Edith B. Arnhold was the head librarian for nineteen years in the Cornell School District from 1962 to 1981 and then retired. Education was extremely important to Edith. 

Edith was born July 1, 1916, in LaCrescent, Minnesota. Soon after her birth, her family moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and later to Kansas City, Missouri, where she attended Westport High School. Edith continued her education after high school and graduated from the University of Missouri, Kansas City, to receive a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Political Science in 1942. After moving to Wisconsin, she attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Eau Claire to complete her teaching degrees by 1967. Edith also taught several classes in Library Science as a guest instructor at UW-Eau Claire. 

After the Cornell School District received notification of this very generous gift, Dr. Paul Schley, Cornell School District Superintendent, approached the Community Foundation about how to invest the funds they received. "I wanted to be sure that the funds would be managed well, invested appropriately, and overseen consistently so they would be available for many years to come for Cornell High School graduates," Schley stated.

The Edith B. Arnhold  Memorial Scholarship was established in December 2020 and will award scholarships of $1,000 or more annually to as many graduates as possible on the basis of academic achievement and financial need to Cornell High School seniors pursuing post-secondary education.