Washington library to begin ‘Stories From the Toy Box’

It is time for another community writing project! The Washington Public Library has held two projects in the past including the hugely popular Stories From the Recipe Box, a collection of favorite recipes and the stories, as well as Stories From the Apron Strings, a recent compilation of local apron anecdotes and photos.

These collections were gathered and put together into a printed booklet that the library sold as a fundraiser. They are also available digitally through the WPL’s subscription to Biblioboard, which is on our website at www.washington.lib.ia.us. Hover on the “Read, Listen, & Watch” tab and then choose “Resources For Writers” and then scroll down to the Discover area and click on “Visit Biblioboard Library.”

Our latest community writing project will get you reminiscing about your childhood. The project is entitled Stories From the Toy Box. Many of us can remember distinctive toys and games that we played as children. Some of our experiences are universal and others quite unique. We want to hear your memories and anecdotes of your toys.

Write up a piece of 100-1000 words and submit it and a photo, if possible, to the Washington Public Library. You can send it to us in three different ways. Submit to the link washingtonlibia.librariesshare.com/toybox or your can email your submission to leann.kunz@washington.lib.ia.us or you can mail your submission to the Washington Public Library, 115 W. Washington St., Washington, IA, 52353. The deadline is October 31. I hope to have the printed booklets available by holiday time.

If you need some inspiration to get you writing, join us for the new season of the Washington Writers’ Workshop starting on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 10 a.m. We are excited to be hosting our visiting writer, Karen Musser Nortman, an Iowan novelist. Karen Musser Nortman spent 22 years as a secondary social studies teacher and 18 years as a test specialist for ACT (formerly American College Testing) before retiring in 2011. Since then, she has written and published nineteen books in three series: the Frannie Shoemaker Campground Mysteries, the Time Travel Trailer series, and the Mystery Sisters series.

The WPL has several of these novels available for checkout. Karen and her husband camped for years in a 30-foot trailer and traveled through over 25 states in their retirement. When he passed away in 2020, Nortman sold the trailer and bought a 25-foot motor home. She has continued to camp with friends and a women’s group, the Midwest Glampers. Karen will give a presentation on the craft of writing during the first hour and we will workshop writer’s submissions, in any genre, during the second hour. It is sure to be an interesting and enriching morning.

I hope you will get writing and share your toy stories with the community through our project. I think there is nothing more valuable than preserving our memories, distinctive stories that can only be told by you.