‘Mr. Bill’ Is Missing In Groton

For four years, a rubber figure of ‘Mr. Bill’ lived within arms reach on the mantle near the check out desk at in Groton City.

On Friday, the library director and a colleague noticed he was gone. They looked everywhere, then realized he’d been taken. They’ve taped a “wanted” poster on the library door asking for his return.

“It’s not the money, it’s the principle,” said Hali Keeler, library director. “Keep our little Mr. Bill. I mean he’s been there, keeping us company, and it just brings a little humor into one’s day.”

Mr. Bill was a clay figure in the 1970s and 1980s that was started on Saturday Night Live. He’d be squished or otherwise humiliated at the end of episodes, shrieking “ooh noo!”

Keeler said she was on vacation about four years ago when she saw him in a Vermont Country Store. He’s about five inches tall.

“People comment on him when they come in,” she said. “He’s in full view when you go to check out your books, so everybody says hi. He’s just part of the family.”

The real namesake of the library, has a portrait that hangs over the mantle in the teen room. Frederic Bill, a teacher who later became a bookseller, publisher and manufacturer, founded the library in 1888 in memory of his sisters.

“He's a stern looking gentleman, " Keeler said. "This Mr. Bill is just a bit more fun."

“He’s been stolen, obviously. We like to think that he’s kidnapped and maybe we’ll get a ransom note. But we haven’t heard.”