What Does it Mean to Be A Community

What does it mean to be a community? The definition of community is “people with common interests living in a particular area.” But a community encompasses so much more than just people living in a general area. Communities play a significant role in people's lives, as they provide social connections, support systems, a sense of belonging, and opportunities for collaboration and shared experiences.

Hamilton ISD’s third-grade teacher, Hamiltonian, Tiffani Logan, looked at Homecoming week as an opportunity to learn about communities. “With it being homecoming week, it was a perfect time to discuss how traditions have or haven’t changed through the years.”

Her third-grade social studies focus was “How Communities Change.” The students read and discussed how their grade had changed moving into a new school year. New teachers, new students moving in, and new classmates different from previous years make for a different dynamic. Then the focus turned to the community that they live in. Tiffani expressed “The students were very interested in what changes have been made to our community due to natural disasters, changes to the school, courthouse, downtown, and local businesses. They also discussed how communities changed over time due to ideas, technology, and inventions.”

There were several questions over when the courthouse was built. The students learned that the first courthouse of Hamilton County was built in only 8 short months and opened March 11, 1878. That building was destroyed by fire only 8 years later. The second courthouse was built in 1887. In 1932, the addition of wings and a bell tower made up the center of the building. The Hamilton Courthouse is the only one in

the state to have crenelated towers. In 2013 it was fully restored to its 1930s art deco form.

Tiffani asked several different volunteers to speak to her students about the Hamilton community. They ranged from newer transplants, such as second-grade teacher, Brittanie Clevenger, Assistant Principal and Coach, OJ Kemp, and lifelong Hamiltonians such as Paula Faust, Harmony Thompson, and Heather Hansard, in addition to those that moved in over 35 years ago, like Elementary Special Education and Inclusion teacher, Nicki Lamb.

Nikki enthralled the students telling them that her current home was one of the first homes with a telephone in Hamilton. The house was originally owned by a banker in town. His home and the bank were two of the first places in the community to have a telephone line installed. They particularly enjoyed it when Mrs. Lamb explained how copy machines used to work, that the ink was purple with an oddly satisfying smell!

Coach OJ Kemp spoke about her experiences moving into Hamilton. She expressed to the students how she got involved with local committees to learn how to make Hamilton better. She conveyed to the kids how important it was to find ways to bring value to your community.

Brittanie Clevenger said that Hamilton had changed in the short time she had been there. Brookshire Brothers grocery store had moved into its present location after another store closed, and they had built and opened up the Dollar Tree/Family Dollar. She expressed how history is kept

alive in different places around town. Brittanie asked the students if anyone had been in the new burger place, Woody’s. “There is an old sign from the football field, Kooken Field, inside of Woody’s. That is a way of keeping our history with us.”

Heather Hansard, a nurse's assistant, talked about the various changes made to the building where Country Donuts is currently located. “The donut shop used to be a mechanic shop. A married couple owned the building. He had his mechanic shop where the donut shop is, and his wife had her hair salon in the building right next to it.”

Technology Director, Harmony Thompson, chimed in “The entire school 1st-12th grades used to be in one building.” The third graders were stumped on how one hall used to be 1st-3rd grades, one hall 5th-8th grades, and the current Junior High housed the High School. When a student questioned how technology had changed, Heather said that her favorite time was going to the computer lab and playing Oregon Trail, because computers in the classroom didn’t exist.

Paula Faust, a second-grade teacher and lifelong Hamiltonian, captivated the students with tales of how Hamilton has changed over the course of her life. She spoke about how the Kindergarten building was down the hill by Kooken Field and the school was 1st-12th grades. Paula talked about playing games in the Rock Gym. One of the students piped up “Did it have air conditioning then?”

Paula laughed “No, that one thing has stayed the same!”

Paula explained to the class how there used to be more businesses in Hamilton Square. “There weren’t any dollar stores when I was growing up. We had the pharmacies, Wilson’s Electric, and a few stores that sold clothes,like Harelik’s.”

One thing that surprised all of the students was how much fuel cost, how people didn’t have to pump their fuel, but had someone at a filling station that would pump it for you.

The neighborhood's primary school, Ann Whitney Elementary, bears the name of Miss Ann Whitney, a teacher who lost her life defending her pupils from Comanches on July 9, 1867, during a raid. Ann Whitney hid the children under the

floorboards of the school during the attack, hiding them with her skirts.

Being from a small town and having family who were active in the history of the area is wonderful. Harmony Thompson, HISD Technology Director, told the story of her ancestor, Amanda Howard, a 17-year old girl who stumbled upon the attack while out for a ride with her sister-in-law. She rode to a nearby farm to escape the Comanches, and then had to evade the warriors to get help. In order to notify the townspeople, she would have to ride back past the Comanches for the crossing. At just 17 years old, Amanda was able to escape capture or death and alert the other settlers to the attack.

Tiffani added “While we are working through the unit on Communities, they are building on what it means to be part of a community, the importance of working together, serving others, and molding ourselves into strong leaders.”

A community helps provide those with a sense of belonging and shared purpose. Communities are the social units that form the foundation of human society. Recognizing and nurturing the importance of community can lead to stronger, more cohesive, and resilient societies.

Learning about the past can develop a sense of pride and understanding. As these students grow, learning about the world we live in can be sometimes depressing, sometimes scary, or sometimes overwhelming. However, there are many stories that people within the community can share with them to explain why something is the way that it is, or the times that the community comes together to help out a family in need. We hope they learn that as a result.

Fred Rogers, or Mr. Rogers as he was more well known as, has been famously quoted “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

A community's population may increase, decrease, or change. The town's shops, streets, and other landmarks will change. The true heart of the community, however, is found in the members, or "the helpers."