By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.–The Storybook Trail has opened at the Eiffel Tower Park in Paris and it allows young and old to read a book, “An Oak Tree Grows” while they’re walking.
The W.G. Rhea Library project is in collaboration with the Paris-Henry County Bicentennial Committee and the panels illustrate the story of a 200-year Oak tree, tracing its history and the changes that come with each new era of its existence. The book was chosen specifically to connect with the Bicentennial Committee’s planting of an Oak tree on the courthouse lawn during kickoff ceremonies in November.
At Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting, Library Board Chair Dr. Norma Gerrell–who is also the Director of the Paris Special Schools–said, “Reading is so fundamental to everything we do in life and this brings literacy in a new way.”
This project was made possible by a grant from the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation and in partnership with the City of Paris Parks & Recreation Department.
In photo, Library Director Kathy Collins thanks everyone who helped make the project come to fruition, while Assistant Director Jackie Mann, Chamber President Sam McDaniel and REAL Hope Director Carl Anderson look on. Photo by Shannon McFarlin.