I’d like to announce a new series of posts on this blog that will focus on past and present heroes of the rural and small community arts movement. Intermittently, I will write short descriptions of people whose ideas and work built the foundation for the work that CRADLE hopes to continue.
Patrick Overton (one of the contemporary heroes who I will write about later), wrote in his book Rebuilding the Front Porch of America (see the link above to order this inspiring book):
When I go into a community and work with individuals in organizations, especially those that are in trouble, one of the very first things I do is ask them to name their heroes. Every organization has them. Organizations are a community of people gathered together because of shared values, issues, and concerns. And like communities, organization need to identify their heroes and honor them. It is an essential part of nurturing the corporate culture of the organization. In doing this, remembering and honoring heroes, organizations are reminded of why they came into existence in the first place. It is a way of staying in touch with the founding values of those who created the organization to begin with — the driving, creative force that brought the organization into being. This provides them with an essential tether to their past. It is difficult to address their problems and move forward without this vital connection.
Every community has heroes as well. It is important to remember our heroes — the poets, prophets, and pioneers — who led the way to where we are now as a community. We lose track of them and the contribution they made to the development of our community. We forget their successes. And just as important, we forget their struggles, and perhaps even their failures. Remembering what didn’t work can be as important as remembering what did.
Remembering our heroes, organizational and community, reminds us we did not get here on our own. Others came before us and their stories are a vital part of re-membering our community. When we forget our stories, we lose a very important part of the cultural connection we need to keep us together.