The children filed into a room in the Boys and Girls Club (BGC), anxiously awaiting story time. Kim Killion, BGC lead youth development professional, helped them tie red and white stovepipe hats - made out of paper plates and poster paper - on top of their heads.
Wearing the hats that Dr. Seuss made famous, the children celebrated the good doctor's birthday.
March 2 also marks the National Education Association's Read Across America Day.
"Can I go get some tape to put on some whiskers?" one boy asked, scratching underneath his nose. He wanted to look like the Cat-in-the-Hat, he explained.
Sadly, for the boy, the staff didn't plan on whiskers. He would be forced to listen to a reading of Dr. Seuss's "Green Eggs and Ham" completely whisker-less.
Sitting on the floor, in a brightly painted yellow and blue room, the kids waited for County Executive Greg Edwards to arrive at the club to read to them.
A few minutes passed. The boys and girls pleaded with BGC staff that they skip story time and go right to cake time. A cake festooned with an image of the Cat-in-the-Hat waited in the cafeteria.
Realizing the children would not be patient for much longer, the staff made the decision to read through the book quickly and move on to the cake.
After finishing the reading, the kids hustled down to the cafeteria, hoping to get a slice of cake with a lot of frosting. There, waiting for them, was Edwards. The boys and girls crowded around him.
Edwards apologized for being late. He was busy helping make sure everybody could get back to work following the downtown fire, he later explained.
After the kids settled around a table, Edwards was handed "Green Eggs and Ham" - not literally, he was given the book. However, he said, earlier in the day, he was served green eggs and ham for lunch at Central Christian Academy in Dunkirk.
"What did Dr. Seuss need to write a book like this?" Edwards asked.
"Talent," exclaimed one boy.
"Oh I know. Imagination," said another boy.
"That's right," Edwards said, telling the kids each of them have sharp imaginations, too. He pointed to a page in the book. "Have you ever seen an animal like this running around Dunkirk?"
As he read the book, he asked the children to shout out the rhyming words.
"Do you like green eggs and ham? I do not like them," Edwards paused and put his hand behind his ear.
"Sam-I-Am," the kids shouted with Edwards.
After reading the book, the county executive handed out gifts to the kids. A coloring book, a notepad and a set of crayons. He held up a pack of crayons.
"On the back of this, it says, 'The future is bright in Chautauqua County,'" Edwards said, "and that's because all of you children are bright and have great imaginations."
Edwards talked about why he had the message printed on the back of the crayons.
"I use this regularly with kids when I'm out there that the future is bright in Chautauqua County, and I give this to kids so that they realize that their future is really bright," he said. "In this room here today, we have future engineers and doctors and construction workers and nurses and Boys and Girls Club Directors."
The goal of the Boys and Girls Club is to ensure that the future is bright not only for the county, but also for the country, Killion said.
"I think it's a great pleasure to work with the kids in our community and try to make sure that everyone has a place to go," Killion said. "We try to make sure that, in the future, our community will continue to improve."
Edwards said he participates in events like Read Across America Day because it is way for him to connect with kids, for him to encourage them to use their own imaginations and creative skills.
"It's a nice opportunity to help stimulate kids to think about reading in a different way, that not only is it fun to do, but the rhyming aspects of Dr. Seuss can really engage us," Edwards said. "And really it helps them realize that what Dr. Seuss used was his imagination, and they have that themselves. And they can use it in drawing pictures or writing books or whatever they like to do."
It's crucial for kids to have positive role models showing them the value of reading, Edwards said. Killion agreed, but the necessity of helpful, influential adults in children's lives goes farther than that, she added.
"A positive role model is very important," Killion said. "We always try to show our kids that best behavior and respect are the number one priority. We strive to provide a fun, positive place for them."
