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Hats Off | by |
| Column dedicated to sharing news about community activities, service projects, and other events that are important to the life of the residents of our "mountain." |
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published on 05/04/2006
Hats Off…to our Stars
By
sigmtn.com staff writer
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Stars are the symbols of many an organization, club, and groups of all ages. Why is that, I wonder? Could it the light that radiates from a star symbolizes the attributes of such organizations or clubs? Or does it represent the shining spirit of the men, women, and children of these groups? In grade school, getting a silver or gold star was special. We earned that star by doing something good – usually making a good grade, finishing a project, or by doing a good deed.
Many work hard to earn their stars but most earn them by just being themselves. Our mountaintop is filled with shining stars, people who just by being themselves shine in our lives. Last month two of those stars passed away. One was Sam Wright. I didn’t know Sam and had met him only a few times, but was impressed both times by his gentle voice and kind demeanor and devotion to the Town of Signal Mountain and its lands. He was a familiar figure at most all the got mountain vision planning sessions the Town initiated several years ago. I’m sure that Sam had a part in Goal One of the Long Range Plan, “Community – Maximize and plan for Recreation, Environment and Greenways, Cultural, and Land Use.” I remember the last time I spoke to Sam he was at the Lions Club Fourth of July barbeque at Althaus Park. We were standing with his daughter, Tracey Peele, talking to Loretta Hopper who is on the Stormwater Committee, about the Adopt-a-Stream program the Town sponsors. I remember thinking how lucky we were to live in a community where its citizens pride themselves by taking on such projects.
The other person was Irby Park. I first met Irby at the Signal Mountain Town Council meetings. He was reporting for the chattanoogan.com web site. I was impressed with his official press pass and sophisticated camera. He always sat on the front row and always had a smile on his face. It wasn’t much later that he showed up one evening with his head shaved. Going through chemotherapy for his cancer, he decided to shave it before it fell out, he said. He rarely missed a meeting and was always willing to share a picture with me as I was to share one with him. But it was the Irby Park, member of the Signal Mountain Lions Club that I remember most fondly. Once during a Town Council meeting, I praised the Lions Club for all the great things they do for this community and at the next Lions Club meeting, Irby came up to me and thanked me. “He was a model for the meaning of lionism,” according to its members. He was the current secretary and recipient of many Lions Club awards including the Melvin Jones Award. I’m sure that people who knew both of these men will agree with me that they will be sorely missed.
Another star in our community is alive and well and I don’t know is name. But I would like to thank the man who lives in the A-frame house at the S-curve on Signal Mountain Boulevard. How many people do you know who would take the time to clean a state highway? Not only has he worked hard to keep the side of the road clean around his home, he has extended his efforts to include the road all the way down the S-curve to the old Trolley Stop. If only TDOT (Tennessee Department of Transportation) had that much pride in their highways.
A star shining bright, lighting a path, ever present in our lives even if from a memory - may we all strive to shine in the lives of the people we touch
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