Macie Poteat Library

A Church Library was organized in one of the classrooms between 1982 and 1990. Books and other media were donated or purchased as memorials to individuals and were cataloged and placed on the designated bookshelves for children, fiction and nonfiction. After 1990 additional items were listed on the church secretary’s computer by title, author, subject headings and were then color-coded to denote the subject area. Items were circulated using a sign-out/sign-in sheet. A total of 1500+ items were prepared in this way.

Macie’s Role
Macie Poteat was a most dedicated and faithful member of WAPC from 1939 to her death in 2003. She served as elder, trustee, Bible Study leader, Sunday School teacher, representative on various church committees and within the denomination, and compiled the 100th anniversary booklet in 1992. She was an avid reader and had an extensive personal library; thus it was no surprise to have her take an active role in the organization and cataloging of the church library materials in the 1980’s.

Gift of Poteat Books

Following her death in 2003, her son, William O. Poteat donated part of her personal library to the church. Thus, in February 2004, a Steering Committee was formed to establishing a permanent home for our complete collection and adding the Poteat Books to the holdings. Dedication service and reception following the worship service was on June 5, 2005.

The Work Continues

Among those on the Steering Committee was Jean Darling, who had worked with Macie from the beginning on this valued project with ordering new items, cataloging, organizing and inventorying the collection. Following Macie’s death, Jean continued the work and served faithfully until December 2021, when she submitted her resignation as Poteat Librarian after 40 years of service.

For many years member Jack Mooney, until his death in 2021, wrote and compiled book reviews of items in the collection that were published in the Avenue Newsletter and the e-Avenue Newsletter online highlighting new books on offer to members. He was a journalist, a professor, and an avid reader. Jack enjoyed discovering the new books in the library and loved to share them with others.