Enthralling, educational, eye-catching

Idora Park and the Jeanette Blast Furnace are partof the new section's d & eacute;cor.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Santa and Mrs. Claus devoted part of their busiest week of the year to celebrate expansion of the children's department at the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County.
The jolly couple were among the invited guests Tuesday at a reception marking the official opening of the main library's expanded children's department. Also on hand were library board members and a number of children from area day-care centers.
Children had their faces painted, ate cookies and made ornaments. They received gifts and candy canes from Santa and Mrs. Claus, listened to stories and sang songs.
Among the songs was "Hooves, Tummies, Antlers, Nose," a reindeer version of the children's action song, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes."
The children's area is designed for children in preschool through grade six, library officials said. Idora Park and the Jeanette Blast Furnace are part of the new section's d & eacute;cor. Some other Mahoning Valley areas featured are Mill Creek Park, Smoky Hollow, Isaly's Dairy Company and its skyscraper cone.
Carlton Sears, library director, said Youngstown architect Ronald Cornell Faniro took on the task of designing the new space to reflect Mahoning Valley history.
Sears said Faniro did extensive research to include details such as a depiction of Warner Theater with "Bonnie and Clyde" displayed on the marquee. "Bonnie and Clyde" was the last movie shown at the theater before it closed in 1968.
'Youngstown Picture Book'
Faniro and Mahoning Valley Historical Society members also created a permanent exhibit in the children's section called "A Youngstown Picture Book." The area includes photographs and descriptions of Mahoning Valley history, including landmarks, people and events.
Some of the displays give details about the live Pete the Penguin mascot who lived at Youngstown State University in the late 1930s and early 1940s, neighborhood ethnic markets, the Buckeye Land Company housing built in 1917 for Youngstown Sheet and Tube workers, Smoky Hollow neighborhood and the Idora Park Billingsgate sign.
Other expansion highlights
The expanded children's area also includes a work station patterned after a Youngstown streetcar. Children can sit at the work station to browse books or use computers.
Library staff decorated the work station with scenes from the movie "Polar Express" for the holidays.
Sears said expansion of the children's department was a principal part of the library's strategic plan in 2002-03.
The expansion triples the children's collection at the main library. Sears said the collection was about 11,000 at the main library. Now added to that is 23,000-piece children's collection brought from the library's north branch, which library officials closed in June.
Sears said the expansion was funded in part by a grant from Youngstown CityScape and donations in memory of Emanuel N. Catsoules.
Besides Faniro, work on the Mahoning Valley scenes depicted in the new section was done by Crowe's Cabinets Inc., Joe Dickey Electric, Angelo Lamarca and Michael Marks.
tullis@vindy.com