The Blue Box Mystery

McHenry County Defenders are again collecting donated books to be sold in their new Green Spot resale shop on the Woodstock Square. And it is just in time for the holidays!

However there is an unsolved mystery of what happened to the first donation drop box. In March the group opened the "Green Spot", a small resale corner inside their downtown office, to help support the group's programs and operations. A nearby municipality gave the organization a big, blue donation bin that was set next to the sidewalk. It soon started filling with donated books. "It was like Christmas every day," explained Roy Asplund, the group's vice-president. Then one day the big blue bin disappeared. "We still have no idea who took it or why, says Asplund.

In October the Defenders moved to new quarters in the Woodstock Square Mall and opened their "Green Spot" in its own retail space at the 110 S. Johnson Street building. They also had more shelves to fill and a need for a donation box more than ever, but commercial bins were too costly.

Thanks to the hard work of local carpenter, Delbert Douglass, and the cooperation of their new neighbor, Home State Bank's Woodstock Banking Center, they have a new donation box. Douglass, a skilled craftsman and lifelong Woodstock resident built a sturdy drop box using donated or recycled materials and contributing his labor.

Now, just in time for the holidays, the Defenders have a beautiful new donation bin, thanks to the hard work of local carpenter Delbert Douglass and the cooperation of their new neighbor, the Home State Bank’s Woodstock Banking Center.

After learning of the missing bin, Douglass, a skilled craftsman and a lifelong Woodstock resident, agreed to build the Defenders a new, sturdy drop box to collect book donations. Contributing his labor and using donated or recycled materials, he worked for nearly two months to finish the project, a well-crafted, weather-proof book bin standing in space provided by the neighbor, Home State Bank.

The bin is designed to receive only books. Asplund explains that items such as magazines, CDs, videos, toys or collectibles may be damaged if dropped into the box. These may be donated inside the Green Spot store during business hours.

The Green Spot is open Monday-Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. where good-quality used books, magazines, CDs and videos as well as new and used gifts items are available. All donations are tax-deductible and all proceeds support the local environmental group, a citizen-based, 501c3 not-for-profit organization, dedicated to the preservation and improvement of our natural environment. For information, visit www.mcdef.org or email: mcdef.outreach@gmail.com.