$255K gift helps build on Menan pioneers’ legacy with new library

MENAN — A $255,400 donation is giving a new library in Menan a major boost as construction gets underway on the $2 million community-driven project.

The 7,500-square-foot building is being built in a one-acre field on the corner of 3550 East and 665 North, east of the Menan City Park. Northern States Development, the contractor that built The Hub in Rigby, began excavation in late September. The foundation walls were recently completed, which you can see in the video above.

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“After utilities are put in, we’re getting ready to pour a concrete pad on this and start framing,” James Zolman, vice president of The Friends of the Menan Annis Grant Library — a nonprofit raising funds for the library’s construction — tells EastIdahoNews.com. “It’s all happening quick.”

The $2 million project, which is slated for completion next fall, is being funded entirely through donations. Zolman says more than $800,000 have been raised for the project so far. Northern States Development and others are contributing a large portion of services toward its completion. A local crew was there on Thursday removing trees on the western side of the property.

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Contributions from contractors in the last several months is more than $150,000, according to Zolman. Two checks totaling $1,000 each have been donated in the last week, and a privately funded literacy initiative launched earlier this year recently provided a $255,400 grant.

An Idaho Falls couple launched Open Book Ventures in May. They’re not seeking credit for the donation and wish to remain anonymous, but they did say the contribution is driven by a love of reading, books and a desire to give back to the community.

“We are looking for every opportunity to increase our community’s access to books and to support literacy efforts in southeast Idaho,” the couple writes in an email to EastIdahoNews.com. “We are so impressed with the grassroots efforts of Friends of the Menan Annis Grant Library and are thrilled to be able to offer our support.”

Zolman says the couple reached out to him after seeing EastIdahoNews.com’s previous reporting about it. He says the grant they awarded will help secure the project through the winter and will pay for the cost of labor on the lumber, the structural framework and the roof.

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Zolman says he’s grateful for their generous support and humbled by all the people coming together to make the library project a reality.

“It’s incredible! We are so grateful,” says Zolman.

The Jefferson County Free Library District began raising funds for a new library in 2017. From the beginning, the goal was to make it a community-driven effort, rather than trying to pass a bond. Zolman and his wife, Megan — who live across the street from the current library — got involved last year.

James says his passion for the project stems from his love of learning and “the impact that learning creates.” He’s also inspired by the history of the area and says this project builds on the legacy of those who first came to the area.

Standing on the shoulders of pioneers

Megan’s great-great-grandparents, Robert and Laura Watson, were among Menan’s earliest settlers. They moved to the area in 1883, according to a family history, where they established a farm and operated a boarding house.

Their son, Farrell Thain Watson, continued the family’s roots in the community. In the 1930s, he opened Watson’s Bar, which remained in the family for nearly 80 years. It closed in the early 2000s, and Teton House purchased the building in 2017.

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Public service was another part of the Watson family’s legacy. Megan’s grandparents, Robert and Helen, both served as Menan’s mayor at different times. Helen served two terms in the 1990s and is believed to have been the first woman to hold the position.

Today, Megan helps operate the family farm, a nearly 2,000-acre property her father, Rhett, inherited years ago. The farm produces potatoes, grain, corn and alfalfa.

For Megan, being involved in the library project is another way to honor the generations who came before her. She says her ancestors set an example of hard work and community service that she hopes to pass on to her own children.

“They were a great example for me, and they taught me what was really important in life. I’m trying to teach my kids that it’s important to me, and I want to leave a similar legacy,” Megan says.

James also draws inspiration from Menan’s early pioneers, including Philo Farnsworth, widely known as the father of television. Farnsworth was plowing a potato field a few miles south of Menan when he conceived the idea that would become a global sensation.

To James, that history demonstrates how the pursuit of knowledge in rural Idaho can lead to innovations with worldwide influence. He also credits Norma Eames, who established the city’s first library in the old rock schoolhouse in 1969, with helping lay the foundation for generations of readers and learners.

He hopes the new library will carry that legacy forward by giving young people access to the resources and inspiration they need to discover their own passions and potential.

“The idea of helping (future generations) on that journey with a library is something I’m very passionate about,” he says.

It’s not too late to get involved. James is asking the community to support the project by joining the Facebook group or making a donation through the website.