FUN AT WORK — Laurie Voss never thought she’d end up working in a library, but she’s happy she did. She gets fun opportunities and experiences something new everyday with coworkers she adores. (Photo provided)

WARSAW — Behind the circulation desk at Warsaw Community Public Library, dwells a ghost hunter in an office decorated in trinkets of Winnie the Pooh’s Eeyore and crafty personalized knick knacks. According to her, she’s not a very interesting person — but Laurie Voss’s open demeanor and intriguing hobbies argue otherwise.

When she isn’t the circulation supervisor at WCPL or reading nonfiction books, Voss is researching her genealogy, crocheting or ghost hunting around Warsaw or at Gettysburg, Pa. This year will mark the 10th year she and her husband, Rick, have visited Gettysburg with a camera and audio recorder.

“I would love to find places around here that’d let us ghost hunt. I’ve gone to the old jail before. I’d love to visit old prisons, but some of these cost $185 a person — that’s a lot.” Voss grinned as she swiveled back and forth in her chair. “This is all just for the fun of it. We take thousands of pictures at Gettysburg.

“Last year, a few weeks after we came back, I was going through them. There was this one picture at a bridge, Suicide Bridge, with a man sitting at the edge of it. It was an old timely picture — he had loafers, socks and jeans — but he had no head. It’s not all just ghost hunting though. I enjoy the history and learning about the Civil War.”

Creating history books is another major hobby of Voss’s. In piecing together newspaper articles and photos, she has created a variety of books that trace a town or person’s lineage in history. That interest carries over to genealogy, where Voss considers herself “a fanatic.”

By delving into her roots, she’s discovered George Washington was an uncle, Abraham Lincoln was a cousin and her family has descended from five sets of kings on her father’s side. On a big world map at home, she maps lines from the different areas her ancestors came from.

In finding her roots, Voss located cousins and reunited them with relatives.

“My goal in life is to be kind and, in some ways, to be remembered,” she commented. “I think that’s why I do the books and the genealogy. I don’t want to live my life and have no one remember who I am when I’m gone.”

Despite having a difficult childhood, Voss stated it shaped her into the person she is today. Being a compassionate and kind person isn’t an inherent trait in a person — it has to be worked for and actively chosen again and again everyday.

She has left a positive lasting impression on others through dog fostering, lending an ear to listen and through her crochet creations. Kindness, even in small forms, can leave a resounding impact on a person’s attitude in life.

Currently Voss and a coworker are making unique chemo hats to donate to the cancer center, but patrons of the library who are going through chemotherapy find themselves walking away with a hat in hand after returning or checking out books.

“I want to give something I never had,” said Voss. “I know the loneliness I felt and don’t want anyone else to feel that way. I want to be somebody who is a shoulder. I may not have great advice, but I can sit with you and listen.”