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June 21, 2009

New Sea Bright Library wing opens

By GRAELYN BRASHEAR • June 19, 2009
Franz von Ziegesar loved the library in his adopted hometown of Sea Bright, and hardly a day went by when he didn't stop into the building on Ocean Avenue.

Now, his name is part of the place forever.

Recently, the Sea Bright Library opened the von Ziegesar wing, which was funded by a donation from his family after his death in September 2007 at the age of 83. It's a fitting tribute for a man who loved learning and was deeply attached to his community, said his widow, Elizabeth von Ziegesar.

Elizabeth von Ziegesar, known as Liz, said she and Franz, who lived in Connecticut and led the New York-based financial communications firm Bowne and Company before retiring in 1992, fell in love with Sea Bright while looking for a summer home on the shore.

They moved here permanently in 1991, and Franz dove into small-town life right away, introducing himself to everyone, von Ziegesar said. The library became a daily stop.

"He took classes there, he took out books. He just loved the people there and he loved the town," said von Ziegesar, who serves as chairwoman of the library's advisory board.

When he died, von Ziegesar said, she and Franz's children from previous marriages wanted to do something for the town to honor him. He had established a foundation in his father's name nearly 20 years before, she said, and they decided to use $100,000 from the fund to pay tribute to Franz.

"The first and only thing we thought of was expanding the library," von Ziegesar said, "because we knew that's something that Franz would have wanted."

He was a modest man, she said, and "there's probably nothing else in the world he would have been happy seeing his name on. I think this is something he would have been proud of."

Hazlet-based McCauley Construction began building the new wing toward the end of 2008, and finished it in "record time," said library director Joan Walsh.

Many people helped out along the way, Walsh said: Sea Bright Mayor Maria Fernandes and the Borough Council; the Monmouth County Library, which donated shelving; Sea Bright-based Industrial Marine Fabricators, which painted and retrofitted shelves; and many others.

"Everyone has been so supportive," Walsh said.

Finally, last month, about 150 friends and family members gathered at the library for the official dedication of the von Ziegesar wing, Walsh said. Four of Franz's six children attended, including his youngest daughter, author Cecily von Ziegesar, whose popular "Gossip Girl" books are among those that line the shelves of the new wing.

The spacious room is a much-needed addition to the library, Walsh said. It doubles the available shelving space, and comfortable leather chairs and ottomans give readers a place to sit back and enjoy the children's and nonfiction books that line the walls.

Liz von Ziegesar said she loves being able to see her husband's portrait hanging in the wing that bears their name on her daily visits to the library.

"I miss him tremendously," she said. "It's a comfort to me, just to be able to walk in and see him."

Posted by tumulty at June 21, 2009 1:58 PM

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