OSHTEMO TOWNSHIP,Mich. – A neighborhood in Oshtemo Township got its ‘Bookbot’ back after thieves took off with it in September.
The old newspaper machine was turned into distributor for free books as part of the Little Free Library Movement, initiated to share books all over the world.
On Sunday, it was found by some workers at Wahmhoff Farms Nursery. The Christmas tree farm has been in business for more than 50 years. In that time, Owner, Ken Wahmhoff, said he’s come across his share of odd things popping up on his farm.
“We’ve got probably 1,000 acres of trees out here and there’s roadways and we’ve found stolen cars out here before,” Wahmhoff said.
He went on to say, “This is the first time I’ve gotten a bookbot dumped on my property.”
Wahmhoff’s daughter, Randi Wahmhoff, was also there when the bookbot was found.
“I was like oh my goodness, what is that? I said Aaron, what is that? And he says ‘I don’t know,’ and he backs up and I look at it and it looks like a newspapers machine except it’s this big, robot looking thing,” Randi said.
The bookbot was picked up by the artist who created it, Steve Curl. Curl said he built it, filled it with books and then it was placed in front of a home in Oshtemo Twp, where people could stop by for a free read.
Although the artist said there was some damage done to the eye of the bookbot and it had a few dents, he said the newspaper box it was created from, is built to last.
The artist is working on security measures to make sure the free library stays put.
