Feb. 5, 2010
FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH: What Goes Into The Making Of Renaissance
By Christopher Worth
When I was a boy I had the opportunity to meet a lot of boys from Father Flannigan Boys Town. My school bus in Bridgeport, Connecticut would stop at the gates of the boys home, and I would peer out the window and see the campus unfolding beyond the gate and think to myself, "Maybe I could find a family there. Maybe they would accept me there."
Unfortunately, or fortunately (depending on how you look at it), I was an orphan too young to be in their system, to respond to their structure, to be molded by their goals and desires to create a well rounded individual. At least, that's what I thought came out of those gates. But as the bus geared up and rolled away, I am brought back to this time and place.
This afternoon, I got the opportunity to visit the A.D. Lewis Center. As I rolled into the parking lot, I looked at the ground around the center, including its pool, and at the Barnett Center Weed and Seed building within earshot of it's front door….and I thought, "What an amazing campus this would be!" I could see a space where many different entities would come together to form a continuum of care for these children in Huntington's community.
The A.D. Lewis Center with its attention to a child's physical and emotional well-being and room for potential growth... The Barnett Center Weed and Seed with its focus on co-ordination of resources, intellectual programming, and its overall concern with the larger community's area of potential growth. These two entities are, in my mind, inseparable, though they both have their own independent operational systems. They are independent centers doing work within the community; this work finds overlap. So as I roll into the building and I am greeted by one of the Barnett Center's mother figures with the brightest smile and the heartiest gesture, I can't help but think to myself, "What if these two entities found a way to physically come together and yet still remain independent?"
I know, for example, that the staff at the Barnett Center come and pick up some of the children from A.D. Lewis and take them to the museum. They've been going up there for a pottery class, and to me this exchange is a brilliant one! I belong to a team as an offshoot of "Get To Know Your Neighbor," a community action organization, who are going into the A.D. Lewis Center and putting on a Mardi Gras celebration. My team is making masks and preparing for a mini Mardi Gras festival.
There are two men behind the scenes. One at the A.D. Lewis Center and one at the Barnett Center. The A.D. Lewis Center's director is Bob Martin. He is a humble, quiet man who is just doing what he can for his community, for his children. Note that I am not just saying he is doing what he can. He most recently has had an illness that has hospitalized him, yet he was at the A.D. Lewis Center today. He does his work without press, without flash…it is like the farmer tilling the field with a horse and plow. Slow and steady, one child at a time he brings life to a barren field by planting the seed of a healthy child.
Tim White, the man at the helm of the Weed and Seed, has a slightly different approach. He is dealing with the wider issues of the community. He brings press to himself to enhance the overall vision of a Huntington transformed. He is dealing with the larger machine. When I think of him, I think of Henry Ford; following the image, turning out the new vision, making accessible to people who haven't had it -- the wider world of hope. These two people, in my mind, taking into account my explanation of them, one the patient farmer, the other an industrialist, mindful of the value of providing a vehicle towards wider perception…both of these people have a vision for a better world that is valid. They both dreamed of a place where the fertile mind can take root. And so, their systems, their programs, their desires do run in tandem with each other. They are providing an outlet and safe space for the growth of a Renaissance for Huntington, West Virginia.
As I rolled to my bus stop, the vision hit me again. A campus shared between these two buildings. Communal resources partnered while keeping themselves financially independent is possible.
My dream is of a Renaissance, of poets, businessmen, painters, scientists, all being born out of a shared vision. This would call for Huntington's help. Recognize what you have in Huntington. Know what is being born out of programs like these, and embrace it.
While projects supported by the Barnett Center and the Weed and Seed are well funded and have had great community response, I urge my readers to turn your eyes upon the A.D. Lewis Center. Bob Martin and his staff are truly working on a shoestring budget through the city. Do not think if you have ever donated to the Weed and Seed that you're donating to the A.D. Lewis Center as well. They are two separate entities. Both need our support for their individual missions. If you are giving one money, give the other one physical time. If you are giving one time, give the other some financial support. We need as much of these two things as we can get in Huntington entire.
I believe a Renaissance is upon us, and for what it's worth it is up to us to embrace it through programs and community action within this city.
