A new statue of a little girl skipping rope in the Ella Johnson Memorial Public Library honors the memory of a former Hampshire child who loved to read books and attend story hours.
Gabrielle Horvath was the 5-year-old daughter of Jim and Jennifer Horvath. She attended preschool at Gary D. Wright Elementary School in Hampshire.
She died in February 2015, after a three-vehicle crash on Route 72 in Pingree Grove.
Gabrielle and her father were driving toward their home when the crash happened. They had visited the library, 109 South State Street in Hampshire, earlier that day.
“Gabrielle loved to go to the library,” said Pat Ziegler, a friend of the Horvath family. “She was there on the day of the accident. Jim usually took her as he works from home. After checking out several books, Gabrielle loved to work at the arts and crafts table making her mom a card or a picture. She had made Jennifer a picture that day. The police found it in the wreck and took it to the Horvath home for a memory.”
Ziegler said that Nancy Boma, Gabrielle’s grandmother, once taught with her for several years.
“We have a group of retired teachers from our school who meet once a month,” Ziegler said. “The money for the statue was donated by this group and some of Nancy’s neighbors. I purchased the statue online from Hayneedle. It is made of high quality designer resin with a verdigris bronze finish.”
Ziegler said she had several ideas for the memorial. The librarian that she worked with also gave her some ideas.
“I presented three of the ideas to Jennifer and Jim,” Ziegler said. “They picked the one they wanted. It was just something we could do from down here in central Illinois to show our love for the family.”
The statue stands in the children’s area of the library that includes a koi pond rug, live plants, and a bench where library patrons can sit and read books. Sunlight streams through nearby windows that are decorated with seasonal murals.
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“The library is honored to be the home to the memorial which embraces the childlike spirit of energy and joy in a way that all families and patrons of the library can enjoy and appreciate,” said Emily Klonicki, library director.
Denise Moran is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.