By Justin George
Camera Staff Writer

LONGMONT — As Erie's first library struggles to open this month, its founder struggles to breathe, suffering from several illnesses that almost killed her and have kept her in the hospital for the last seven weeks.

Lorraine David, 67, is recovering from intestinal surgery, strep and staph infections and pneumonia in a sterile, specially closed-off room at Longmont United Hospital.

While she battled chronic sickness, she worked for a decade trying to open the Erie Children's Library. Now, wearing a yellow gown, surgical gloves, oxygen tubes and a mask to prevent infecting others, David said she just hopes she'll get to turn the key someday.

"I was never worried that it would not open," she said in quiet, abrupt gasps. "I was just personally worried I would not see it open."

A retired real-estate secretary, David moved to Erie 12 years ago and noticed there was no place for children to check out books. She grew up an avid reader, consuming encyclopedias page-by-page and the Nancy Drew Mysteries by installment

As she searched for a building to house a library in the early 1990s, the historic Boettcher Cottage was donated to Erie from Boulder, where it had served as a restaurant.

David and a few others began seeking donations to renovate the structure. They put on fund-raising spaghetti dinners, chili cook-offs and a book sale that raised $800 after she coerced the former mayor to wear a mini-skirt for publicity.

Slowly, the Erie Library Association raised needed money, found volunteers and secured donated materials to install a new foundation, furnace, roof, plumbing and electricity. The small group led by David also persuaded the town to give the Boettcher Cottage a 99-year lease at 625 Pierce St. and convinced the Weld County Library District to supply books.

"She means everything. It was her driving force that got the ball rolling in the first place," Library Association Vice President Pat Bundy said. "It didn't matter how sick she was, she was always trying to get people involved and do the things that needed to be done."

Everything seemed to be in place — except three computer chairs that are still needed — to open this summer, David said.

But Library Association members learned this year that they're short about $500 a month for operating expenses, including insurance. There is $600 in the library's fund.

Organizers are seeking at least $3,000 in donations to give the library a six-month cushion to open.

The library must be ready by mid-June, David said, when a children's reading program leaves Erie schools and is scheduled to continue at the new library.

But David, who Library Association members said has been the prime organizer of past fund-raising efforts, is stuck in the hospital.

"She was the one raising money all this time," said David's husband, Craig David.

In the past, Lorraine David has raised funds with oxygen tubes stringing from her nose.

"I'd do better if I walk up to someone and stick out my hand and say, 'I'm Lorraine David.' And I walk out with a $500 to $1,500 check," she said from behind her mask, which allows only her eyes to show her conviction. "But when I send letters, I get no response. I guess when they see my gray hair, they can't say no."

This is the second time the great-grandmother has been struck down by a staph infection, which affects the heart and kidneys. In 1998, she was on a respirator.

"I just thought there's thousands of kids in Erie that need me," she said, "and I was going to survive."

Although doctors haven't given David a release date, she said she is confident she will recuperate and help open the library, though she faces months of rehabilitation.

During a brief wheelchair trip last week, David rolled past a bronze statue in the hospital lobby of a woman wearing an apron and holding a baby in her left arm while her right hand shielded a little girl.

Members of the Boettcher family donated it, a plaque read. David said she once applied for a grant from the Boettcher Foundation for the library but was turned down.

"I guess they didn't have as much confidence as I did that I would open it," she said.

Contact Justin George at (303) 473-1359 or georgej@thedailycamera.com.

June 3, 2002

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