A dozen people attended a recent 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.
In order to start a new story league, there must be six or more members. A time and place to meet must be selected and a president, secretary and treasurer elected. The Altoona Story League members will offer support to the new league and help in anyway they can.
All new leagues will meet twice a year, as the Blair County Story Telling League, in June and December. Workshops will be provided on how to tell stories during the year.
There is a membership fee of $30 a year however these fees are waived for new leagues that are still organizing and in the beginning stages.
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.
This is a service organization, 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 retirements home and expect nothing in return,” Conrad said.
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.
The women also led a brief workshop on tips that storytellers can use to create more interest in the stories they are telling.
Both women shared stories, demonstrating the amazing gift they have for delivering a message. They demonstrated some of the tips they talked about including using props. They then asked for others to share their own stories.
One question some people had was where do these 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.
The individuals in attendance at the informational gathering came from various walks of life. Some were there because they already go out into the community and share their stories with others, there was a mother wishing to learn more stories to share with her children, an entertainer looking for new ways to reach his audience, a pastor who can always use stories to pass along his messages and others who were just curious. The story league is something that anyone can enjoy.
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.”
Currently the Tyrone storytellers are still in the building process. There will be another informational meeting for individuals who were unable to attend last week’s meeting.
On January 5 at 1 p.m. the storytellers will once again meet at the Tyrone-Snyder Public Library. Members of the Altoona Story League will be on hand to explain how the league will work and to answer any questions.
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.
