Dedication Ceremony takes place for new Texas County Library

By Editor | October 22, 2025 |

Photo by Shari Harris
Dignitaries at the library’s dedication ceremony included, from left, front row: board members Dala Whitaker, Sheila Walker, Cathy Sirdoreus and Gwen Ross; Janet Caruthers, State Librarian; Janet Fraley, Board Treasurer; Linda Roberts, Board Member; back row: Brad Gentry, Board Secretary; Terry Jones, Board President; Louise Beasley, Director; Representative Bennie Cook; Ross Richardson, Board Member; Kathy Richardson, grandmother of Evelyn Dieckhaus; Presiding Commissioner Scott Long; and Houston Mayor Sam Kelley.

Photo by Shari Harris
In the Evelyn Marie Dieckhaus Creative Center, this welcoming corner will spark children’s imagination while offering a place to read.

By Shari Harris, Publisher

The new Texas County Library in Houston, Mo., had a dedication ceremony on Saturday, October 18. Members of the community gathered for the ceremony and to tour the new building.

Library Director Louise Beasley led the dedication ceremony. She proclaimed her role at the library has been her “best job so far, with the best Board and staff.” Beasley thanked and acknowledged the many individuals, organizations, businesses, groups and more who came together to make a 15-year goal happen.

Terry Jones, president of the Board of Trustees, recognized the members of the board and foundation for their work in completing the project, as well as for the improvements they have made at the Cabool and Summersville libraries. The Texas County Library has four branches, with the main library located in Houston and smaller library branches in Cabool, Licking and Summersville. Expansion of the Licking Library is also planned.

Presiding Commissioner Scott Long also commended the foundation and library board. He touted the economic benefits of the library, and believes the conference rooms will be a positive for the community. Houston Mayor Sam Kelley followed, and expressed that he feels the new library will be “something great for our community.”

The Evelyn Marie Dieckhaus Creative Center is a beautifully designed children’s area in the new library, and is a tribute to Evelyn Dieckhaus, who was killed in the mass shooting at Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn., in 2023. Evelyn often visited her grandparents in Houston, and her grandmother, Kathy Richardson, spoke at the ceremony and shared how thankful she was to have been involved in the project for the new library.

Representative Bennie Cook presented Director Beasley with a resolution from the Missouri House of Representatives commemorating the dedication of the library. He said the project demonstrated “if we all work together, what we can accomplish.”

Janet Caruthers, state librarian, also spoke at the ceremony and offered her congratulations on the new library.

After the ceremony, visitors were invited to tour the building. Built upon the storm shelter in Houston, the $2.8 million building is a beautiful creation. The well-lit and spacious areas are inviting to all, and the shelves of books beckon to the curious, asking to be pulled out and perused.

The children’s section is truly the masterpiece of the building, however. From the finished benches inlaid with butterflies to the tribute wall for Emily Dieckhaus, to the corner hideaway in a toadstool stem, complete with a frog perched atop, this area excites the imagination and should certainly be a favorite place of many children for years to come.

Congratulations to Director Beasley, the Board of Trustees and Foundation, and the Texas County library staff on a truly delightful new library.