Cheektowaga is home to two libraries built with donations from the Reinstein family. It is fitting that this summer, Reinstein Woods added a third, albeit smaller, library to the town. The “Library in the Woods,” constructed by Eugene Maciejewski of Boy Scout Troop 601 for his Eagle Scout project, provides a weather-proof space for books in a grove of trees just off the Footprint Trail in Reinstein Woods.

Visitors can peruse nature books, children’s books and even novels that line the small library’s shelves, and then enjoy reading in the woods on a nearby bench.  The books were donated, and visitors are encouraged (but not required) to leave a book if they decide to take a book home for further reading.

“We hope that the library will encourage reading and quiet contemplation in the woods, but we also see it as a community-building tool,” said Education Center Director Meaghan Boice-Green. “If people find a book they like and take it home, we hope they will visit again to return the book or add a new one to the collection.”

In summer and early fall, members of Girl Scout Troop 30491 added some extra beauty to the library and a nearby trail as part of their Silver Award project. Cadettes Judine Lynch, Kylie Simkins and Elizabeth Rusinski led the project, adding natural decorations to the library and a storage area in the rear of the structure. They also painted designs on benches built as part of the Eagle Scout project, adding a colorful touch to the seating area. 

Meanwhile, Troop members Nicole Reichert, Brooke Seifert and Kayla Cieslikowski worked on improving the Stone Marker Trail, a short trail that leads from the History Trail to a stone believed to have been placed in the woods  more than 100 years ago to mark the property boundary of one of the area’s first settlers. The girls cleared the overgrown trail, lined it with large logs, and added a bridge over a wet area along the trail. They also added a sign and log seating at the entrance to the trail.