Featuring: Anne Wallace
Exemplar Librarian, Happy Collaborator, Comforter of Veterans
Anne Wallace was part of an Army family and traveled the world that included Canada, Alaska, Japan, Egypt, China, Bahrain and Belgium. Every place she lived, she absorbed the stories while also working to ease the burdens of veterans and others connected to military life. Eventually, she got to settle in Fayetteville, Georgia. She surrounded herself with stories and then shared these stories with others.
Beyond these adventures, I am intrigued by her National Librarian of the Year for School Libraries. Being a librarian myself, this is a great honor she received and reveals a hint of the service that was always part of her life. She was known to teach storytelling workshops at the library that participants remember and benefit to this day.
She served in so many ways including on the Youth, Educators, and Storytellers (YES) Board. In fact, we served at the same time. Our conference calls were inspiring, and she has much experience to share in working with youth. For example, she mentored youth who made it to the National Youth Storytelling Olympics (now called National Youth Storytellers) who were selected and performed in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. She deservedly received the Senachie Award in 2008 with her continued work with youth.
Then came the pandemic in 2020. Rather than sitting around, Anne Wallace approached the Peachtree City Library during the shutdown. She encouraged videos to be posted online from youth and local storytellers due to in-person programming was not possible. The first video shared as a result of Anne’s request was of Casey W.
I did find Anne’s LinkedIn account where she gave herself an interesting name: “Teller-in-Waiting.” She claimed that title since January 1990 and onward to the day she passed. I have heard of “Teller-in-Residence” but never “Teller-in-Waiting.” I wish I could get Anne’s insight on this part. Though, it can reveal her mindset on the art of storytelling – waiting to tell that next story, waiting to connect with that next listener, waiting to celebrate the art of being human. May we all be a “Teller-in-Waiting.”
Now, I will need to wait until the other side to be a “Listener-in-Waiting” for Anne Wallace.
If you have links to add – video, audio, articles – please share by emailing info@storycrossroads.org or commenting on this blog post.
You can see more details on Anne Wallace with the Story Artists Memorial.
The video below is a story told on a farm (with usual sounds including a rooster) as she tells of rabbit and fox.
Do you know a Story Artist who has passed on and want others to remember them? Memories? Pictures? You can submit names and memories of Story Artists who have passed on through our online form.
I appreciate Anne Wallace for seeking ways for youth and others to tell stories. She served with vigor and will always be loved for it.
Anne still has a story. You have a story. We all have stories.
Anne was a dear friend and fellow librarian. She was a jewel.