COLLINSVILLE, Okla. — It’s exciting to see people take an interest in their local history — but even more so when they’re nine years old.
2 News Oklahoma sat down with one Collinsville girl and her mom, making sure local kids know their city’s past.
All the old, brick buildings lining Collinsville’s Main Street have a story to tell. One girl and her mom want kids to know those stories, so they’re publishing a children’s book on this city’s history.
“We love Collinsville,” said Linda Tucker. “We just love history.”
The Tucker family bought an old building downtown and spent two years remodeling it. Now, it’s the family business, serving coffee to locals and those passing through.
“During that process, we learned a lot about the history of the building, but also learned about the history of the town and just all of the fun, quirky stories that happened here over time,” said Linda.
Maddie Tucker and her mom, Linda, are now trying to share them.
“My mom was on the phone with one of her friends, and she wanted to write a children's book, and I thought an idea of writing a history book with dogs,” Maddie recalled. “And then my mom started getting into it, so we just started writing it.”
The book is called “Lizzy’s Collinsville Adventure.”
When asked why it’s important to do this, Maddie replied, “I just think it might be important for everyone to know the history of their town, and they can learn more from just a book.”
The main character is their dog, Lizzy, who finds a treasure map, goes off on an adventure, and learns about fun treasures hidden throughout the city.
“I just think putting it in like a book with animals and stuff might make it more fun,” said Maddie, “and they might not even realize that they're actually learning some history.”
“I think the hardest part, at least for me, was actually figuring out what stories to tell because there's so many of them,” said Linda.
They wound up focusing on ten buildings in the downtown area. At each building, Lizzy meets a resident who gives her information about its history.
They even hired local artist Valerie Unruh to turn their words into pictures.
Linda told us when they started this project, Maddie was “working on her reading skills and her writing skills, and she was struggling just a little bit.”
“It has been fun for me, as a mom, to watch her progress and strengthen,” she added.
The Tuckers plan to donate some books to the local schools and libraries so it can be a resource for all.
They expect to finally publish “Lizzy’s Collinsville Adventure” before the year’s end.
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