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Socks and stories

Give him a sock, and he'll give you a story. Dale Pepin has been charming kids and adults alike with tales from the sock drawer — or treasure chest — since he retired from being a school teacher about 12 years ago.
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Dale Pepin is sharing stories from the sock drawer at Theatre Cambrian to help raise funds for the company. Photo by Jenny Jelen.

Give him a sock, and he'll give you a story.

Dale Pepin has been charming kids and adults alike with tales from the sock drawer — or treasure chest — since he retired from being a school teacher about 12 years ago.

He has three separate trunks, each of which contains about 30 socks; none of them have mates, but each one does have a different object in it. That object is what makes the story.

Pepin said there are Christmas ornaments, dollar store knick-knacks and other small items shoved into the toes of the matchless socks.

Finding things to fit into the socks is the biggest challenge, followed closely by coming up with stories. Each sock has its own story, a story for every sock, based around the item in it. If it's a piece of jewelry, Pepin said he would share a tale like Ali Baba.

“Some of them are lesson stories, and some of them are just for fun,” Pepin said.


The lifelong storyteller said he came up with the idea when he realized how many lonely socks his wife had collected during her days as a Girl Guide leader. When he retired from teaching, he didn't want to stop telling stories, so he kept it up with help from the foot mittens.

“I'm sharing what I consider our heritage with our children,” he said. He's also encouraged them to turn to reading, and letting them have a bit of fun.

Oftentimes, the adults who bring the kids to Story Sock time enjoy the stories just as much.

“I believe they are timeless and cross-generational,” he said.

On March 25, at 1 and 3 p.m., the community is invited to hear stories from the sock drawer at Theatre Cambrian. Tickets to the Theatre Cambrian fundraiser can be purchased for $5 in advance or $8 at the door.

For more information, phone 705-524-7317 ext. 0 or visit storysocks.com.

Posted by Arron Pickard 


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