Pictured is Red Nartos (Ostrander backwards), the first door Amy Margraff put up as part of Ostrandoors.
Courtesy photos | Amy Margraff
There is an interesting activity for families in Ostrander to participate in called Ostrandoors. Spread out across the village of Ostrander, there are tiny doors in all sorts of places: parks, trails, etc. Those who are able to find all of the doors can receive a small reward from the Ostrander Branch Library.
To participate, a guide to all of the doors can be found at the Ostrander library, Mill Creek Carryout, Midway Market and the BANC in Ostrander. With a guide in hand, the search throughout the village for the small doors begins. They can be found on trees, fences, and other areas as well. When a participant finds one of the miniature doors, they write down the location of the door under its picture on the guide. Continue to search for doors and fill up the list of locations. Once the list is complete, participants can turn it in at the Ostrander library, 75 N. 4th St., for a reward. Ostrandoors asks that participants post pictures of their tiny door adventure on Facebook and Instagram, tracking @Ostrandoors.
Social media posts show families have been enjoying the activity.
“Had a great day hunting for miniature doors in downtown Ostrander today,” Laurie Ward Smith wrote in an Instagram post on Aug. 11, 2022.
The idea of Ostrandoors was created by Ostrander Village Council member Amy Margraff in the summer of 2021 as an activity for residents and visitors to participate in. She combined several of her creative hobbies to invent the door trail.
“I love miniature doll houses and fairy gardens and any type of scavenger hunt, so I decided to combine all these things into a tiny door hunt that was unique to Ostrander. Ideally, I wanted it to be something fun for the locals to discover, while also providing a unique and interesting activity for visitors to seek out,” Margraff said.
The first door was put on Margraff’s mailbox post on June 8, 2021. Since then, 29 more have been created.
With more than two dozen different doors spread out all over Ostrander, families are encouraged to go out and try and fill up their list with all of the locations.
Make sure to check out the @Ostrandoors Facebook page or email [email protected] for more information.
Kristine Anyanechi is an intern for The Delaware Gazette.
