The Tyrone Story League continues the building process, organizing monthly meetings and recruiting new members.
One problem the league has had to face through the months was choosing a meeting time. Previously meeting the first Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m., several interested individuals were unable to attend. In the hopes of attracting new members, the story league will hold their next meeting on Tuesday, June 7 at 7 p.m. in the Tyrone-Snyder Public Library community room. At the meeting, members will discuss possible meeting times for the future.
The group plans to take a break from meeting in July, but will get together again in August to hold a picnic.
The Tyrone Story League began last December when a dozen people attended a meeting at the Tyrone-Snyder Public Library regarding the creation of a story league in Tyrone.
The meeting was held to introduce individuals to the idea of a story league and to see the interest level within the town.
Ruth Conrad and Esther Wharton, from the Altoona Story League led the meeting, explaining how a group can get started and how story leagues work.
Since its initial meeting, the story league continues to gain interest throughout the area. Members encourage anyone who is curious to come to a meeting and see what the league is all about. Membership fees have been waived for the first year in order to get the organization going, so there’s no obligation.
The new league, which chose Tyrone Story League as its official name, ran into problems with the weather early on, but the group remains positive. A lot of people have shown interest in the story league for many different reasons.
Individuals who have attended story league meetings come from various walks of life. Some attend because they already go out into the community and share their stories with others, one attendee is a mother wishing to learn more stories to share with her children, there is an entertainer looking for new ways to reach his audience, a pastor who can always use stories to help share his messages and some who are just curious. The story league is something that anyone can enjoy.
At a previous meeting, Sharon Wagner was elected to serve the first two-year term as president of the league. Charles Hackenberry was chosen as Vice President and Adda Frye was elected Secretary. The group chose to hold off on electing a treasurer until more members could be in attendance.
Members of the story league will have the opportunity to go out into the community and share their stories with others. Two popular places to tell stories are at area schools and also at nursing homes.
The Tyrone Story League is a service organization, meaning there is no charge for story tellers to share their stories in the community.
“We need professional story tellers, that’s great, but we also need story tellers who will go out to the retirement homes and expect nothing in return,” Conrad said in December.
Individuals should expect to have fun, fellowship and service through story telling. Members take turns sharing their stories at the meetings and discussing story telling techniques, among other things.
At one meeting, Wagner shared an interesting and informative story about her three llamas, Lady, Tootsie and Angel, complete with her family pictures of the trio. Then, last month’s meeting was held at Wagner’s Boot Ranch, where story league members could meet her “girls” (the llamas).
Each month, individuals volunteer to share a story with the group. The stories are fun to listen to and provide entertainment to go along with the business aspect of the meetings. Hackenberry also shared his musical talents, telling a story of the wild west. He got the idea from a song he had heard. At the conclusion of the story, Hackenberry pulled out his guitar and shared the inspirational song.
Meetings usually last about an hour. It also gives members a chance to practice their stories and can help those listening come up with their own story ideas.
In previous meetings, individuals shared storytelling tips.
One question some people had was where do stories come from?
“A story can come from many places like the library, a friend, fairy tales, emails, almost anywhere you can think of,” said Conrad.
A brochure explained the motto of the National Story League is “‘Service through storytelling.’
“Through our literature, we have the greatest heritage in the world to pass on to others. Through it we serve both young and old. Our stories offer adventure, love, hope, faith, travel, sports, history, science and humor.
“Through stories, we challenge others to laugh, to be happy, to be brave, to be comforted, to travel in faraway places, to know interesting and great people of every race and creed.”
On June 7 at 7 p.m. individuals are once again invited to join the Tyrone Story League members at the Tyrone-Snyder Public Library.
Interested individuals are encouraged to attend and see what this story league is all about. There is no commitment, it is just a fun-filled, informative gathering for anyone who wishes to learn more and hear some great stories.
