Board of Trustees Spotlight: Eric Freling

Tell us a little about yourself.

I am a Mount Pleasant native who graduated from MPHS and CMU.  My wife and I got jobs in the land business originally abstracting title for Oil and Gas companies, then, after becoming an attorney, I began drafting title opinions for Babst Calland Law Firm in Pittsburgh. After moving back home I began working in the solar business, negotiating contracts and dealing with Planning Commissions at the county level for the development of solar fields.

My loves in life, aside from my family, are cooking, martial arts, drawing, and reading. Everyone in my family has a black belt of some kind and we
all attend classes together and teach one of our own. We have found that the family that kicks together, sticks together. The others are more personal hobbies, but I cook dinner for us almost every night.
 
What led you to want to serve on the Library’s Board of Trustees?

When I moved home I wanted to be a better member of my community.  Living in a big city like Pittsburgh made me appreciate the qualities of a smaller city, like Mount Pleasant, much more. As my parents were all professors, mostly English professors, I kind of felt obligated, in a good way, to help out the library.  
 
What do you love about the Library?

This is literally the library in which I learned to read - I burned through the old Hardy Boy book collection one too many times. I was once asked about my small collection of books “nice library, Is one of these a trick book?” I asked, “how so?” They expanded, “like you pull it off the shelf and a hidden door opens.” I responded, “oh. Yeah, all of them.” I feel the same way about the library.

What’s something you wish other community members knew about the Library?

All the available options there are. Libraries do much more than just provide books to read. Games, movies, in-person programs and events, all at virtually no cost to the patrons.
 
What’s something you’ve recently read and would recommend?

I read a lot, and have interests all over the place, so here are some of my latest reads:

The Expanse Series by James S. A. Corey, (on the last book now)
Dominion by Tom Holland
Sandman by Neil Gaiman, Graphic Novel series
A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
Kabuki by David Mack
The Passover Plot by Hugh J. Schonfield
The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt
Murderbot Diaries by Martha Well