EVANS CITY — It’s hard to imagine how the borough will ever get by without Rita Schoeffel.

The 86-year-old retired librarian believes in giving back to the community, and she has done that for decades.

When she retired from the Pine-Richland School District in 1992, she discovered she was not quite finished with her lifelong career.

“I wanted to keep involved in library work, so I went down to the Evans City Public Library and asked the librarian if I could help in any way,” Schoeffel recalled. “She put me on the board (of directors.)”

Schoeffel served in various capacities on the board, and was instrumental in having the library moved in the mid 2000s,

“I did a lot of work to get the library moved from its small and limited space on Main Street to its current location on South Jackson,” she said.

Schoeffel now is as the chairwoman of the library’s building and finance committee.

The octogenarian also volunteers at the Evans City Community Food Cupboard, where she has helped out for 15 years.

“An item in my church bulletin said they needed help, and I thought ‘Why not?’” Schoeffel said.

Schoeffel also is president of the Evans City Historical Society, where she has volunteered for 20 years.

Her interest in history is the result of her father’s family, the Ramseys, who in 1796 settled in Jackson and Cranberry townships. That preceded Butler County because those townships were part of Allegheny County at that time.

“I became interested in history through finding out about my Dad’s family, and it rolled over into other things,” Schoeffel said of her involvement in the historical society.

She was on the board of the Nelson Charitable Foundation in Evans City, but only helps out when asked these days.

“I resigned two years ago because I thought they needed someone a lot younger than I am,” Schoeffel said.

The mother of three and grandmother of five said everyone has something they could give by volunteering.

“There are organizations out there trying to get by on a shoestring, and still do as much as they possibly can,” Schoeffel said. “Without volunteer help, they couldn’t exist.”

But she cautioned against getting over involved, which she said can happen after retirement.

“If you get involved in something, you need to give it your utmost,” Schoeffel said. “If you are involved in too many things, you’ll get worn out.”

Schoeffel, who became a widow in 2001, pursues the hobbies of painting with acrylics and carving birds from wood. She got started in the latter after attending an arts and crafts show where a booth displayed wooden birds.

“They were gorgeous,” Schoeffel said. “Every one of them was $2,000 or more, and I thought, ‘I bet I could do that if I tried.’”

She now is putting the finishing touches on a carving of a kestrel, a small and colorful member of the hawk family.

“I have them sitting all over the house,” Schoeffel said. “I don’t sell them. I figure my children and grandchildren can fight over them when I’m dead and gone.”

She also loves reading, and is always involved in a book.

“I don’t consider that a hobby. I consider that relaxation,” Schoeffel said. “You sit down with a good book and you become a different person in a different situation, in the past, present or future.”

She appreciates Evans City, she said, and is glad to serve as a volunteer around town. “It’s a small-town atmosphere,” she said. “People know each other, they are concerned for each other, and they help each other.”