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Parks & Environmental Services
The streets of Eufaula are alive with the sound of music By BETH ANNE BRINK-COX | The Municipal
Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast, it is said, and while that sounds Shakespearian, it is not. This proverb comes from the play, “The Mourning Bride,” by William Congreve, an English author of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. In more modern language, music has the power to enchant even the roughest of people. It has healing and therapeutic powers, and it can also lift spirits and bring together a community, which has become more necessary than ever in these last tumultuous years. Research confirms that experiencing music in nature positively engages the brain, builds social symmetry and creates harmonious communities. Eufaula, Okla., knows that and has created a public gift for everyone, affecting how you can experience music. “The Eufaula Music Trail is an 11-piece ensemble throughout historic downtown Eufaula that anyone can play at any time. Music should be interactive, healing and expressive, not passive, static and expected. Ordinary people making extraordinary music — that’s what we hope to accomplish,” said Adam White, Eufaula’s city manager. “The music trail project intends to bring people together and enhance the whole person — mind, body, spirit and sense of being in your community.” White added, “I had the idea for a music trail when brainstorming solutions to a few different problems in our community — physical 40 THE MUNICIPAL | FEBRUARY 2022
Eufaula Music Trail engages all ages with its fun colors and shapes, encouraging residents and visitors to make their own joyful noises. (Photo provided)
health, social isolation from the pandemic, encouraging community participation with our downtown merchants and social polarization, to list a few. These are pervasive issues in small towns across the world. “The Eufaula Music Trail provides a catalyst to solve many of these concerns. If two things bring different people together, it’s food and music … I can’t cook,” said White, smiling. In the fall of 2021, the city of Eufaula won AARP’s Community Challenge Grant, one of three awarded in the state. “The city of Eufaula
and AARP have built a solid relationship since mid-2020. Joy McGill, the AARP Oklahoma associate state director of outreach, was phenomenal to work with on various projects in Eufaula. I brought the idea up to Joy, who encouraged me to apply for the AARP Community Challenge Grant. I can’t express my appreciation enough for Joy’s work in Eufaula. If every community had Joy McGill as a partner, our world would be a lot brighter,” said White.
