Marion Assisted Living starts new community activity

By OLIVER GOOD

Staff writer

Community members may have recently noticed decorated rocks lurking in nooks and crannies of public places.

The painted stones are not lost “Pet Rocks” still lingering from a bygone craze. They are playing pieces in “Marion Rocks,” an ongoing scavenger hunt, recently implemented by Marion Assisted Living.

Director Bonnie Sawyer said they wanted to do something for the community that also would engage Assisted Living residents.

“We wanted to do something fun, especially for kids,” Sawyer said. “Our residents love interacting with kids.”

With the intent of bringing joy to someone’s day, residents produced about 20 uniquely painted rocks with images including a cat face, gravestone, mushroom house, ladybug, candy corn, and peace sign.

The object of the scavenger hunt is for people to find the rocks, post pictures of themselves with each rock they find to the Marion Rocks Facebook page, and then hide the rocks again in different places.

Sawyer said many rocks are hidden in Marion Central Park, but any public place, including Marion Reservoir and Marino Park and Lake, except for cemeteries and mowed areas, could prove a suitable as hiding spots.

There also are clues to the rocks’ locations on the Marion Rocks page.

“It’s something kids and parents can do together and it’s fun for our residents to see who found their rocks,” Sawyer said.

Tristen Cope of Stepping Stones Preschool in Marion said students also would decorate and hide more rocks sometime in the first week of November.

Sawyer encouraged the public to do the same. She emphasized that rock content and design should remain “family-friendly.”

More information is available by calling Sawyer at (620) 382-3000 or on the Marion Rocks Facebook page.