Article for 6/15/05 Trinity Journal
Gail Goodyear
Give Back to the Community That Raised You
When Pomp and Circumstance fills the air and students become alumni, the celebration builds enthusiasm for graduates to give back to their community. Some give back immediately by entering the local workforce, building families and participating in public activities. Others may move away to build their lives and wait until later to share their bounty and skills with the community that supported them from childhood to adulthood. Strong communities are built with the support of adults who were raised in the community and who work to better the place. As part of their reunion activities, the Trinity High School (THS) Class of 1975 is promoting donation to community projects. It is their way of saying thank you for this incredible county and for the people who make life good.
Trinity County is a great place to raise kids. The beautiful places and history keep Trinitarians respectful of wilderness and tied to a long line of dreamers, outdoor adventurers, preservationists, artists and people who view the world as can-do. In such a setting, there are opportunities for families and communities of families. Here our citizens invest in their own children and those that others are raising. There is a comfort in knowing help and a caring attitude is right around the corner or just across the draw. There is a philosophy of giving that is passed from generation to generation. Throughout Trinity County, we see the work of those who have given their time, money and ideas.
We have well-marked and documented sites and buildings. Each community has a museum, library, cemetery, and/or public display of its history. A cadre of volunteers carries on the work necessary for this historic preservation. There is an on-going effort to record valuable information for future generations.
We have parks, pools, playgrounds and trails that show off our forested mountainous terrain. Maps of these places to visit are available at grocery stores, galleries, libraries and museums.
Our schools, camps, churches and youth organizations offer student activities that allow individual expression and team efforts. Our rural, remote communities promote development of rugged individualism in our young people. Creative ways to do and think often come with experiences gained here. Our youth learn to use a cooperative approach in building trails and amphitheatres, in picking up garbage and beautifying public spaces, and in fixing and serving food for large community gatherings. Youth also have competitive opportunities in academics, athletics, and at the county fair. Community efforts, such as Rotary sponsored Challenge Day, have provided students with opportunities to decide what they want their school to be like and how they want students to show respect for each other. Friendships built in our schools often last a lifetime.
Our families benefit from a pace that lets them enjoy the place and its people. It still takes five minutes or less to drive across a Trinity County town. People honking their horns are usually trying to alert animals of their oncoming vehicle. There is often only one person in line at the grocery store counter. Professionals take time to chat or help a neighbor and they go earlier or stay a little later on the job to meet their obligations. Relationships and respectfulness is important here. Our communities have personalities and people with personalities! Part of our fun and creativity come from the uniqueness of our towns and their inhabitants.
There is strong evidence of Trinity County goodness by the actions of those who contribute because they can and they believe the future will be better because of their time and effort. Certainly, the philosophy of “work is love made visible” guided Camp Trinity founder Grover Gates and the work of his contemporaries. Our present day towns are better because of people who have passed before us, such as Grover and Irma Gates, Hazel Wilburn, Ed Scott, Ed and Geneva Murrison, Irene Root, Leonard and Florence Morris, Marcene Parkan, Norma Adrian, Marian Karch, Hap and Millie Miller, Chet and Paula Flint, and Jake Jackson. These are only a few who have cared deeply and given generously to this place and its people. Some of their friends and family are still among us and toiling away at their community work. The motivation and contributions of all our volunteers inspire the generations that follow.
People raised here often find they can make a difference. Ways people make a difference varies and that is what makes life here particularly entertaining. On one day you may be thinking “why is that person doing that?” and on the next you may say “I never imagined such good would come of that work.”
Alumni financial contributions can really make a difference in Trinity County where the average per capita income is around $17,000. Providing financial support for community projects can make possible both dreams and building plans. The reunion theme “Give Back to the Community That Raised You” is building momentum and the Class of 1975 hopes that alumni giving back to the community become an annual tradition.
Three friends, Jan Parkan Hazen (THS), Sheri Vance Bestul (HHS) and Gail Goodyear (THS), are promoting “Give Back to the Community” fundraising for three capital building projects. This year the Trinity High Class of ’75 is promoting donation to the Lowden Aquatic Park Project (LAPP). Those interested in supporting this project will mail their checks to LAPP, P.O. Box 2881, Weaverville CA 96093. In Hayfork, the fundraising effort is focused on Eskaton Hayfork Manor (EHM) and contributors are writing their checks to EHM, P.O. Box 1577, Hayfork, CA 96041. Those who wish to financially support an all-county organization are sending their checks to the Trinity County Historical Society (TCHS), P.O. Box 333, Weaverville CA 96093 for its J. J. Jackson Museum building fund. Donation checks made payable to LAPP, EHM and TCHS are tax deductible. Alumni from all classes, and their friends, are invited to donate. Alumni are asked to write their THS, HHS and STHS Class Year on the information line of the check. For additional information, call 530-623-4822.
On Saturday of each 4th of July weekend, the Trinity High alumni gather at Lowden Park from 2-4PM. Hayfork High alumni visit with their former classmates at the Trinity County Fair. Greg Greenwood of TrinityCam has generously volunteered to centralize reunion information on his website. Find and post promotional information at the http://www.trinitycam.com index for reunions. Reunion webmasters for individual classes and groups of classes are linking their sites to the TrinityCam site. Connect with your classmates, and wherever you are, enjoy the community that comes with having spent part of your life in Trinity!