2026 Evy Nordley Finalist #2: Friends of Cook Public Library
In June 2024, a torrential downpour in northern Minnesota swelled the Little Fork River and flooded downtown Cook. The small Northwoods town remained inundated for the better part of a week, causing infrastructure damage so severe that one meteorologist termed it “a once in a generation event, at most.”
The beloved Cook Public Library was not exempt. Flood waters saturated the carpets, compromised drywall, and wrecked wooden shelves. For many months thereafter, the City could offer only limited library services while waiting to learn if they would secure FEMA funds to restore the facility.
Against this backdrop, Friends of the Library member Bailey Conger proposed a novel idea in February 2025. “Bailey is a musician and a retired music educator,” explained Friends secretary Kristi Sopoci. “She and her friend Marjorie Miller, a retired librarian and fellow pianist, had been playing around with the idea of music inspired by books” since 2016.
While originally a purely creative endeavor, the pair suspected that their fun idea had serious fundraising potential. Their colleagues agreed, and thus was born Ink & Ivory: Stories Told in Duet. As that name suggests, most pieces were drawn directly or heavily inspired by movies and musicals that originated as books.
Trinity Lutheran Church, located two blocks from the library, agreed to host Ink & Ivory free of charge. Organizers landed on June 24, 2025 for the evening program.
While these initial details locked into place with relative ease, that still left much to do and less than five months to do it. The Friends used their April meeting to jumpstart planning committees for publicity, refreshments, set-up and clean-up, and a tie-in silent auction.
If the organizers had any apprehension about having enough hands on deck June 24, those fears were soon put to rest. “A sign-up sheet filled quickly with greeters, kitchen help, and auction monitors,” Sopoci said. A student from the Cook Public Library Teen Advisory Board stepped up to design an Ink & Ivory brand and flyer.
“We did not sell tickets,” Sopoci continued. “We made this choice because we didn’t want to put a finite price on the experience… We have found that guests are generous, and an open-ended donation basket collects more money than selling tickets.” This pricing model also ensured that Ink & Ivory remained accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial situation.
Without ticket pre-sales, the Friends went into the event unsure what to expect in terms of head count. Cook’s total population is 423. With that baseline in mind, the Friends had set what they guesstimated to be the ambitious yet achievable target of 50 concertgoers.
When the big Tuesday rolled around, Sopoci says that organizers were blown away by the turnout: no fewer than 132 attendees! This staggering turnout, which filled the church sanctuary near to bursting, speaks volumes about the community spirit and library love in this small Minnesota town.
Freewill donations given at the door amounted to an impressive $3,422, equivalent to more than $25 per head. The silent auction generated an additional $1,215. In all, Ink & Ivory raised about $6,000. Proceeds supported the Cook Public Library’s reconstruction efforts.
There’s an epilogue to the story. After this promising debut, Bailey Conger and Marjorie Miller brought Ink & Ivory: Stories Told in Duet to a salon in Chicago. Fundraising at that intimate venue brought a dose of the Iron Range to the Windy City and raised another $12,000 for Cook Public Library!
