Visit Knox Ohio is seeking stories from all across the county

MOUNT VERNON — I was delighted to hear that Knox Pages was contacted this week by Olivia Toth from Visit Knox Ohio. This is the visitor’s bureau that has been a central part of promoting Knox County for many years.

The agency is currently working in collaboration with the library on a story collecting project, so I wanted to make sure and help promote this worthy project.

Here’s the text of the news release, with links:

In partnership with the Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County, we are attempting to collect 250 unique and local stories from around Knox County. 

The initiative aims to collect and preserve contemporary stories, memories, and personal histories that define the unique people and places of Knox County as the nation looks toward its 250th  anniversary in 2026.

 Remember when your family first settled here? 
 Remember your first date at an old theater? 
 Remember a special parade or event? 
 Remember why you chose a school or job here?
 Remember an old building, attraction or business that is no longer here?
 Remember an impactful person who has shaped their community in Knox County?
 Remember what was life like growing up in Knox?

While these are just a few prompts to get you started, read our most recent Knox Voices submission.

No matter the story, big or small, it all has shaped the fabric of Knox County. Every story is welcome as we take this next year to reflect on Knox County, Ohio, and America’s 250th anniversary.

The Knox Voices Google Form will be open from now until the end of 2026, so please share this form with your neighbors, friends, students, faculty, family or more; we need your voice to celebrate Knox.
 
For more questions about this project and America250-OH initiatives contact marketing@visitknoxohio.org.

If you or the storyteller would prefer to send a handwritten story, please send your stories to the Knox County Convention & Visitors Bureau ATTN: Knox Voices, 501 South Main Street, Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050. 

This is exactly the sort of project which is important to do, not least of because I’ve noticed that social media has devolved into sharing memes and pictures of pets.

While those can be fun, they don’t give the context of personal stories. Sure, you may think, “Why would anyone want to hear my story, I’m no one important.”

But consider this: Whatever your system of belief, it happens to be a fact that there is not one other person in this world that has seen the exact same things you have seen.

Even if you had someone standing at your side you whole life, looking at the same things you looked at, they would have their own reactions, thoughts, and ideas about what you both saw.

That’s why it’s important to collect stories.

Perhaps 50, 100, even 500 years from now, someone could look at your story and get a better understanding about what life was like in Knox County, Ohio, in the 20th and 21st centuries.

So, considering that I’m leading some workshops on this exact subject right now in Morrow
County, let me share a couple of starting tips:

 First, don’t worry about grammar, spelling, or sounding professional. That’s not important. If you want to clean it up later, or have a friend look it over before you submit it, that’s fine. But the important thing is to get your memories down in words.
 Second, it can be a major event, or it can be a small memory. They’re both important, so don’t dismiss the value of a small slice-of-life moment.
 Third, share the idea of saving a story with other people. The more, the better.

People will someday wonder who we were, and our stories will tell them.