Meet the Moon Lake Library Municipal Board

In summer 2022, the Mentone Town Council approved the formation of the Moon Lake Community Library (a.k.a., Mentone Public Library) and appointed a board of five trustees. Later that same year, the Alabama Public Library Service in Montgomery approved the library’s application for state aid, making Mentone the smallest town in the state with a public library! Let’s meet the current members of the Moon Lake Library Municipal Board.

Standing (left to right): Mary Shurett, Hayley Croft, and Pat Parmelee. Seated: Susan Van Apeldoorn and Jay Robbins

Hayley Croft moved back home to Dekalb County in 2020 after living away for 10 years. She is the director of Grace and Truth Scholé, a homeschool co-op in Mentone, as well as the youth and children’s education director at Mentone Community Church, where her husband, Heath Croft, is the pastor. Books and libraries have always been an important part of Hayley’s life. She has been a member of the library’s municipal board for almost two years and loves having an opportunity to help build a book-loving community. Her favorite genre is literary fiction, and her most recommended “heart books” are Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, anything by Wendell Berry, and Island of the World by Michael O’Brien.

Patricia (Pat) Parmelee was a part-time resident of Mentone for 10 years before moving here permanently in 2020. After working for four decades as an academic psychologist specializing in late-life mental health, she is now retired and enjoying travel, gardening, and volunteer work. Pat learned to read at 3 and has been an avid reader ever since. She joined the Friends of Moon Lake Library Board in 2021, becoming its treasurer in 2022. In 2024, she was offered a joint appointment to the municipal board, where she also serves as treasurer. Pat’s favorite genres are classics and science fiction, though she loves a good mystery as well. Recommended books are Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow, Ernest Gaines’s A Lesson Before Dying, and anything Faulker ever wrote.

For many years Jay Robbins taught English as a Second Language at The University of Alabama. There he met his wife, Mary Ann, who worked in the UA library system. They agree that moving to Mentone from Tuscaloosa six years ago was one of the best decisions they ever made. Jay has been on the library’s municipal board since its inception, and has served as chair since the passing of Holley Midgley last year. He is a big supporter of public libraries in all that they do. The enjoyment he gets from books is the only thing he still has in common with his 12-year-old self.

Mary Shurett, a native of Fort Payne and a full-time resident of Mentone for the past 10 years, is married to Ben Shurett. They are parents to two sons, Brad (Kimberly) Shurett and Will (Katie) Shurett, and grandparents to Jay (13) and Drew (9). Mary received her B.S. and M.A. degrees from The University of Alabama, where she majored in elementary education with a concentration in social studies and reading education. She taught 3rd through 6th grades over her 34-year career, as well as English Language Learners and Gifted American History. At UA, she taught senior-level methods courses and supervised student teachers. Mary serves in several volunteer capacities as a member of St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church. She loves to read, needlepoint, cook, and cheer for the Crimson Tide.

Susan Van Apeldoorn fell in love with books when she started reading at 2 years old. Valley Head didn’t have a public library, so she grew up eagerly waiting for the next volume of Reader’s Digest Condensed Books to arrive. She now belongs to five libraries online, which keeps her supplied with books to read on her iPad. She is a dedicated advocate for reading and happy to be on the library board, where she can help others have access to books. In her spare time, Susan rides her horses and serves in several volunteer capacities at St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church.