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FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH: What Goes Into The Making Of Renaissance
By Christopher Worth
When I was a boy I had the opportunity to meet a lot of boys from Father Flannigan Boys Town. My school bus in Bridgeport, Connecticut would stop at the gates of the boys home, and I would peer out the window and see the campus unfolding beyond the gate and think to myself, "Maybe I could find a family there. Maybe they would accept me there."
Unfortunately, or fortunately (depending on how you look at it), I was an orphan too young to be in their system, to respond to their structure, to be molded by their goals and desires to create a well rounded individual. At least, that's what I thought came out of those gates. But as the bus geared up and rolled away, I am brought back to this time and place.
This afternoon, I got the opportunity to visit the A.D. Lewis Center. As I rolled into the parking lot, I looked at the ground around the center, including its pool, and at the Barnett Center Weed and Seed building within earshot of it's front door….and I thought, "What an amazing campus this would be!" I could see a space where many different entities would come together to form a continuum of care for these children in Huntington's community.
The A.D. Lewis Center with its attention to a child's physical and emotional well-being and room for potential growth... The Barnett Center Weed and Seed with its focus on co-ordination of resources, intellectual programming, and its overall concern with the larger community's area of potential growth. These two entities are, in my mind, inseparable, though they both have their own independent operational systems. They are independent centers doing work within the community; this work finds overlap. So as I roll into the building and I am greeted by one of the Barnett Center's mother figures with the brightest smile and the heartiest gesture, I can't help but think to myself, "What if these two entities found a way to physically come together and yet still remain independent?"
I know, for example, that the staff at the Barnett Center come and pick up some of the children from A.D. Lewis and take them to the museum. They've been going up there for a pottery class, and to me this exchange is a brilliant one! I belong to a team as an offshoot of "Get To Know Your Neighbor," a community action organization, who are going into the A.D. Lewis Center and putting on a Mardi Gras celebration. My team is making masks and preparing for a mini Mardi Gras festival.
There are two men behind the scenes. One at the A.D. Lewis Center and one at the Barnett Center. The A.D. Lewis Center's director is Bob Martin. He is a humble, quiet man who is just doing what he can for his community, for his children. Note that I am not just saying he is doing what he can. He most recently has had an illness that has hospitalized him, yet he was at the A.D. Lewis Center today. He does his work without press, without flash…it is like the farmer tilling the field with a horse and plow. Slow and steady, one child at a time he brings life to a barren field by planting the seed of a healthy child.
Tim White, the man at the helm of the Weed and Seed, has a slightly different approach. He is dealing with the wider issues of the community. He brings press to himself to enhance the overall vision of a Huntington transformed. He is dealing with the larger machine. When I think of him, I think of Henry Ford; following the image, turning out the new vision, making accessible to people who haven't had it -- the wider world of hope. These two people, in my mind, taking into account my explanation of them, one the patient farmer, the other an industrialist, mindful of the value of providing a vehicle towards wider perception…both of these people have a vision for a better world that is valid. They both dreamed of a place where the fertile mind can take root. And so, their systems, their programs, their desires do run in tandem with each other. They are providing an outlet and safe space for the growth of a Renaissance for Huntington, West Virginia.
As I rolled to my bus stop, the vision hit me again. A campus shared between these two buildings. Communal resources partnered while keeping themselves financially independent is possible.
My dream is of a Renaissance, of poets, businessmen, painters, scientists, all being born out of a shared vision. This would call for Huntington's help. Recognize what you have in Huntington. Know what is being born out of programs like these, and embrace it.
While projects supported by the Barnett Center and the Weed and Seed are well funded and have had great community response, I urge my readers to turn your eyes upon the A.D. Lewis Center. Bob Martin and his staff are truly working on a shoestring budget through the city. Do not think if you have ever donated to the Weed and Seed that you're donating to the A.D. Lewis Center as well. They are two separate entities. Both need our support for their individual missions. If you are giving one money, give the other one physical time. If you are giving one time, give the other some financial support. We need as much of these two things as we can get in Huntington entire.
I believe a Renaissance is upon us, and for what it's worth it is up to us to embrace it through programs and community action within this city.
Share This Story:
Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
