Courtesy photo / Altoona Story League member Rhonda Cadle shares a story about a soldier with a Bible in his pocket that stopped a bullet from entering his heart at a luncheon with the Senior Saints club at Grace Bible Church.

Attendees of the Altoona Story League meetings are treated to a history lesson this year as they hear tales of the American experience to mark the country’s 250th birthday.

Everyone can tell a story about America, no matter what part of the country their story originates in, said Sharon Jubeck, music and communications coordinator.

“It all ties us together,” she said.

As an original chapter of the National Story League, regional educators created the Altoona Story League in 1935. While the national organization eventually dissolved, the Altoona chapter remains one of the few functioning ones.

Club members still recognize the importance of oral storytelling, as it was the first form of broadcasting and entertainment.

“We want to communicate with people the love of storytelling because everyone has a story to tell,” she said.

League beginnings

Teacher Ruth Hunt is one of the educators credited with bringing the program to Altoona in 1935, where it served as an outing for people to share both original and published stories.

Meetings were usually held at St. James Lutheran Church on Eighth Avenue, where they are still held today.

A few years later, Altoona Area English teacher Ruby Crum developed a junior reading group within the story league chapter, encouraging children to share stories.

Linda Sommer, ambassador for the Altoona Story League, said Crum’s junior story league became popular within the local community.

When she wears her Altoona Story League sweatshirt around town, some people will approach her by saying that they were a member of Crum’s Story League.

“Crum had a heart for children,” Sommer said.

Sommer joined the league in 1977 after securing a city job upon graduation from Shippensburg University. Her aunt asked her to join, as the league was searching for more members.

“It was a back door entrance to the league,” she said, as she learned storytelling through her participation.

At one point, the Altoona Story League had about 70 members, Jubeck said.

Meanwhile, the National Story League was split into three sections — east, central and west — based on the chapter’s location in the country, Sommer said. They also held national conventions, with the league’s 100th anniversary held in Altoona in 2003.

The league ultimately disbanded in the 21st century as member enrollment declined across the nation. The Altoona chapter remained intact, however, developing into its own nonprofit organization.

Sharing stories, old and new

From March to June and September to December, Altoona Story League members visit nursing homes, such as Garvey Manor and Maybrook, and other venues to tell select stories or play music while residents listen in.

They currently have about 17 members of both men and women.

Each year, the league formulates a different theme that guides its participants in telling stories pertaining to that subject.

They’ve previously done themes such as “Ladies of the White House,” “The Abolition Trail” and “Stories Around the World,” according to Jubeck.

Choosing historical themes encourages members to conduct their own research while motivating members to take their stories in different directions each year, she said.

And the stories read aloud don’t have to be published, League President Susan Crawford said. They can be both originals or previously published pieces from another source.

This year’s theme of Americana encouraged Crawford to tell an in-depth story about the history of the Liberty Bells during the Revolutionary War.

Titled, “The Liberty Bell: An American Symbol and Narrow Escape,” Crawford said, Patriots transported liberty bells through Richland, Bethlehem and then Allentown, until they were hidden underneath a church floorboard at Old Zion’s Reformed Church.

Once the war ended, the bell was brought out of hiding, as some were fearful the Loyalists would melt them down, she said.

League members “seek to preserve stories that appeal to all ages,” she said. “It’s the oldest form of communication known to man.”

Socialization and communication

In late February, league members were invited by the Senior Saints group of Grace Bible Church for a luncheon where Americana stories were read to about 50 people.

Member Rhonda Cadle told a story about an American soldier who was protected from a bullet entering his heart by a Bible that was in his pocket, according to their Facebook posting.

As a former teacher, Jubeck believes there isn’t enough American history included in high school or college-level social studies textbooks. Now that she’s retired, she can continue telling these stories to children, too.

“Children love to hear stories when they go to their grandparents and hear stories when they were little,” she said, as stories are “something that transforms from family to family.”

Sharing stories in person also keeps phones out of sight, member Cathy Levelle said.

“For today’s culture, so many people, their socialization is over the phone or not being in person,” she said, as sharing stories in person encourages face-to-face communication.

And sharing stories in person can convey emotions inside the storyteller and the audience, depending on the story’s context.

“If it’s something personal and meaningful, they (readers) can relive that experience, and it can be impactful by listening to someone’s story and understanding what’s going on in someone else’s life,” she said.

The club is looking to reignite the passion behind the Altoona Story League, such as reestablishing Crum’s legendary junior league. Another possibility includes telling stories inside public libraries, Jubeck said, where children can also become involved in the league.

“We just want to tell stories and transport them to a different place,” she said. “It would be really nice to keep it going, I’ve gotten so much out of it.”

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.