I have been honored in recent months to be invited to groups to talk about the Ironton Farmers Market and other projects I am involved in as a board member of Ironton aLive, particularly the downtown.

The latest group I was invited to speak to was the 60-year reunion of the IHS class of 1954. If you do the math you will realize that these folks are senior citizens. The invitation to speak came indirectly from a couple that lives out of town and follow my posts on social media.

The fact that Ironton citizens in that age group are interested in progress that is being made in Ironton was not a surprise to me, but the idea that folks that have not lived here since graduating from high school are keeping up with the progress was inspiring.

Talking to the local reunion organizers, it didn’t take long to understand they didn’t want to hear about the progress already made, such as the new restaurants and the hotel. They were interested in what was in the pipeline, will the progress continue?

I was happy to report to them the many plans, such as the riverfront, including the boat dock, the walking and bike paths. I showed them drawings of possible structures in that area. I talked about the possibility of people living downtown.

I also talked about the three and a half alley project, showing them renderings of what that area could look like in the future. I mentioned the Memorial Hall project and the plans of saving the building front and constructing a park within, as I showed a drawing.

The new bridge was a subject of interest and I spoke of the positive effect that will have on the downtown. Being the co-chair of Ironton aLive I spoke of that organization and the way they are working to drive more businesses downtown.

I gave Friends of Ironton credit for the tremendous job they have done and will continue to do at the Ro-Ns and other projects, such as the spray park. I gave the mayor and the city council members credit for working together for the betterment of the city.

They listened intently and asked questions; they were very interested in the Memorial Hall project. The evening proved something I had always suspected, which is this. This age group has a passion for this town. They know what it was as they were growing up, but are not living in the past, they want the positive progress to continue even though they might never see all of the results. I didn’t hear a negative remark all evening; these are proud people.

The reason I understand this age group is simple, I am very close to their age and I have visions that will surpass my lifetime. After I had spoken one of the class members stood and spoke about what she had just heard and suggested they pass a hat for donations to be used in a present project.

Due to the interest they had in the memorial hall I will turn over their donation to that project. They collected $153, thank you IHS class of 1954.

These are some of the people the makes Ironton a very special place.

 

Sam Heighton

Ironton Farmers Market Manager

Co-chairperson, Ironton aLive