Elf returns to live at library for third Christmas
Published 6:38 pm Thursday, December 12, 2013
![Tupper the Elf has been hanging out at the Tupper Lightfoot Memorial Library in Brundidge this season.](https://www.troymessenger.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2013/12/web12-13-ELF-on-Shelf-.jpg)
Photo by Jaine Treadwell | Tupper the Elf has been hanging out at the Tupper Lightfoot Memorial Library in Brundidge this season.
Even the librarians at the Tupper Lightfoot Memorial Library in Brundidge sometimes have a hard time finding the library’s Elf on the Shelf.
He can be almost anywhere but most often “Tupper” is somewhere on the books shelves with his nose in a book.
Jennifer Amlong, children’s librarian, said Tupper has been visiting the Brundidge public library for three years now.
“When he first came, the children suggested names for him” Amlong said. “One of the children suggested ‘Tupper’ because that is the name of the man that the library is named in memory of. Mr. Tupper Lightfoot loved to read books and loved to share them others. Tupper does, too.”
Tupper moves from place to place and the first thing children do when they visit the library during the holiday season is look for Tupper.
“There’s no telling where he might be,” Amlong said. “The other day, one of the children found him reading ‘Ferdinand the Bull.’ Yesterday, we found him on the birdhouse that Mr. Jimmy Hollis made for the library. Tupper likes to get up there because it’s high and he can see everything that is going on in the library.”
Amlong said Tupper likes other high places including the tallest book shelves and the highest branches on the Christmas tree.”
“Tupper comes every year right after Thanksgiving and goes back to the North Pole every night to report to Santa Claus on the children who have visited the library that day,” Amlong said. “And, most of the time the children are especially good.”
Amlong said Tupper is a good elf.
“Some of the elves get into all kinds of mischief but Tupper really is a good elf,” she said. “However, sometimes he leaves out the books he has been reading.”
But Tupper uses bookmarks and never turns down the corner of a page to mark his place.
He sets a good example for the children who visit the library.
Amlong said that, obviously, as a way to encourage children to read during the holidays, Tupper has taken several books off the shelf and put them on the reading able.
“I guess, we’ll call those books, Tupper’s choices,” Amlong said. “Tupper’s choices for good books for Christmas are “A Creature Was Stirring” and “Christmas in the Big Woods.”
Amlong said all children are invited to visit the library and try to find Tupper in his hiding place.
“But don’t touch him or he’ll lose his magic and not be able go home to the North Pole and we don’t want that to happen,” Amlong said.