Cherry Hill dedicates a little library to a giant reading advocate
To Shaula Wright, reading was a gateway to another world, a gift to be shared for people young and old, her daughter Martha Wright said.
Shaula Wright was a voracious reader.
She averaged two to three books a week. She was a longtime subscriber to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and The Inquirer — and she’d never miss an edition. She’d cap off most nights with a whodunit novel or a nonfiction book before bed.
For her, reading was a gateway to another world, her daughter Martha Wright told The Inquirer on Sunday. It was a gift to be shared, for people young and old.
“The most wonderful gift is to be able to read,” Wright would often tell her friends, a quote now engraved on the Little Free Library on Covered Bridge Road in Cherry Hill, a mailbox-sized cabinet painted red and perched atop a post secured in the ground where residents can borrow and drop off books for free.
More than 30 people gathered on a brisk Sunday afternoon at the dedication ceremony for the newly named “Shaula Wright Little Free Library.” Speakers included Wright’s daughter Martha, friend Bob Shinn, Cherry Hill Mayor Susan Shin Angulo, and Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt (D., Camden).
Wright, a local advocate for Cherry Hill’s history and longtime resident of one of the town’s oldest houses, died last September from end-stage cancer at age 87. The feisty, outspoken mother of four left behind a legacy of friendship and public advocacy and was known for her Chicken Sits, a daily gathering where Wright — holding one of the Buff Orpington chickens she raised — would host afternoon chats about current events and books.
The outdoor powwows were a sort of contemporary salon, with Wright always ready with a zinger of a quote, said Shinn, treasurer of the Camden County Historical Society.
“She was a dynamic individual,” said Martha Wright. “Independent. Strong.”
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the little library became Wright’s lifeline to literature, as the public libraries in the area had closed.
Rain or shine, Wright would pull up to the curb steps away from the little library in her silver car, hauling a bag of books there and, when she left, taking some new selections home with her, said Christine Kostyrka, who built the library in 2012 on the edge of her property. One day, Kostyrka’s daughter told her she saw this older woman visiting their little library. Kostyrka decided to strike up a conversation with Wright.
The two became fast friends, chatting about history and their town.
“She was so smart and such a gift to know,” she said. “She really helped me curate the library.”
As their friendship blossomed, so, too, did the library. With every visit, Wright would bring more books and more newspapers she had devoured, eager to share them with other readers. To this day, Kostyrka has a backlog of Wright’s contributions to the library, waiting to be cycled in.
Never shy about correcting grammar and leaving a mark, Wright would date and initial books she had read and even include editor’s notes for whoever borrowed a book after her, said Kostyrka.
It was their friendship that led to Kostyrka’s idea to rename the library for Wright, a tribute that would stand for years and provide access to Cherry Hill residents to the world of literature. Just like her friend.
“It was our connection,” Kostyrka said. “It’s this living, breathing thing. It’s part of the community. I really think it’s because she started curating these books and helped me set up in the right way. I really miss her a lot.”