The Fulton County Chamber of Commerce had a ribbon-cutting on Thursday, Nov. 2, for a StoryWalk at Kewanna’s Union Township Park. The StoryWalk, which has portions of a story at stations around the park, was a project by former members of the Fulton County Leadership Academy Cora Alber, Hannah Bahney, Mindy Duckett, Andrea Stineback and Gina Hierlmeier. Students from Caston School Corp. came to the ribbon-cutting, with also Winamac Coil Spring employees present, who helped install the StoryWalk. At the ribbon-cutting were in front from left Mitchel Martindale, David Martindale, Titan DeMond, Stineback, McKenley Maggart, Karissa Klinfelter and Bishop Lovell. In the back row are from left Winamac Coil Spring’s Dan Jenkinson, Candy Field and Tony Pesaresi, Bahney, Winamac Coil Spring’s Brooke Fox, Duckett, Kewanna-Union Township Library Director Charles Rude and Hierlmeier.

Text and Photos
By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

KEWANNA — Visitors to Union Township Park in Kewanna now have another outdoor activity to enjoy.

The Fulton County Chamber of Commerce celebrated the new StoryWalk at the park with a ribbon-cutting on Thursday, Nov. 2.

Portions of the story “Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match” by Monica Brown in English and Spanish are placed at various stations around the park for people to enjoy reading as they walk on a path.

It’s the second StoryWalk installed in Fulton County due to a project by former members of the Fulton County Leadership Academy. They included Mindy Duckett, Andrea Stineback, Cora Alber, Hannah Bahney and Gina Hierlmeier.

“StoryWalks are something I’ve been interested in ever since I saw the first one as a library director,” said Stineback, the director of the Fulton County Public Library. “I talked to (now retired FCLA head) Mark Kepler and Jessica Riffle (who’s now the FCLA head), and they thought it was a good idea.”

“It turned out Mindy had actually worked on StoryWalks in another county, so it all kind of just fell together,” said Stineback.

The first StoryWalk was put along Woodlawn Hospital’s trail in Rochester this summer. Others are to go in at Talma and Leiters Ford.

Duckett said some of the feedback so far on the Woodlawn StoryWalk was that “it was the neatest project in Fulton County.”

She also said people were glad the story was in English and Spanish.

Duckett noted the stories at each site will be changed out every so often. The Fulton County Community Foundation paid for the StoryWalks via a grant to the FCPL.

Duckett thanked Winamac Coil Spring for putting in holes and installing frames for the StoryWalk stations in Kewanna.

Charles Rude, who serves as the director of the Kewanna-Union Township Library, added the StoryWalk “will enhance the park for the local kids and (it) promotes literacy … and physical activity.”

A look at one of the StoryWalk stations. The story currently at the park is “Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match” by Monica Brown.