In Memoriam
In Memoriam
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The Friends of Savick Library received a wonderful donation from the family of Marion Rigby following her death. Mrs. Rigby was a regular user of Savick Library and her family asked for the donation to be used for something to benefit the children and young people in the community. For this reason, it was decided to spend some of the money on purchasing new musical instruments to be used in our regular Baby and Toddler groups, and with nursery and school visitors to Savick Library.
Mrs. Rigby's daughter, Dawn, gave us permission to share the following words she wrote for the presentation ceremony. They demonstrate the roles that libraries play in communities, and how they influence people's reading journeys and lives.
Just a few lines to tell you about our Mum, Marion Rigby.
We moved onto the Savick estate in 1957 and were one of the first families there.
Mum joined Lea Methodist Church when it was just a green hut, long before the church was built.
Before she married, she had worked for Preston Coal Board in the office. After she married and the children came along, she continued to work part-time, collecting coal money from the other residents on the estate - when nearly every household had a coal fire.
Later on when the shops and the library were built, she worked in the local newsagents, known to us as 'Potts Toffee Shop'. She joined the library and encouraged my brothers and me to join, too.
She subscribed to weekly comics for us to encourage us to read and also booked us into story-time at the library every Thursday evening. After the library had closed, one of the librarians would read a story for the children on the estate.
Mum was always involved with young people in one way or another. She was a dinner lady at Savick school and also ran the local youth club for young teens for a time.
On Sunday she would collect a family of children from Westpark Avenue and take them to church. If they behaved she would give them 10p each so they could visit the toffee shop on the way home. If they misbehaved this sometimes upset other parishioners. Mum would simply remind them: 'Jesus said "Suffer little children to come unto me"'.
Many a time when I was visiting Mum and Dad, there would be a knock at the door and a small group of children would be standing there. They’d ask "Is Marion in?". Then Mum would have a chat with them, give them a few toffees and they'd be on their way. Hence, she was known as the 'toffee lady'.
As Mum got older she began to lose her sight so started listening to talking books, her favourite being 'The Woodcutter'.
She was very grateful for the help and kindness she received from the staff at the library - who would phone her when new ones came in, and even source some from a library in Lytham.
During the last few months of her life when she could no longer walk down to the library, a volunteer would take her some new ones and return the old ones for her.
She felt a library is a vital part of a community to encourage the young and old alike to read and socialise and come together.
She would be very happy the money donated is being used to aid the children in the community.
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