The Strength of a Community

If you live in or have ever lived in a small city, town or village, chances are you know firsthand all of the downsides. On top of never having anything fun to do there is that annoying fact that everybody always knows everyone else's business. Nothing happens without somebody finding out and when it does get out there, the stories, rumors and drama spread throughout neighborhoods like contagious diseases. And then, there is also the fact that you can’t even make a trip to the grocery store or gas station without seeing either somebody that you feel obligated to talk to for 10 to 20 minutes or somebody that you absolutely can’t stand to see so you sneak around each aisle hoping as hard as you can hope that they aren’t standing on the other side waiting for that awkward moment of contact.

Well, that’s not really what this post is about. In fact, it’s about the exact opposite of that. It’s about the upsides to living in a small community. Which, in a sense, all of those bad things about living in a small tight knit town are all of the things that I’m about to write make it good as well.

Let me explain myself because I can’t stand those small town clichés just as much as the next person, trust me. I don’t want everybody always in my business. I just mean that being so close and having pretty much everybody know each other can be a good thing too. It’s like having a great big family. Sure, you might fight, bicker, see each other too often and know too many stories about each other, but when it comes down to it, you’re always there for each other.

Here is the greatest example I can give to show you exactly what I mean. Wade Moore, 54 has been a member of the Montrose community for the past 38 years. He began working at Naples Pizzeria and Restaurant, a once reputable establishment in town back when it opened in 1976. He has been a resident of Montrose since 1995.

Throughout the years, Wade has dedicated his service to the people of Montrose. As both a cook and the restaurants manager, he has had the opportunity to help out many friends, customers, citizens and even complete strangers. Wade always took those opportunities with pleasure and it showed as he has been awarded the Citizen of the Month honor on numerous occasions.

Wade did all of this out of the goodness of his heart. He never asked for or expected anything in return but years later when Wade was truly in need, he couldn’t have imagined the way the community would come together on his behalf for a payback he would never forget.

It all started with an idea from the Mayor of Montrose, Ray Foust. When the mayor found out that Wade and his wife of 18 years, Roberta were struggling to get by due to hospital bills that were adding up from Wade’s poor health, he knew he had to step in and do something.

Wade has been on disability now for about 8 months. He is on oxygen full time because of COPD, a lung disease and is battling stomach cancer and congestive heart failure. He is also on kidney dialysis three days a week and in the near future has to schedule surgery to get his gull bladder taken out.

When Mr. Foust got wind of all this, he knew he had to help Wade out like Wade has helped so many others throughout the years. The mayor knew there would be other people willing to help Wade out as well. With the help of the Montrose Pub, friends of Wades, loving, caring volunteers and many personal and business donations they were able to organize a benefit for Wade that took place on Sunday, January 12, 2014.

The benefit raised money for Wade through a dinner, 50/50 drawings, a shotgun and a flat screen television raffle and an auction filled with tables of new and used donated items. They also had the local band, Stone Cold performing to close out the fundraiser. It was an extremely inspiring day. The turnout was amazing. Inside, the Montrose Pub was packed full and outside, the parking lot spilled over across the street into the neighboring Gil-Roy’s parking lot. The majority of people arrived for the dinner at 1pm and the auction which began at 2pm.

The auction, put on by the Polk family, a well-known family in town was a complete success. The auction itself brought in over $4,000.00 to go towards Wades cause. It was an experience I’ll never forget, especially after the winners of the shot gun and flat screen TV raffles selflessly donated their winnings back to the auction to raise even more money for Wade. The pub’s patio erupted with cheer over the kind gestures and brought tears to many eyes.

Wade was truly touched. I was too. The way the community came out to support my step dad was incredible. It hit me half way through, when I was looking out across the pub and realized just how many people were actually there to support Wade and I couldn’t hold my tears back any longer. Hell, my dad even showed up and they definitely haven’t always seen eye to eye.

The point of this whole story is that it doesn’t matter what has happened in the past, what is going on in the present or what will happen in the future between friends, neighbors, peers and strangers, when one of your own is in dire need, you have to come together and do whatever it takes to help them out because you never know when you’ll be the one in need. A community is a family and that’s what families do for each other no matter what. That’s the upside to living in a small city, town or village. That’s the strength of a community.