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Date: 9/1/2021
BLANDFORD – The Porter Memorial Library in Blandford unveiled its permanent StoryWalk in Watson Park on Aug. 28. The installation consists of a wooden series of 20 sign boards on posts, covered with plexiglass and installed in the ground along the paved path that goes through the park.
Library Director Nicole Daviau said the Story Walk was a collaboration between the library and the Blandford Historical Commission, with information about the 100-year-old Watson Park on the sign boards under the stories that will change monthly, giving it intergenerational interest.
Every month, there will also be a new craft that goes along with the story that people may pick up at the library, Daviau said.
The StoryWalk’s opening book, “School’s First Day of School,” is an appropriate one, she said, because Dr. Deane donated Watson Park in memory of Electa Watson, his childhood teacher. Daviau said Deane also left funding which is still being used to care for the park.
The StoryWalk was made possible through a Libraries Transforming Communities grant of $3,000 from the American Library Association. In order to get the grant, the library and the Historical Commission hosted two community conversations, Daviau said. She said the sign boards themselves were designed and built by Blandford resident Louis Daviau, who donated his time and skill to build the StoryWalk.
Watson Park, which is located right behind Blandford Town Hall, also features a gazebo, children’s playground, and picnic tables, along with barns from the 1800s, a variety of stone structures, and irreplaceable heirloom plantings.
“I hope this StoryWalk inspires a love of reading while connecting neighbors and showcasing our town history. Through the community conversations, we are building our collective identity and strengthening our connections to each other and our town’s history. Partnering with the Historical Commission of Watson Park shows that we can achieve great things when we work together,” Daviau said.