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GREENSBORO -- Dr. Joseph McCarthy was member of a small group of community-minded individuals who decided over 30 years ago to bring a library building to Greensboro, and his legacy was honored during a small ceremony on Oct. 19, 2026, during National Friends of Libraries week.
McCarthy retired from the Friends of the Caroline County Library (Friends) early in 2026 after serving on the board of directors for over 30 years. The Friends honored his dedication to the organization with a plaque that hangs at the library North Branch circulation desk in the very space that he worked to develop.
After sharing that he played football on the space where the library now stands, Greensboro native and County Commissioner Larry Porter presented McCarthy with a proclamation noting his years of dedicated service in “recognizing the importance of having a welcoming place where residents can find books, resources, and opportunities close to home.”
“I can’t believe I did all that,” McCarthy joking commented.
McCarthy was a dentist in town for 36 years, having moved to Greensboro from Gaithersburg. The town supported him when he “started from scratch,” and it didn’t take much to realize he could return the goodwill in kind. He called special attention to fellow Friends, Richard Harfeld and Gale Nashold, who were instrumental in starting the campaign to bring the library building to Greensboro, and who supported later expanding the Friends to cover all of Caroline County.
McCarthy said that he is proud of where the Friends board is now, both programmatically and fiscally, and “it was one of the main reasons why I decided to step down,” is set to go for a while. He noted that the volunteers “the manpower and the brains” are set to just keep carrying on the mission of the Friends organization.
Lindy Lewis, current president of the Friends board of directors, shared how McCarthy’s service to the Friends helped not only with capital projects but also, “thousands of dollars that have been raised for furnishings in all of the libraries,” and “additionally funding of reading and literacy programs across the board.”
