READFIELD — The grand opening of the Readfield Elementary School StoryWalk is set for 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, behind the school at 84 South Road.

The event will feature a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony, an inaugural walk along the trail, and Maine author and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Barbara Walsh will read from her newest book, “The Lobster Lady: Maine’s 102-Year-old Legend.” The book is illustrated by Maine artist Shelby Crouse. The book is about Virginia Oliver, the oldest lobster trapper in Maine, and maybe even the world, according to a news release from Walsh.

The StoryWalk project, a collaborative effort between the Readfield Community Library and the school, was funded with a Let’s Go! grant from Healthy Communities of the Capital Area.

“The Lobster Lady” was published in July. Oliver, known by her friends as Ginny, began catching lobsters off Rockland’s coast when she was a little girl, and she is still trapping crustaceans 94 years later. The spunky centenarian knows the secret to staying young is doing what one loves.

People often ask Oliver when she plans to stop lobstering. She smiles and tells them, “When I die.”

Walsh, a longtime journalist, enjoys writing books about special Maine people. She will be available after the event to sign copies of “The Lobster Lady” and her other five books, including “The Deer Man” and “The Goose Lady,” which also are true stories. Walsh also wrote “Sammy in the Sky,’ which is illustrated by renowned painter Jamie Wyeth.

In case of rain, the event will take place inside the school.

The StoryWalk project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont, and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library.

For more information about the StoryWalk event, call the library at 207-685-4089.

 

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