Column: Rod B. Weaver: Community center has meant a lot

During biblical times, the hub of Israelite activities centered around the temple. It was at the temple that people met God, fellowshipped with each other, exchanged ideas, traded for goods, shared community resources and even discussed political ideas.

Yearly festivals were held at the temple. The temple was the venue for many life events. Due to such, the temple was a vital part of life.

The city of Dalton has within its geographical boundaries a similar place wherein the hub of Dalton life can be experienced. This location is none other than the Mack Gaston Community Center, at the corner of Fredrick and Waugh streets. As a small boy, my brother, my sister and I would walk to the old Community Center. While there we played basketball, baseball, took craft classes, took swimming lessons, played ping-pong and billiards, and met our friends.

As teenagers, we continued to congregate there. There was a sense of community, or shall I say family, at the center. The director of the center (Roger Phillips) and coaches (Mr. Lincoln Tolliver, Mr. John Henry Macon, Mr. John B. Quinn to name a few), served as positive role models for the males. The Women Community Club held regularly scheduled meetings there. These ladies served as positive role models for the minor females.

It was at the Community Center that local churches gathered to praise God. True Gospel Pentecostal held worship services there. Other churches held banquets, fish-fries and fund-raisers at the center.

The spirit of God was represented in the heart of the Dalton forefathers when the land was donated to build the original center. That same spirit moved upon the hearts of local persons (Mack Gaston, William James Willis Sr. and others) when they saw the need to build a structure in East Dalton for little black boys and girls to recreate in a positive environment.

In recent years, that same spirit moved upon Mayor Pennington to spearhead the movement to gather funds to demolish the old structure and to replace it with a modern, state-of-the-art facility for community activities. That same spirit was with the Concerned Clergy of Great Whitfield County to deed the land to the city for this use. That same spirit was with the Recreation Commission as they met to decide upon the future of the building. Wow, the spirit of God is so awesome that when you drive by the corner of Fredrick and Waugh and enter into the new Community Center you see that it is a model for other municipalities.

The Mack Gaston Community Center, under the able-bodied leadership of Thomas Pinson, is abuzz with activities that continue to serve the community. The Whitfield County Health Department has a vital presence there with a WIC (Women, Infants and Children) office. On June 20, local farmers sold produce to WIC customers and interested others. I purchased some green leafy collard, jalapeño peppers and bell peppers.

Recently a health fair was held there. The computer lab is always filled with students engaging in the learning process. The upstairs wrap-around walking track and the training equipment serve to energize youth and healthy-seeking persons. The downstairs basketball courts have scheduled activities for children and adults.

The center is a hub of activity. Future endeavors will include a literacy program for children targeted to kindergarten age to third-graders. This effort is to address the literacy of Dalton children. This will keep kids in school, increase graduation rates, better educate children and thereby improve the quality of life for this area. A health center is also scheduled for a future opening within the center.

As I left the center on June 20, after partaking of one of the home-grown watermelons, I noticed a Bible on a table in the commons area. I was delighted to see such. It reminded me that although different cultures may congregate at the center (blacks, whites and Hispanics), although varying ages may gather there, still within those walls is the presence of God.

I know the center will do for others what it did for me in younger years. Yes, it is a hub of local activity, to address the recreational, the health conscious, the political, the cultural and the economic aspect of one’s life. But it still is a place wherein the spirit — the presence of God — remains.

The Rev. Rod B. Weaver is pastor of Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church.

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Column: Rod B. Weaver: Community center has meant a lot

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