The story walk at G.E.P. Dodge Library in Bennington got a lot of use during the pandemic, according to Library Director Leslie MacGregor.
So when the possibility of using funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to rebuild the stanchions on the walk came up, MacGregor said she thought, “Well, this is perfect.”
The story walk is along a section of the Bruce Edes Memorial Forest Trails in Bennington. The initial stanchions were built by MacGregor’s husband nine years ago, out of unfinished plywood. MacGregor laminates picture-book pages and pins them to the stanchions for the public to enjoy.
“When COVID hit, I wasn’t able to have the elementary school kids come in for story time; we weren’t having our kids’ group programs inside,” MacGregor said.
To compensate, MacGregor decided to post stories on the story walk more often than the previous quarterly timeline. With the extra use, plus the cost of buying more books for the walk, MacGregor noticed that the stanchions were worse for wear.
“The plywood was starting to warp,” she said.
When the library received its portion of the ARPA grant given to the New Hampshire State Library, MacGregor said it came with the instructions to use it for something that would benefit the community as a whole that was not related to construction.
“I decided that we would rebuild better versions of the old stanchions,” MacGregor said.
So the $1,164 was invested into wood and hinges for new stanchions, as well as more books and the things required to prepare them for outdoor use. Once constructed, the stanchions were painted with primer and outdoor house paint to protect them from the elements.
The stanchions are moveable, and MacGregor has previously had them down Main Street or near the town common. But for now, and for the rest of the year, they reside on the Bruce Edes Trails, a location MacGregor feels is important.
“I wanted to marry it with our conservation forest,” she said, in addition to having it be accessible to as many people as possible. “Just to get people to use the forest, as well as read with their kids.”
The current story on the walk is “The Peace Train,” an illustrated book version of the Cat Stevens song. MacGregor chose it to appeal to everybody during the holiday season.
She said sometimes she doesn’t get a good sense of whether people are paying attention to the story walk unless one of the pages blows off and she receives a complaint, but that she has received positive feedback.
“People do look forward to it,” she said. “I’ve received messages through the library Facebook page asking when I’m putting out the next one.”
And when MacGregor goes out to check on the pages or put up a new story, people will notice.
“When I’m posting it, complete strangers will come up to me and thank me for putting them out,” she said.
MacGregor believes the story walk has gained more traction due to COVID-19, and with the library returning to curbside service as of Dec. 10 due to rising cases, it may be getting more use.
COVID or no COVID, MacGregor said she intends to keep the story walk going for a long time.
“It’s a fun thing, and I personally feel so committed about it, that I certainly will never stop doing it – as long as I can do it, I will,” she said. “You just don’t know who’s out there, appreciating the stories.”