By David Kilby, Staff Writer
CRANBURY — A resident in Cranbury is turning the tide as he works at the public library.
Owen Dennehy, 38, of Prospect Street, has high-functioning autism, but he doesn’t let that get in the way of working hard as a page at the library where he has worked for 20 years.
Mr. Dennehy started working at Cranbury Public Library in 1991, he said.
When asked why he originally got involved, he said, “I just wanted to have a job.”
”The library would become his biggest world,” said Anne Dennehy, Mr. Dennehy’s mother.
He attended Cranbury School for one year, but at that time (about 30 years ago), the school didn’t have the programs in place to properly teach him, Ms. Dennehy said.
So once he reached his teen years, Mr. Dennehy went to special education classes at Princeton High School where he attended regular classes whenever he could.
People in his life began to notice he was very smart and found a special school for him in the vocational-rehabilitation program at JFK Hospital in Edison.
”I’m good with math,” Mr. Dennehy said. “It just pops into my head.”
His mother said Mr. Dennehy remembers the exact year for all the major events in family history.
”We call him the Dennehy family historian,” she said.
He attended his last year of schooling at JFK Hospital while simultaneously working six hours a week at Cranbury Public Library on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
Three years after starting at Cranbury Public Library, Mr. Dennehy took on a second job at the East Brunswick Library where he has been working six hours a week Monday and Wednesday afternoons for 17 years.
”You might say Owen is a pioneer in his field, and that includes his involvement in the community,” Ms. Dennehy said.
At the time he was growing up, no one would hire autistic young adults so he had trouble finding a job, Ms. Dennehy explained.
When Mr. Dennehy began as a library page, Carol Charleroy volunteered to be his job coach and became one of many residents in town who befriended Mr. Dennehy.
”We moved to Cranbury because it was a neighborhood, and we could teach Owen in his best capacity to walk in town and participate in town life,” Ms. Dennehy said.
”Cranbury is a good place to explore,” Mr. Dennehy added. “It has expanded a lot since we arrived.”
”Owen became a very visible member of the town. A lot of townspeople became involved with him,” Ms. Dennehy added. “Everybody learned from Owen. It’s an ongoing cooperation. He’s taught them about autism.”
The town and library proved to be a perfect fit for Mr. Dennehy.
He said he is very sensitive to sound so the library is the ideal place for him.
”When I first started with Cranbury, the layout of the library was smaller,” he said. “They put on an addition in 1997.”
”We were very impressed that a town this small had a library,” Ms. Dennehy said. “That was one of the reasons we chose Cranbury.”
During construction at the library and school in 1997, the library was relocated to Town Hall, the old Cranbury School. Mr. Dennehy said this was different for him, but he adapted.
”Libraries are wonderful places to teach children what autism is,” Ms. Dennehy said.
Mr. Dennehy loves classical music. He has season tickets to the New Jersey Symphony, which is forming a program that will work with autism education programs throughout the state to spread autism awareness.
His mother told the story of when Mr. Dennehy went to a classical music concert with his high school at the Princeton University chapel. The class forgot about him and left without him, but he managed to find his way back to the high school once he found the street since he had memorized a map of Princeton.
He said his favorite composers are Czech composer Antonin Dvorak and Austrian composer Anton Bruckner.
He also said his favorite movie is “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” adding he “sort of” knows the movie by heart.
Mr. Dennehy said he has made many friends while working at the library, such as Bethany Kafasis, library assistant; Linda Caffrey, a former library employee; Ginny Swanagan, an active library member; Howard Zogott, former library director; and Marilynn Mullen, library director.
A few weeks ago, the library staff held a surprise party to celebrate Mr. Dennehy’s 20 years with the library.
”It was a surprise to be the center of attention,” he said, adding he had a good time.
People say hello to him in the library, and he said that means a lot to him.
”It’s important to have contact. We need friendship to feel good,” he said. “I am a person first, and then I’m autistic.”

