ALLENTOWN — Renovations were recently completed at the Allentown Public Library at a reduced cost thanks to a labor of love.
Allentown resident Jason Harris, who is a contractor, renovated the library building’s steeple at a reduced cost, said Roxanne Robinson, president of the Allentown Public Library board.
The borough recently honored Harris for his service to the library.
“We are very lucky to have a guy like Jason in our community,” Robinson said. “It was a labor of love on his part, and we are really lucky to have someone like that. Jason and his family are really nice members of the library. They absolutely love this building.”
Harris, the owner of Harris Woodworking LLC, said the steeple on the former church that houses the library was in bad shape. He completed renovations on the steeple during the spring and summer.
“Everybody in town knew the steeple was hurting badly,” he said. “They needed somebody to help out and get it back in order because they want to keep that place as long as possible.”
Joan Ruddiman, the library board’s vice president, said Allentown is fortunate to have caring and generous people like Harris who are willing to tackle jobs for the library at a reduced cost.
“Jason is an exemplar in this fine tradition of taking on a big job, primarily because he and his family value having a library in our community and want to help maintain this beautiful building,” Ruddiman said.
Harris said his crew reconstructed everything from the top of the roof down to the main frame of the structure. He said his family wanted him to do this job.
Harris said he has been doing construction work for nearly 20 years. He said his wife and two daughters love the new steeple.
“I love Allentown,” he said. “I have been here since 1997 and I am committed to the town.”
He said the reconstruction process was long and hot, but in the end, the steeple should be there for another 100 years.
“It was a pleasure to take care of the project for the library,” he said. “We did our best to try to save them some money because it was an expensive endeavor for sure.”
Robinson said Harris’ daughter did a school project in which each student had to choose their favorite building in Allentown. She chose the library.
“She built a model of the building, and now her project sits in our library,” Robinson said. “It is a really beautiful thing.”
Harris said the library building is an anchor for the community.
“The steeple is a focal point of town,” he said. “Having it look as bad as it did gave the town a bad look, and it was a pleasure to bring it back to its former glory.”