I Have Been a Volunteer All My Life

I Have Been a Volunteer All My Life Gerald Roberts The death ofAl Perrin in Celo, N.C, saddened all who knew and worked with him for so many years. He was a remarkable individual whose generosity ofspirit was the measure ofthe man. His life was one ofgiving and it was in giving that he found his greatest pleasure. He once wrote of himself : "I have found more happiness in giving things away—at least giving them to what I considered the right people—than in piling up things. There is an art to giving—freely, and without expecting something in return ." Yet there was more to his giving than this. Al also gave ofhis time, intellect, and talent to worthy causes—endless hours ofvolunteer work for the good of the total community. In fact, in 1989, shordy before he left for North Carolina after twenty years in Berea, he declared to a college audience: "I have been a volunteer all my life." It was a simple personal statement that conveyed a powerful message to his young listeners. It was my privilege to work with Al for fourteen years. He was at his desk in the Special Collections Department almost every day, and we conferred often on matters relating to the work of the department and the library. As the Honorary Bibliographer of Hutchins Library, Al was actually a working member ofthe staff. He created special displays and exhibits , appraised gift books, publicized library events and activities, produced book lists and brochures that promoted the library's special collections and archives, and corresponded with library donors. As a donor himself, he was instrumental in helping to build Berea's distinguished WeatherfordHammond Mountain Collection. He also sponsored the Paperback Circulating Library and the Summer Reading Program for Children. In 1970 he organized the Friends of the Library, which became an important adjunct to Hutchins Library's operations and services. As President of the Friends, Al provided a strong leadership role in promoting the library as a vital center of learning for the college and the community. Perrin was a realist. He looked at life neither through a glass brightly nor darkly, but rather with a simple honesty that allowed him to be amazingly objective about himself. Trained as a journalist, he had a reporter's Gerald Roberts is head ofthe Special Collections and Archives at the Berea College library. keen eye (as a cub reporter in Chicago, he was one ofthe first on the scene to cover the St. Valentine's Day massacre). He could see things clearly and he had a benevalent instinct for action. Al loved to make good things happen, such as his sponsorship ofthe Weatherford Award, his support of the college's Appalachian Center and Appalachian Museum, the establishment , along with his wife Jean, ofan emergency scholarship fund for students , and his sending of books to congressmen to educate them about Appalachia. Better read than many college professors, Alfred Perrin was in the vanguard ofthose who act to educate the citizenry and promote the humanistic values of civilized society. As a bookman, a good friend of Berea College, and an outstanding citizen ofthe Berea Community, Alfred Perrin will be long remembered. His memory will be enshrined forever in Hutchins Library and in the department he loved so much—Special Collections—by the research room that bears his name. The inscription reads: This reading room is named in honor ofAlfred H. Perrin, Friend of Berea College and knowledgeable bookman, who served as a dedicated volunteerfor twentyyears and donated financial resources to the enhancementofHutchinsLibrary's collections and services. Ben A. Franklin, Wilma Dykeman, Al Perrin. Franklin was the first Weatherford Book Award winner. ...