CONTRIBUTED PHOTO East Marshall graduate and Le Grand native Ryne George, left, along with his daughter Natalie and wife Meg, are pictured next to the second installment of Leslyee’s Library at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids, where they reside. The concept is a tribute to his late mother, who worked for the Marshall County Clerk of Court’s office for almost 24 years, and the first one was installed at the Marshall County Courthouse last year.

CEDAR RAPIDS — An idea that was born in Marshall County and presented before the Board of Supervisors last year as a tribute to the woman who came up with it has expanded to a second location, the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids.

Leslyee’s Library, named after the late Leslyee George, offers a wide variety of books to kids whose parents are required to engage with the courts system. George worked for the Marshall County Clerk of Court’s office for almost 24 years and passed away at the age of 65 on April 7, 2024, and her library started with a shoebox full of books that she brought in on her own and distributed to children. Her son Ryne, who grew up in Le Grand and graduated from East Marshall High School in 2007, now lives in Cedar Rapids, and he recalled that he learned about the act of generosity from Judge John Haney at his mother’s funeral.

“She was very humble, very proud of those types of things, and she wasn’t going to brag about it,” Ryne said. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a ton of insight of exactly why she did it, but talking with everybody that worked with her and then also, as I’m going through this process the last year and almost three or four months, so many different people that are in the courts system whether that’s judges, court reporters, lawyers, staff, security, they’ve all said ‘This was so helpful in Marshall County’ or, when I was talking to Linn County folks, they said ‘Oh, this is such a great idea. I never thought about this.'”

A courthouse, he added, isn’t always a welcoming place for a kid and can be very intimidating, so providing “a glimmer of fun” through a bookcase can be highly meaningful. When Leslyee George started the program, she was a single mom herself, and Ryne, now a community impact ambassador at Corda Credit Union, felt that it gave her a strong connection with so many women going through similar experiences.

“You’re by yourself. You have a big responsibility. You’re at the courthouse doing something that you probably don’t want to do or you have to fill out this paperwork. You have these kids running around, so how do you distract them?” he asked. “That’s been a really cool part of talking with people, and since we launched June 10, I’ve had strangers reach out and say ‘I want to get behind this.’ We’ve had over $700 in donations so far.”

Leslyee’s Library, the nonprofit organization Ryne started, will help to fund the libraries in both Marshall and Linn counties and help to keep his mother’s legacy alive in a positive way by providing high quality books and maintaining the bookcases.

“One of the best parts of the program is that if kids, if they are reading a book and are really attached to it, they can take it home. They don’t have to return it. If you think about kids that may not have a lot of books at home, that’s one more book that they have and more books in the home (means) potential better literacy rates,” he said.

Right now, Ryne and his board of directors are focused on assessing demand and figuring out a way to grow the program in a sustainable way. And it’s safe to say that Les’s impact is still being felt more than a year after her passing.

“Les saw kids at the courthouse in stressful times — parents needing to fill out commitment papers or documents to prevent future domestic assaults. She took it on herself to start a children’s library so the kiddos could have a positive distraction and they could take the book home. After Les passed, way too early, (Marshall County Clerk of Court) Carol Haney wanted to honor her by continuing the effort in her name. Carol and Ryne were the brain children, but Ryne has formed a nonprofit and energized the effort beyond Marshall County into his home county — Linn County,” Judge Mary Chichelly of the Iowa Court of Appeals said. “Les was a very sweet and caring woman and her son has followed that lead! I had a judge on my court help Ryne in Linn, and another of my colleagues is interested in the same thing for Carroll County. It is all about seeing and meeting people where they are and trying to make a difference, which was the Les way.”