Burnet volunteers come together to fix damaged Little Free Library
Darlene Denton holds a quilt patch made by Marilyn Gerk that was replicated on the inside of the Marilyn Gerk Memorial Library. Staff photo by Caden Senn.
Volunteers in the Burnet community are lending a helping hand to rebuild and repaint the Marilyn Gerk Memorial Little Free Library that was reportedly “firecracker bombed” on the evening of Dec. 31.
Burnet police officers responded to a call about the vandalism on New Year’s Day when the damage was discovered, but according to Chief Tony Hefferin, no follow-up investigation occurred because the scene had been cleaned up before officers arrived.
Darlene Denton is a parent and volunteer liaison for Burnet Consolidated Independent School District and the driving force behind the network of nine little free libraries in the Burnet area. She told DailyTrib that the act of vandalism was disheartening, but would not discourage the efforts of her and her volunteers.
“We were knocked down a little bit,” said Denton. “But that’s not going to do anything.”
After the incident, Denton and the community were quick to start rebuilding what was damaged. Kelvin Keele, a longtime Burnet community member, and Cera Wills, a former BCISD student and painter, offered their skills to rebuild and repaint the library. Other community members offered to set up cameras in the area and donate money to cover restoration.
“While (Kelvin) was fixing the library, all these people would stop by and say ‘I’m so glad you’re not taking it down,’” Denton said.
The library had been up for less than two months after a dedication ceremony on Nov. 23, 2025. The library was dedicated to one of Denton’s closest friends, Marilyn Gerk, who passed away in 2023 after battling ovarian cancer.
“This friendship, the reason I did this memorial library, was a once in a lifetime friendship,” said Denton.
The library was made to be a replica of Gerk’s home based on a picture that Denton took before leaving the memorial service. It includes photos of Gerk with friends and family, paintings of her quilts, and a flower from the memorial service that was encased in resin.
Denton plans to continue her efforts in building Little Free Libraries around Burnet County, with two planned to go up this year.