Even though my hometown only has about 4,700 people, it is rich in Commonwealth. The assets of health, sense of place, spirituality, leisure and recreation, history, renewable energy, education, soil and mineral cycle, arts and culture, wildlife and the natural world, water cycle, and foodshed all partake in my small community in a big way. After exploring my community’s Commonwealth, I discovered how much of these assets there are and how much of an impact they have to the citizens. The most present assets I recognize in Tulia is health, leisure and recreation, and arts and culture. Tulia offers many health services like the Swisher Memorial Hospital, Moore than Medicine Pharmacy, Tulia Family Chiropractor, Tulia Health and Rehabilitation, and Dr. Neil Bryson’s dentistry. I value this Commonwealth the most because of the amount of care and passion each of these health care systems give to their patients. Since I have interned at most these business, I know first-hand how they treat our local citizens. The leisure and recreation that my community offers are four parks, nine restaurants, a community pool, country club, YMCA, and a snow cone stand. When the community members need a break from work, they turn to these fun leisure and recreation assets. It also attracts visitors and keeps the citizens interested in the community. One of the most famous example of arts and culture in my town is the local famous artist, Kenneth Wyatt. In the past forty years, he has painted over 8,000 paintings. He is most famously known for his western art, and he also incorporates local citizens into his paintings including my great grandfather. My community also has a Swisher County Museum and holds an annual Swisher County Picnic in the summer. Without all twelve of these assets that majorly contribute to my community, Tulia would not be what it is today.
Picture 1- My fellow interns and I at the local ice cream shop.
Picture 2- The picture Kenneth Wyatt painted of my great grandfather (Elbert Sweatt) in 1980.
