RETIREMENT PARTY … Williams County Public Library Director Jeff Yahraus, right, is retiring after serving as director for 26 years. Yahraus will serve his last day on May 31. To the left of Yahraus is his wife, Jane. (PHOTO BY DANIEL COOLEY / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
By: Daniel Cooley
After serving as the Williams County Library Director for 26 years and working at the Williams County Library, Bryan Branch, since 1977, Jeff Yahraus has decided to retire. His last day will be May 31.
“My wife Jane retired from her work two years ago, so I figured it’s my turn,” Yahraus said. “It’s going to be a new phase in my life.”
The Williams County Library in Bryan held a retirement party for Yahraus on Saturday, May 21. Along with plenty of good food, including cookies and a large cake for dessert, countless people dropped by to tell what they remember about Yahraus, as well as to thank him and give congratulations.
While in high school, Yahraus made plans towards one day becoming a music teacher. But his step-grandmother Lenore Yahraus helped change his plans with one simple question.
“She asked me if I had ever thought of being a page and I asked, what’s that,” Yahraus said. “I started serving in high school, then, as a library helper (page).”
Yahraus began his college studies in the area he originally planned on, majoring in music education at Defiance College. Yahraus then began his library studies in graduate school, majoring in library science at Kent State.
While serving in the Williams County Library in Bryan since 1977, including high school and college, Yahraus became the director of the Williams County Library in 1997.
While Yahraus has seen a lot in his 26 years as director, some of his most fond memories are things that have happened within the past few years.
One of those is the rebuilding of the Carnegie Stairs on the East High Street side of the library. The original stairs were built in 1903 but have been closed since sometime in the 1970’s, deemed too dangerous to climb.
“No one seems to know the year that the stairs were closed,” Yahraus said. “I came to the library in 1977 and the stairs were closed, then.”
Yahraus had hoped that the stairs, which are currently being rebuilt, would be done by the time he retired. But at least the rebuilding of the stairs has started.
The old stairs have been completely torn out and the walls surrounding the stairs have been reconstructed. Now, Midstate Contractors of Marion, Ohio is starting to rebuild the stairs.
The hope is that when they are completed, the entrance can be reopened for the first time since the 1970’s.
Yahraus was happy to see a new children’s library wing, which opened in April 2021. He also mentioned a new computer lab and a new programming room, which houses a variety of events, including art classes.
So, now that Yahraus is getting ready to retire, what will he do with that time? Yahraus will have a lot more time for his passion, gardening.
He would also like to travel and spend more time with his family and get back to piano playing, something he has not done a lot of, in recent years. There are also countless books that he would like to read.
Dan can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com