Originally published in Yellowstone Valley Woman.
In 2014, on the first day of February, the new Billings Public Library will open its doors. Though many people contributed to its success, this tale is about the women leaders of recent times who waved their savvy and spirited wands to make possible the seemingly impossible. These very women from the Parmly Billings Library Foundation, the library and the community dared to believe that Billings deserved a new library building. Over many years of fortifying troops, they were the warriors who made a dream in the Magic City come true. This is the story of how the new library building came to be.
Once upon a modern time, a Library Director named Ellen Newberg along with City Administrators John Lawton and Alan Tandy started the Parmly Billings Library Foundation for fund raising and special projects. The time was 1987. On a white horse, in rode a prince named Royal Johnson who after rescuing city funds set aside in the budget secured two other donations to put over $100,000 into the Foundation’s treasure trove…