Every day after school, a group of students from the Edgartown School walk next door to the town library for afterschool programming. But Friday was an afternoon for the books.
At around 4 pm, Michelle Obama showed up.
“We were going about our normal business, and then a woman walked in and said, ‘Who would like to meet Mrs. Obama?’” said Lisa Sherman, director of the Edgartown Public Library.
“She surprised everyone,” circulation assistant Chris Look added.
During her half-hour visit, Michelle was accompanied by personal assistants, Secret Service, her mother, Marian Shields Robinson, and others.
According to Look, the former First Lady heard the library was a fan of her book, “Becoming.” “With her having a house here, I’m assuming she was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by,” Look said. Michelle and President Barack Obama are rumored to have bought Wyc Grousbeck’s estate on Turkeyland Cove in Edgartown.
“Everyone was really excited,” Look said. “All the kids were asking her questions. She had a smile on the whole time. It seemed like she was enjoying herself too.”
“Some of the kids were sobbing,” Sherman reflected. “They were stunned. They couldn’t believe she was in front of them … I couldn’t believe it either.”
According to Sherman, Michelle encouraged everyone in the room to keep reading, writing, learning, and supporting each other.
“She came right up to me and said, ‘Hi Lisa, it’s so nice to meet you. Keep doing what you’re doing,’ And then she gave me a big hug,” Sherman said.
At the end of the visit, Michelle jumped in for a group photo with the 20-plus kids who attend the library’s afterschool program.
“She signed a copy of our book, which was really cool,” Look said.
“Out of all of the libraries in the world, she came to ours,” Sherman said. “Our little library. I’m so proud of that.”
