing.”
That is what an endowment is designed to do. It turns a single act of generosity into steady, reliable support year after year. The library is guided by a five-member volunteer board, led by Board President Susan Stockstill. Their stewardship, along with city leadership and daily management, ensures that this small, but essential, institution remains open and responsive.
The Geneseo Public Library is open Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from noon-5 p.m. If you have not stepped inside recently, I would encourage you to visit. Walk the aisles. Sit at the puzzle table. Look through the yearbooks. See what is being protected and provided within those walls.
At the Smoky Hills Community Foundation, we see every day how legacy stewardship can protect the communities we hold dear. An endowed fund is one of the clearest ways to ensure that institutions like this remain strong for generations. Whether created during a lifetime or through an estate, these funds provide dependable annual support that outlives any single donor.
In a town the size of Geneseo, that kind of steady investment is not small. It is lasting.
Photo captions
The Geneseo Public Library receives an annual distribution from the Smoky Hills Community Foundation to assist with additional, unexpected expenses.
Geneseo Librarian Nathan Kratzer handles the day-to-day library operations.
