Community Corner

Longtime Library Volunteer Honored with Tree Dedication

Retired Mahwah teacher Karl Bierley was on the library board for 17 years.

A longtime Mahwah resident with a long history of volunteering for the library now has a permanent spot there thanks to a tree planted in his honor by the library board of trustees. 

Karl Bierley moved to Mahwah 53 years ago when he started teaching in the Mahwah school district. Before he retired in 1987, Bierley taught five grades at three township schools. 

He has served on several other volunteer committees in town, but says that he found his real home on the library board, where he started serving in 1996. In his 17 years on the board, Bierley served as secretary, Vice President, and president. 

"I came on just as the project [to build the new library] was starting," Bierley told Patch. "My big contribution was the story tower," Bierley, who commissioned one of his former students to put it together, said.

In January, he retired from the board.

"I thought it was time to bring in a new person who was young and eager," he said of his decision to leave.

In honor of his service, library board members and township officials gathered Saturday to dedicate a tree outside the library to Bierley.

"I really enjoyed my time on the board," he said of accepting the honor. "It was a great learning experience, and I'm really proud of the library."


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