On Monday, June 23, 2025 a Celebration of Life for Charles "Chuck" Schacht was held at the Romeo District Library (RDL), Graubner Branch. It was a wonderful affair filled with music and stories about a man who entertained children during library storytimes for nearly 20 years. He can be seen in the photo above.
Chuck was a children's librarian at RDL beginning in 1996. The Romeo Observer publicized his arrival in an article written by Linda Lazar Curatolo that appeared in the January 10, 1996 issue. It revealed that Chuck graduated from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana and received his Master of Library Science degree from the University of Wisconsin. Prior to working at Romeo, he worked in children's and young adult services for 25 years, 6 of those at the Adrian Public Library.
Chuck's presence at RDL was a big deal for two reasons. The first was that he was "only one of three men in the state [of Michigan] to hold the position of children's librarian" at the time.
The other was that there was period in which the library didn't have a children's librarian. As RDL director Marina Kruse explained, "We felt in the period while we were without a children's librarian we were not able to provide a complete program in children's services."
Even though the Washington (now Graubner) Branch had a youth librarian with Patti Cheney, the one at the Romeo (now Kezar) Branch Pat Lokanis left to take a job at the Lapeer County Library. It's always hard to provide children's services when a library doesn't have enough staff at both branches.
Chuck stood out in his role as a youth librarian due to his experience as a storyteller, musician, and story writer. He was best remembered with his autoharp, which he used at storytimes. That instrument can be seen in his hands in the picture above. He composed music and lyrics and incorporated them into his programming. Some of his song titles were "Our House is a Hugging House;" "Not to Worry;" and "Max," an ode to the Schacht family cat.
The Friends of RDL hosted an open house to welcome him. This photo was taken by Karen Hamilton at that event and was displayed in the newspaper's January 17th edition. It shows Ilene Lock, President of the Friends of RDL; Chuck; Marina; and Rosemary Kern, a Friends member.
His primary definite goal as a children's librarian was to "make reading a part of both parent's and children's lives and show what a wonderful experience it can be reading both together and individually."
This was exemplified at the Celebration of Life when a man came up to speak about the late librarian. He said that when he was younger, he didn't care too much about books. But, when he and his sister came to Chuck's storytimes, it made him love reading.
Chuck worked at the Kezar Branch until around 2014. He passed away on November 20, 2020.
If you have a story about Chuck, please let us know. His memory will live on.
To learn more about Charles "Chuck" Schacht, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890.
Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Melvin E. and Joan D. Bleich Collection, The Romeo Observer, January 10, 1996, p.3-A and January 17, 1996, p.9-A
