PHOTO BY JOHN FRYMAN / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
DEDICATION … Friends, supporters, and community members gather for a group photo following the dedication of the Montpelier Public Library’s Storywalk Project on the Iron Horse River Trail in Montpelier on Sunday, September 21.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
Through the cooperating efforts of the Montpelier Public Library and the Montpelier Parks and Recreation Department, the Montpelier Storywalk project became a reality with a dedication ceremony being held on Sunday, September 21, at Iron Horse River Trail.
At the dedication ceremony individuals, businesses, clubs, and civic organizations were thanked for their financial support, and the dream of Library Director Angie Humphrey, who was successful in bringing this literary project to Montpelier, was fulfilled.
“These Montpelier people right here, they make things like this happen in our community,” said Humphrey, who presided over the dedication ceremony.
“You’re seeing everything they’re doing that is bringing Montpelier back to what it used to be ‘back in the day,’ as we would say.”
Among those recognized were the Montpelier Area Foundation, Montpelier Rotary Club, Montpelier Civic League, Montpelier Police Reserves, Montpelier Library Teen Advisory Group, Montpelier Women of the Moose, Friends of Montpelier Library, and Paul and Kay Briner of Montpelier, who helped financially support the Storywalk Project.
“As soon as I asked for the funds for this project, it was in motion and everybody was just asking what they can do and how they can help,” said Humphrey.
“That is huge for this community. There are so many groups in this community that support everybody, not just us; they’re behind everybody, and they want to see this town thrive. They step up time and time again, and they make things like this a reality.”
Special thanks were also given to the Montpelier Parks and Recreation Department and Christian Builders of Bryan, who constructed the page stand holders for the project.
Humphrey said that Montpelier has seen some big changes over the years but then added that she was also grateful to be a part of those changes.
“When I became library director, this was one of the first things that I wanted to see happen,” she commented.
“There are people standing right here that helped that happen, and they were like, ‘Oh wait, wait, wait, there’s different things that are going to happen, and that would fit right in.’ They were so right.”
The Storywalk Project was created in 2007 by Anne Ferguson and developed into a collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier, Vermont, and it’s a registered service through the Vermont-based library.
Humphrey, who became Montpelier Public Library director in 2019, had already seen the Storywalk concept at several other libraries.
“I just thought that it was an awesome way to put a book out in front of maybe kids who can’t come to the library,” said Humphrey.
“Just to have it on the trail, then people are out here in nature, and this is a paved trail. People can bring their strollers out here, people in wheelchairs can stroll along and read this. It’s just a great distraction to add to the trail.”
Montpelier Parks and Recreation Director Sandy Gordon commented that the Storywalk Project is just another tremendous asset to the community and the Iron Horse River Trail.
“Angie (Humphrey) and the Montpelier Public Library have done a terrific job putting this together from start to finish,” said Gordon.
“It’s just another thing that we have in our community for parents to bring their kids out and just to enjoy the outdoors.”
Gordon was very grateful for having such wonderful partners like the Montpelier Public Library, who saw the vision that was started several years ago when two councilmen, Chris Kannel and Nathan Thompson, and Mayor Steve Yagelski saw the idea as a real boon to the community.”
She was later asked by Humphrey, who about the same time, had talked to Chris Kannel about involving the Parks and Recreation Department in the Storywalk project, which coincided with the completion of the Iron Horse River Trail.
“We understood what a Storywalk was, so that would be a good fit for this space as opposed to maybe a municipal park or something like that,” commented Gordon.
“She (Humphrey) went ahead and got her fundraising, asked permission from the park board to put it in, and they granted her permission. I helped lay out where all the holes go for it. Angie and I walked out, took a look at it, and did the physical layout for the project.”
More importantly, the Storywalk Project serves as a great partnership between the library and the parks and recreation department.
“That’s how things get done,” stressed Gordon. “In communities where you have partnerships and people are working together and having a vision together and saying, “yes,” we can do this.
“This is a great way to promote literacy, too; whether little kids realize it or not, it’s a chance to read a book. If you noticed on some of the signs today, they have things like skip to the next stop. It’s a great way to promote physical activity.”
Humphrey was impressed by the crowd who showed up for the dedication, and they were also treated to a Storywalk Trail book, “Seeds Move,” by Robin Page.
The book talks about how seeds move from location to location and the things they need to grow in different environments. Nature, animals, and people all help seeds move from place to place.
“A lot of our programs work around literacy and trying to promote that from an early age,” said Humphrey.
“This is just one more thing that if this even makes one child think that they just might like reading, then it’s a win for us.”