When Lake Eufaula recently reached a stage of more than nine feet above normal, the flooding almost destroyed StoryWalk.

StoryWalk is an attraction created by the library in the Eufaula Cove to encourage reading and exercise.

More than a dozen reading stations line a walking trail near the lake’s shore. At each station there is a page from a story. The pages are placed inside transparent plexiglass cases and Young readers walk the trail and read.

When the lake’s water was at near-record levels, the stations were underwater.

After the water receded, work had to be done to get it back in shape, said Robyn Burris, treasurer of the Friends of Eufaula Memorial Library.

She and her husband, Randy Burris, update the books used on the trail each month.

The story and background panels that were in when the flood hit, had to be thrown away.

Also, plexiglass panels at each station had to be hosed off and scrubbed to remove the dirt.

“Then librarians Michelle and Danielle gave the panels a final cleaning,” Burris said.

City of Eufaula workers located the missing case and straightened up those that had been made askew by the rising water.

Finally the new story was put into place August 6.

“So come out for a walk and read the new book ‘Baby Bear’s Chairs’, “ Burris said.

As with each book, when you get to the end there is a secret word. Tell that secret word to the librarians at Eufaula Memorial Library to receive a prize.

StoryWalk is a creation of the Eastern Oklahoma Library System and is sponsored by the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, Oklahoma State Department of Health, and Institute of Museum and Library Services.