photo by: Shelley Hanson

Local leaders stand at the beginning of the new Story Walk at East End Park in Moundsville on Monday. From left are Moundsville City Manager Rick Healy; Moundsville Parks & Recreation Director John White; Marshall County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Scott Reager; WesBanco Banking Center Manager Jake Ricelli, a chamber member; Kimberly Green, executive director of the Marshall County Family Resource Network; and Jodi Clark, family support center program coordinator at Marshall County Family Resource Network.

Families using the East End Park in Moundsville now have another free activity to enjoy there.

A story walk has been installed along the walking trail, thanks to the efforts of the Marshall County Family Resource Network and the city of Moundsville.

A celebratory ribbon cutting was held Monday by the Marshall County Chamber of Commerce, with city leaders and FRN officials in attendance.

“A lot of our families are always looking for free or low-cost activities to do with their families,” said Kimberly Green, executive director of the Marshall County FRN. “So we thought this would be a great thing to incorporate into East End in Marshall County.”

Every few yards, a couple of pages from a book can be found enclosed atop a pole along the trail. This quarter’s book is “I Am Yoga” by Susan Verde. Children can read about yoga and also try out yoga poses along the way.

“It’s promoting literacy and physical fitness,” she said, adding there are 16 total book page stations on the trail.

FRN’s funding for the project came via a nearly $3,000 grant from Try This West Virginia. The city’s parks and recreation department provided the labor.

“At the FRN, we try to fill in the gaps where the needs exist,” Green said. “We work really closely with families in Marshall County. … We thought this was a fun outdoor activity and another fun addition to East End Park that is very beneficial to the families.”

The park also features a playground, pickleball courts, exercise court, skate park, basketball courts, the indoor swimming pool, hillside slides, ball fields and more.

City Manager Rick Healy said the story walk was the FRN’s idea. He said if one stays on the trail and also walks on the sidewalks on the opposite side of the ballfields, the entire trek is a half-mile long. The story walk pages are located only on the park trail portion.

“This just gives an opportunity for something else to do while you are here,” he said. “Parents can walk along with their kids and read it to them or the kids can read it. This is just another addition to this ever-growing park here.”

Healy said the city is still making plans to install a batting cage in the future at the park. And it is always looking into new playground equipment that might fit well. He noted people continue to sponsor benches for the park, too.