“Our Second Home.” Three Women Reunite at Towson Branch to Celebrate Decades of Friendship

Public libraries are known as community connectors. A place where you can come as you are to explore, learn, create and connect for free. For Chelea Butler, Shanelle Grier and Brianna Jolley, the Towson Branch was exactly that. They even say it was like a second home during their teenage years.  

“It was the bastion of our freedom,” said Butler. “With today’s lack of third spaces for many young people, to us the library was a safe place where we could come together, find community and release stress during academically difficult times.” 

The trio went to Towson High School from 2009-2013 and often spent afternoons on the mezzanine level of the library overlooking the main floor. Sometimes studying, sometimes gossiping, sometimes discussing their favorite books. One thing was for sure—snacks were always involved!  

“We would often go to 7-Eleven and buy as many snacks as we could get. Then we’d go to the library and put them all out on the table to share.” 

Today, the trio calls Hanover, Philadelphia and Dallas home. While they have gone their separate ways geographically, they reunited in Towson in December to celebrate turning 30 by revisiting some of their favorite stomping grounds. Naturally, the library was at the top of the list. 

“We wanted to do a nostalgic walk to commemorate our friendship at a place that meant a lot to us. In our teenage years, we would walk from Towson High School to the Towson Branch at least once a week, with stops for fun adventures between the two locations. Since we hadn’t had that experience together in over a decade, we wanted to recreate and capture those memories.”

The women are excited to hold onto the photos as keepsakes from their recent visit and are ready to plan another reunion in 20 years. They also want their story to spark hope for today’s teenagers.  

“We want our friendship to be a testament to other Black girls—to show that it’s possible to find community and friendship, especially in spaces that aren’t always diverse or inclusive. At that time, we felt there weren’t many places where young Black girls could go to enjoy or express themselves. We were and still are grateful to have found that within the library.”

Stories like this are reminders for all of us that libraries are more than buildings and books. They are places where lifelong connections are made.