The Bradford Area Public Library is honoring a couple whose
contributions to the community are almost as numerous as the number
of years they’ve been a part of it.

The Friends of the Bradford Area Public Library and the Bradford
Area Public Library Board of Trustees will host a reception from 4
to 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Library Cafe to honor Bradford residents
Marmie and Steve Hodges for their lifelong contributions to the
Bradford community. Refreshments will be served at the reception,
which is open to the public.

Patricia Sanfilippo of the Friends said they honored the Rev.
Leo Gallina in August 2003 for his financial and physical support
of the library.

“We thought it was probably time to say thank you to (Gallina),”
Sanfilippo said. Now, “we thought it was time for another
reception. We had such success with the last one, such a huge
turnout and positive feedback from it that lasted for almost a
whole year.

“We were thinking of who to thank. We wrote down notes and
decided the Hodges would definitely be a wonderful couple if they
would agree. It was tough because they’re very humble, because they
didn’t think they did anything. It’s a nice way to bring two humble
people to the forefront just for an afternoon.”

“We appreciate the recognition we’ve received,” Steve Hodges
said.

For her part, Marmie Hodges said “There are lots and lots of
others more or equally deserving.”

In the 57 years they have been residents of Bradford, the Hodges
have been part of a wide variety of organizations in the city,
including the Bradford Naturalist Club, the Salvation Army,
Bradford Kiwanis, the Friends of the Bradford Area Public Library,
Bradford Little Theatre, the Bradford Landmark Society, the Girl
Scouts and Bradford Family YMCA.

“The library is a huge asset to the community,” Marmie Hodges
said. “We helped in building the new building. We also helped with
fundraising. We had five children so we started out early being big
patrons of the library. For my college job, I worked at the
library. I read and shelved books. I also helped out at the new
location when they needed a lot more help.”

“(The library) also added the computer world,” over the years,
Steve Hodges said. “We see kids plunking away at computers. It’s
always an eye-opener for us. It’s a nice community center. A good
library is so important to the town. (When looking online, several
great leaders were quoted as saying) ‘a library is the memory of
the world.’ And the Bradford Library is the greatest memory of the
City of Bradford.”

Together, the Hodges have been the recipients of the Exchange
Club’s Golden Deeds Award, the YMCA’s Blaisdell Community Service
Award and the Lester Brauser Award from Bradford Little
Theatre.

They have hosted a number of exchange students over the years
hailing from Iceland, South Africa, Iran and two students from West
Berlin when the city was still split. Most of the students still
keep in touch with the Hodges through letters, phone calls, visits
at the Hodges’ home or visits at the students’ homes.

The Hodges said they’re also great supporters of the University
of Pittsburgh at Bradford with two of their children attending and
one graduating from Pitt-Bradford. Steve Hodges said they have
friends on the faculty and he was also on the Campus Life
Committee.

“The Hodges are very kind to the library and the entire
community,” Sanfilippo said. “They’re very civic minded people and
very supportive.”

The Hodges, who celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last
summer, are the parents of five grown children, Tim, Dave, Matt,
Martha and Kate; and have 15 grandchildren.

“We raised our family here, and it’s a great town to raise a
family in,” Steve Hodges said.

“We enjoy the friendliness and surroundings (of Bradford),”
Marmie Hodges said. “It was a good environment for our boys.”

The Hodges said their youngest son, Tim, works at Ingram Book
Co. in Nashville, Tenn., a book distribution company. They said he
comes home to Bradford for Christmas every few years with his truck
loaded with books that he bought as samples. They said the books
are spread out on their table and representatives from the
Pitt-Bradford library and Bradford Area Public Library choose which
books they want.

Also, their son, David, is a sculptor, and one of his
sculptures, titled “Cat’s Meow,” was donated to the library.

The Friends and trustees are hoping to hold a reception every
few years for someone the community will choose.

Sanfilippo said the people they choose to honor, usually
quietly, give their support but are not necessarily anonymous with
their contributions to the community.

“They’re like the silent heroes really,” Sanfilippo said. “They
never minded just giving of themselves, time, money, service or
whatever.”