The latest trend on social media is the “I’m so Ironton” memories.

While I enjoy each of them, I look at most from an outside point of view. I was raised in Andis. Put away the map. It’s about 10 miles northeast of Ironton. It was just a small farming community. George Dilley had a small store for the essentials, and we went to school there.

A great place to live and play. But when we needed clothes, food, or just a little entertainment, we went to “town.” Town was always Ironton. We would ride in the back of the station wagon, stop at Kresge’s for lunch, swim at the municipal pool, and shop at J.C. Penney for school clothes.

You see, Ironton was “home” for more than just those who lived within the city limits. People from all over the surrounding areas considered Ironton, “town.”

Now, as director of Ironton aLive, I have witnessed a rebirth of sorts of Ironton. There are lots of great people doing lots of great things to make Ironton the attractive, entertaining, educational, historical place it can and should be.

While there are so many good things happening, there is still much to be done, and relatively few people attempting to do it.

As I have said in the past, we must be the change we hope to see. As you see all the great things happening in Ironton, consider those who make these things happen. They are your neighbors and friends. Your coworkers, and clergy.

Your teachers and caregivers. They are people, just like you and me, who have jobs, kids, responsibilities that they balance, while working to make Ironton a better place to live, work, and play.

Find a way to be a part of the movement. We all have reasons why we can’t involve ourselves in volunteer groups.

Find a personal reason to be a part of something that will help make Ironton a place for our children to inherit that we can be proud to hand over.

You just might find out that it’s a load of fun!

 

Jon Ferguson is the executive director of Ironton aLive.