Literacy in Marion has been a focus for a century - what Ohio State Marion students, faculty discovered

Andrew Carter, The Marion Star

Promoting literacy has been woven into the community fabric of Marion dating back more than a century, according to a joint research project by The Ohio State University at Marion, Marion Women's Club, and Marion Public Library.

Ohio State Marion faculty members Margaret Sumner (associate professor of history), Nikole Patson (associate professor of psychology), and Ben McCorkle (English professor) led a group of six students who comprised the research team. Cheyenne Anderson, Stephanie Karrick, Autumn Schafer, Casey Schetter, Sydney Schryer, and Abigail Smith were the students who conducted research for the project.

"We recruited a crack team from all of our different majors — English, psychology, history, and education — and worked together as a team to do research at the Marion Women's Club," Sumner said. "The students spent hours digging away in the archives, then interviewing some influential Marion leaders, and also volunteering to read for the kids at the Marion Public Library. Through their research, you can see the history of Marion's literacy promotion, the current ideas about literacy, and then, of course, Marion's future, which is the kids at the library."

 

The research discovered that, in 1904, the Marion Women's Club was instrumental in convincing local leaders to accept a gift from steel baron and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to build a library in the city. Established in 1907, the Marion Public Library became a community leader in promoting literacy for children and adults, an effort that continues to the present day. Fast forward to 1957 and Ohio State University at Marion began promoting higher education by hosting programs such as Science Cafes and a public lecture series.

Anderson, an alumna of Ohio State Marion who is now studying medical humanities and social sciences at Ohio State in Columbus, said she had been working alongside Sumner on other projects related to the Marion Women's Club Home prior to the start of the literacy project.

"It really meant a lot to me to get back there and get involved, searching through the archives. I really felt like a club member. It was just amazing and really an eye-opening opportunity to be involved so much with the community," Anderson said. "Reading to kids was just fascinating because I love community work, outreach, advocacy, especially for literacy."

Anderson said doing the research for the literacy project and working directly with children falls right into line with her coursework in writing, rhetoric, and literacy focusing on the medical humanities and social sciences.

"Being able to talk, to communicate, to conduct interviews and that sort of thing is really vital and I really just enjoyed getting a toe in the water of how to do all this," Anderson said. "It's really amazing just to see what you can do with a group, a plan, a little bit of funding, and enough initiative on everybody's part to go out and put this whole thing together."

Community members contribute to project

A video created to accompany the research project features testimonials from six people about how their lives were impacted by people who encouraged them to read as youngsters. Tara Dyer, Rev. Jackie Peterson, Valerie Wigton, Heidi Jones, Kirk Detwiler, and Greg Rose each shared their experiences from their varied and diverse backgrounds.

"A lot of the (literacy) influence in my culture comes from African American churches, and of course your first piece of literature is the Bible," said Dyer, a current member of the Marion City Schools board of education, retired teacher, and community activist. "So when you ask about the interaction of people helping, that came in the form of helping to learn speeches for Christmas programs or Easter plays or even attending Bible school."

"Reading is fundamental, and if I didn't learn to read back then, I wouldn't be where I am now," said Peterson, pastor of Logos Christian Ministries and president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Marion.

"Our parents were involved with us from the beginning," said Wigton, president of the Marion Women's Club. "And it was usually dad saying, 'Do you have your homework done?' ... Mom, back in her day, was a valedictorian. ... She made sure that we got through school and we were all in honor society. ... I know that her influence and Dad's influence are still with me today."

"I'll be at the grocery store and I'll run into a kid and they'll say, 'Miss Heidi, do you remember when you tutored me in spelling and reading?'" said Jones, president of the Marion Area Chamber of Commerce. "And I'll say, 'Absolutely!' Best times of my life were in my early 20s (tutoring young students)."

"If you're in a play, talking about imagination, you take it into the third dimension because you not only have to read and understand the script, you have to interpret it for an audience," Detwiler, executive director of the Marion Palace Theatre, said in regard to his days at "Set the Stage" summer theater camp for youth. "You're basically making the words on the page come to life."

"I've always been a voracious reader," said Rose, dean and director of The Ohio State University at Marion. "I read a lot — all the time — and continue to read a lot, and I think that has had a significantly positive impact on my ability to write."

A traveling exhibit showing highlights of the research project has been created. The exhibit was unveiled for the public during an open house held Sept. 21, appropriately enough, at the library shared by Ohio State Marion and Marion Technical College.

In addition to Ohio State Marion, Marion Women's Club, and Marion Public Library, supporting partners for the project included Let's Read 20 and the Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives.

Email: ecarter@gannett.com