Brookfield’s library is looking to celebrate the life of late circulation assistant Arthur Williams through one of the things he loved the most: sharing food.
The Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library is accepting recipe submissions online and in-person through the end of the year for ‘Arthur’s Cookbook: Food for the Soul’ in honor of Williams, 52, who suffered a fatal heart attack while working at the library last November. The cookbook will be published in early 2025 to be added to the library’s physical and digital collection and sold at the Brookfield Farmers Market next year.
Alex Tsolis, a youth services associate at the library, said she had the idea for the project while speaking with a coworker about how she wished she could put together a community cookbook.
“I was like, ‘I wish I had a cookbook [so] I can flip through recipes that [are] not something I can just Google, like a couple of recipes from people in the community,’” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, Arthur loved food. I wish he would be here for this,’ and [then] I was like, ‘Oh. “Arthur’s Cookbook” would be an incredible title’ … It just kind of sparked on a Tuesday night randomly at the desk. Within 30 seconds, we had the idea, and I was writing an email about it.”
Executive Director Kimberly Coughran said the cookbook was a fitting memorial for Williams, who was a beloved employee at the library.
“Arthur loved food, period. He loved to try people’s different recipes,” she said. “He talked about different dishes with members in the community, and they would oftentimes come in and bring him things to try.”
Coughran said the Friends + Foundation for the Brookfield Library, a nonprofit that supports the library financially, donated $3,000 to cover costs related to putting the cookbook together. Funds raised from the book’s sale at the farmers market will go back to the Friends + Foundation, she said.
Tsolis said the library started accepting recipes to remember Williams on Nov. 1 and has already received 36 from residents, but she has her sights on raising the bar even higher.
“This was bigger than I ever imagined it. I thought it was just going to be something super small, and Kim really fostered a space where I could make it this bigger community project,” she said. “I want over 100 [recipes] by the end of December. I’m thinking through the holidays, we can get there.”
She said the library plans to include every recipe or memory submitted by the community, barring any that are incoherent.
“Arthur was larger than life in his personality, and he brought so much light to [not only] the community but also the library, and I think it’s important that we all show up for him in the way that he showed up for us, so I really want to get as many recipes as possible and as many memories as possible,” Tsolis said. “Even if you don’t have a recipe, I would love for someone to submit just some memories, because we plan on having a memory section [in the book].”
Coughran said Williams’ passing last year left a mark on many of the library’s employees.
“It was a wake-up call for all of us about how precious life is, and we bring him up regularly in conversation,” she said. “The entirety of our staff, as well as all of our groups associated with the library, whether it’s our Friends + Foundation, our trustees [or] the different clubs such as the cookbook club, all had interactions with Arthur and all miss him terribly.”
While Tsolis said she worked with Williams for just four or five months before he died, he made a lasting impression on her even before she started with the library.
“I was here interviewing, and he asked me what I was here for. I was like, ‘Oh, I have an interview,’ and he was like, ‘Well, let me give you a tour’ … He was just incredibly kind and was willing to step away from what he was doing and give me a tour,” she said. “When I was leaving, he made sure to say goodbye to me. He was like, ‘OK, I’ll see you on your first day,’ and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I got it yet.’ He was like, ‘No, you got it. You’ll be here. I’ll see you’ … As soon as I found out that I had gotten the position, I was so excited to come in and tell him, and that’s one of the memories that I cherish dearly. He was the first person to believe that I would be here, and I miss him every day for it.”
Tsolis said Williams’ impact on the Brookfield community was even greater.
“It’s bittersweet, right? It’s so sad but so happy because we’re still remembering him to this day, and it’s so sad to think about him because we miss him so dearly,” she said. “We still have patrons come in and say, ‘Oh, he used to have my hold ready for me. I didn’t even have to check it out. It would just be immediately at the front desk for me, and I was ready to go,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah. That’s just who he was,’ and I saw that every day. I try my best to be a little like Arthur every single day.”
