Dear Editor and Ms. Peirce:
Thank you for your inquiry regarding the StoryWalk® at Bird Creek Park. With approval from the city administrator and the help of many Wautoma organizations and individuals, a StoryWalk® was completed last August.
Walking along the creek, following a path that provided pages of a continuing story was a new adventure for many Wautoma families: one that seemed to be gaining interest and patronage. Financial support, including a Thrivent grant and generous Wautoma business contributions, along with volunteers who repaired the posts and displays purchased from a nearby library and who helped clear and mulch the abandoned path, secured our project’s completion. We were pleased and grateful for all the help and support we received.
Our county workgroup, the Financial Wellness Workgroup of the Waushara’s Vision Committee under the Waushara Prevention Council, was able to help children and families learn basic money concepts through children’s books. In addition to money matters, the Wautoma Public Library displayed some books of other interest to young children.
During the winter the posts and book displays were taken out of the path and placed in a pile in the woods. To our chagrin, we were told that another organization had plans to use that space. At present, our workgroup is searching for another location. We hope to have a new StoryWalk® completed to open next spring in a new location.
Thank you,
Mary Ann Schilling, Financial Wellness Workgroup Chair
