Sept. 24, 2026
READSTOWN, Wis. — On Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at 6 p.m., the community will gather at the Readstown Public Library to honor three ordinary people who made an extraordinary impact on the community they loved through their care and contributions. Their enduring legacies remind us that the gifts of those who came before can shape what is possible for those who come next.
A bench commemorating Janie Fortney, who passed away in 2023, has welcomed visitors to the library ever since. In memory of John Sime and David Dregne, who both passed away in 2025, fruit-bearing trees have been planted on the library grounds. A new flagpole will be dedicated in honor of all three.
John Henry Sime founded the Readstown Public Library—gathering and donating books, painstakingly indexing its early collection, and serving as its first Board President.
Helen “Janie” Fortney devoted her retirement years to acquiring and cataloguing books, moving the growing collection from temporary quarters into a permanent home, and helping secure the building the library occupies today.
David G. Dregne served as Vice President of the Library Board and secured numerous grants that helped sustain what Sime and Fortney had worked so hard to establish.
Their legacies remind us that extraordinary impact does not necessarily require extraordinary means. Each simply found ways to contribute what they could to the place they cared about. What they gave became part of Readstown’s inheritance—and continues to benefit people they would never know.
The September 29 dedication will celebrate not only the lives and contributions of Sime, Fortney and Dregne, but the enduring power of ordinary people to leave something meaningful behind.
The community is warmly invited to the flag-raising, which will feature special visual effects courtesy of Joe Blow’s Fireworks and refreshments from Kickapoo Corners. The library extends its sincere thanks to both local businesses for their generous contributions to the celebration.
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