WINONA. Minn. – A Witoka farm boy who loved reading and never forgot whiling away hours in the Winona library growing up has bequeathed $300,000 to the library. The gift was from James William Werner, who died in 2001 in California at age 72. Librarian Lezlea Dahlke said gift was by far the largest in the library’s history. In Dahlke’s memory, $500 is as large as donations have been. Werner’s gift came as a surprise, she said, although for 20 years the library has received a mysterious quarterly statement of accrued income from a trust account. Werner’s neice solved the mystery in a letter to Dahlle that she had freed the triust money, and that there were no stipulations on how it be spent. Dahlke said several possibilities are being considered:
> Converting the DVD room into a meeting space.
> Creating a reading nook.
> Adding comfortable seating for visitors.
Werner profile
Werner bwas orn in 1928 in Winona and reared nine miles out on a farm near Witoka. He held a 1949 degree from Winona State Teachers College and served in the U.S. Army. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota in 1956. He taught English and Spanish near Claremont in southern California. He went back to college and earned another master’s and a doctorate. He was widely traveled and participated in numerous archeological digs. In retirement he volunteered at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont. He left no progeny. He was not known to have had any continuing Winona connections other than youthful memories.