Original Curtis Strand photos will be available for purchase in the Heart of America Library basement Monday through Wednesday during the month of September.

Purchases can be made via free-will donation.

Curtis and his wife, Maxine, were the original owners of Strand Studio in Rugby. Maxine served as chairwoman of the library board during the Heart of America Library’s construction.

Planning during 1967 and 1968 resulted in a city/county library project. Organizers purchased a property to accommodate a 50’x70′ building from George Davidson, and were also willed property from the John E. Anderson family. The groundbreaking was held July 30, 1968. Construction was completed and the library opened on July 1, 1969.

Prior to the library’s opening, a human chain of 500, under the direction of librarian Kathryn Cruden, moved the first books into the library, which included the Bible, a book of photographs and a Pierce County history book.

Library services in Rugby began in 1911, when it was housed in the Pierce County Courthouse. From 1928 to 1969 it was housed in a room in the lower level of the Rugby City Hall.