Martin County Library receives largest gift in its history
“To see people that want to leave a legacy in this way, such as the Clarks, validates that we\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'re doing the right things here.” — Jenny Trushenski, Library Director
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FAIRMONT - Longtime patrons and donors of the Martin County Library System, Robert and Hazel Clark, have left $248,000 to the Martin County Library, the largest single donation in the system's history.
According to their obituaries, Robert and Hazel Clark lived to be 104 and 101, respectively, with Hazel Clark dying Feb. 17, 2020 and Robert Clark dying July 22, 2026. The couple lived together in Fairmont from 1958 until their passings, regularly utilizing and donating to the Martin County Library while Robert ran his own CPA business and Hazel worked part-time as a stenographer and a secretary in Robert's office, and after they both retired in 2007.
"We saw them as library patrons over the years, and were always very generous donors during their lifetime," Martin County Library Director Jenny Trushenski said. "I was told that we would be included in their estate, but we did not know to what extent that would be until just last week."
Through the support of the Clarks and other donors to the library system, Trushenski said it is always helpful to what they can accomplish.
"It gives us some freedom to do some special things, unique things, sometimes outside of what our traditional budget allows," she said. "Whether it’s purchasing something different for our collection to try, having a special event, a unique performer, all of those things are always put to their best use that we can."
To build relationships with regular patrons, like the Clarks, is something that is able to be fostered in smaller communities like this.
"We get to know sometimes what kind of books they like to read, what their interests are, and it’s a really special relationship," Trushenski said. "We’re always thankful for all of our patrons and the opportunity to make those connections."
When they found out just how much the Clarks had left them, Trushenski said she was incredibly grateful and quite stunned.
"We’ve never received a gift of that generosity before, but we're very excited about the potential of hopefully some great things that we can do with those funds to keep the library moving forward as we always try to."
To put $248,000 into perspective, Trushenki said the yearly budget for the library is around $1 million. It also measures up to some of the largest donations given to any county library in Minnesota, with Elizabeth Kolstad's $796,054 donation to the Wescott Library in the Dakota County Library System being the largest.
Trushenski said this donation is for the whole Martin County Library System, not any individual library. She said receiving this donation, along with donations from people across Martin County every year, is incredibly heartwarming.
"They recognize the vision of what we’re trying to do here to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to access information and learn something, take a new class, pick up a new hobby, check out some books just to read for fun. All of those things are so important, and to see people that want to leave a legacy in this way, such as the Clarks, validates that we’re doing the right things here, and we’re listening to our patrons and trying to keep the library providing services that are used and appreciated."
As the money was only recently received, Trushenski said they are in the very early stages of deciding what to spend it on and how to stretch and balance it.
"I’m working on a list of some projects that I think would be important to do and good to do and make good use of those funds," Trushenski said. "At this time, nothing’s been decided. Certainly with a gift like this, we really want to be thoughtful and considerate and make sure that we’re making good decisions in utilizing those funds."
With libraries continuing to face challenges and hurdles to overcome, Trushenski said this gift is incredibly generous for the library system's future.
"As the director of four libraries, we know that you know everyone’s budgets are tight," she said. "We keep an eye on that budget every year and keep our requests minimal. There’s always things that need fixing, or this happened, we’ve got to repair that. Having that [donation] gives us a little bit of breathing room, knowing that there are some funds there given to the library that we can use as needed for things that come up."
The funds will officially be considered for acceptance at the Sept. 8 Martin County Library Board meeting, which starts at 1:30 p.m.