POINT PLEASANT BEACH — The Point Pleasant Beach Branch of Ocean County Library is in the midst of its annual Thomas the Tank Engine Week, when Friends of the Library and staff welcome kids and their grown-ups to stop by for some locomotive fun courtesy of their many Thomas-themed playsets.
Thomas the Tank Engine, originally created as a children’s book character by the Rev. W. Awdry, is a bright blue train engine who lives and works with his vehicular friends on the fictional British isle of Sodor. Since his introduction, Thomas and friends have featured in many different types of media, including books, television shows, video games and, perhaps most famously, wooden toy playsets.
This year’s Thomas Week has been one of the most active yet, with more than a dozen playsets set up in the Point Beach Library’s meeting room. These playsets, made in the United States starting in the 1980s, consist of wooden interlocking train tracks, various rail mechanisms like switches and, of course, the friendly-faced train toys modeled after Thomas and his many friends. Additionally, some of the tables at the library are painted to resemble Point Pleasant Beach landmarks, giving the British train a local flair.
“Thomas is just an endlessly present character in the lives of children —for generations now, said Matt Willbergh, branch manager of the Point Pleasant Beach Library. “Kids love it; this is very popular with families in the community, and it is every year.”
“It’s been going on for over a decade,” said Willbergh. “I’ve been here since 2015, and it was established well before I started here. It was the idea of the Friends in years past; they did it once, and it was very successful, so we’ve kept it going.”
The idea for the uniquely-themed week in Point Beach was originally thought up by Friends of the Library member Dara Stieglitz.
“Young children have loved coming here with their moms, dads, grandparents, uncles, aunts —they play a lot, and sometimes they just go table to table constantly, enjoying the different scenery that’s been painted on them,” said Cornelia Calderone, vice president of the Friends of the Point Pleasant Beach Library.
Calderone explained that, this year, several students from Point Pleasant Beach High School helped with the setup work for Thomas Week. She also told The Ocean Star how the Friends act as stewards for the library.
“This year, we had some help with kids from the high school,” said Calderone. “It was a big help, because a lot of this equipment is stored downstairs in the basement.”
“The Friends of the Library is a group that raises money for the library, through dues and other events, to give to the library for special programming,” she said. “Things like Thomas the Tank Engine Week, special lectures, concerts and supplies.”
For more information about the Friends of Point Pleasant Beach Library, visit facebook.com/FriendsPPBLibraryNJ.
This is an excerpt of the print article. For more on this story, read The Ocean Star—on newsstands Friday or online in our e-Edition.
Check out our other Point Pleasant Beach stories, updated daily. And remember to pick up a copy of The Ocean Star—on newsstands Friday or online in our e-Edition.
Subscribe today! If you're not already an annual subscriber to The Ocean Star, get your subscription today! For just $38 per year, you will receive local mail delivery weekly, with pages and pages of local news and online access to our e-edition on Starnewsgroup.com.