Community Center and Center of the Community

The Mount Pleasant Township Community Center is filled with rich history and an exciting present. Some members of the community have a deep connection to the center, while others who may not share in this connection have spent a lot of time at the community center. So much historic value is contained within the community center and it would truly be a shame if this building were lost. There are many benefits that accompany this building; some green, others just to benefit the community, and even I reap the benefits that the center sows. I have a personal connection to this place, and being in college, still find time to venture back and spend time there.

The Mount Pleasant Township Community Center has been around for a long time. In its early years, the community center was used as a school for the town of Hickory; even some friends of mine have parents who actually attended the school. In the mid 60’s Fort Cherry School District was formed by combining the schools in the towns of Midway, McDonald, and Hickory. At this point the Hickory school was changed to, and still remains to this day, the Mount Pleasant Township Community Center. A large variety of activities are held within the center, such as Boy Scout and Girl Scout meetings, dance classes, and important town meetings. The Old Schoolhouse Players are another group that calls the community center their home. This organization puts on numerous plays and musicals each year in the community centers auditorium, and they usually draw a fairly large crowd. The Hickory Apple Festival is a large event that takes place each fall, and they also use the inside and outside of the community center to host different activities. Outside of the community center is where the baseball fields and basketball court are located. A large little league association, that contains hundreds of young prospects each year, uses these fields for all of their practices and home games. The basketball court is not usually used by organized groups, but in the summer months it is utilized by the local residents for a pickup game here and there. My friends and I probably use this court the most; usually playing basketball a couple days a week. Not only is this center important to the community as a whole, but I found much enjoyment at the community center as I grew up.

As a young child I was in Cub Scouts, and we used an array of rooms in the building for different activities, such as pine wood derby, and to build soap box cars. As I got older I discovered the world of little league baseball. I played on the Viking Fields from the time that I was five years old until I was about twelve. Numerous summer nights were spent on the diamond fielding ground balls and practicing batting. Apparently this paid off because the Hickory little league teams were the most feared teams in the area; we won many league championships and produced many little league all-stars, myself included. Once I got even older and became involved in basketball, the court was put to use. On many occasions a crowd would gather and a competitive basketball game would break out. Many times the victor earned bragging rights for at least a few days. Throughout my freshman year in college when I visited back home, a group of us that lived in the area would come together for a friendly game of basketball. I plan to use this court all through the summer as well. While the community center is beneficial to me as an individual and the community as a whole, it is also beneficial to the environment.

Taking a green attitude toward preserving buildings is the best approach. “Recycling” the building instead of “throwing it away” is a good idea; it is cheaper in the long run than demolishing it, it helps keep a historic feel in a day and age that is mainly focused on technological advance, and it is better for the environment. The average cost of demolishing a building ranges from $6 per square foot to $15 per square foot; not to mention a $2-3 dollar fee per square foot to check for, and if necessary, remove asbestos (according to Hometown Demolition Contractors). With a large building, the cost of demolition can be hundreds of thousands of dollars. The cost of maintaining the building will not equal the amount it costs for demolition for many, many years. In my specific example with the Mount Pleasant Township Community Center, the historic intrinsic value is much more important than having a new, more modern building put in its place. If there was a motion to demolish the old center and build a new one I strongly believe that the members of the community would rally together and stop the motion in its tracks. Preserving the building is much more environmentally friendly than demolishing it. To demolish a building, large machinery is required and all of this machinery is just burning additional fossil fuel and contributing to the destruction of the environment. Instead of just giving up on the preservation of historic sites, we should focus our energy and resources on restoring and/or maintaining them so that the next generation can have the same opportunities for enjoyment that my generation did. In other words, recycle and renovate historic buildings; do not throw them away. The intrinsic value is much more important than the advantages to be gained from building a new center.


The Mount Pleasant Township Community Center is a historic landmark, and is beneficial to the community, myself, and the environment. The community center is a large part of the community life in my town and is a central gathering place for many different families and groups of people. I have a strong personal connection to this building, as well as the baseball fields and basketball court, and believe that it should be preserved at all costs.

Photo Number and Caption (In order from top to bottom):
1. Wide shot of the front of the Mount Pleasant Township Community Center.
2. Sign in the front of the center that tells what activities are going to take place, in this case a town meeting.
3. Viking Athletic Field sign. When the center was a school there was a football field in place of the baseball fields with the same name.
4. Baseball field that the older age groups play on because it is longer than the other.
5. Baseball field that the younger age groups play on because it is shorter than the other.
6. Shot of the basketball court from the end closest to the center
7. Sign in front of the community center honoring those who served in World War II.
8. Shot of the front of the community center. The members of the community center do a great job of keeping the area around the center beautiful.
9. Sign in front of the center honoring all veterans.
10. Shot of the entrance of the community center. Shows that all are welcome.

Works Cited:

“Demolition Cost - Estimating Demolition Costs & Prices.” 17 May 2010.

Cliff Hanger

Nature is a very powerful force and has the ability to move individuals in very strong ways. I experienced firsthand, the great power and magnificence of nature. Nature is a very dominant force that affects our lives every single day and it is crucial that we learn to live in harmony with it. Nature has the power to provide as well as take away and it is extremely important to understand this concept. I learned that even though humans believe to have control over the forces of nature, we cannot control nature, but can only sit back and admire its beauty or watch it destroy.

I was ten years old when my family took a vacation to California; while we were there we took a trip out to a set of tide pools to see the different plant and animal life. We spent a long time exploring the pools and I took a particular interest in the plants and animals that inhabited the area. The pools teemed with many different species of fish and had a variety of interesting coral and other sea plant life. The plant and animal life held my attention for a while, but being a daring kid I decided to explore the area where the rock face dropped off into the ocean. Since it was low tide the water was below the surface we were standing on, and had dropped so low that there was a ten foot cliff that dropped to the water. I got the brilliant idea to walk out to the very edge even though giant waves were crashing into the rocks and spraying water into the air. Once I reached the edge a wave hit me and knocked me over; when I fell off the cliff I somehow managed to grab onto the edge that was covered with mussels. Luckily my dad pulled me to safety before another wave came that could have knocked me into the water. When I was pulled to safety I was clearly shaken, but from that moment on I knew the power that nature held and could unleash, even though the wave that knocked me over was small in comparison to other disasters nature can cause. This experience gave me a much greater appreciation for nature and it allowed me to understand that although we as humans may think we have control over nature that we, in fact, do not. Just as I thought that I was in control of my own safety while standing on the edge, nature, specifically the wave that over powered me, showed me that I had a lot less control than I actually thought.

This experience was life changing for me; not only did it give me a greater respect for nature, but it showed me that although nature is powerful we can learn to live along with it in harmony. This idea has become much stronger in the recent decade with a more environmentally conscious attitude. It may not be easy to live in nature without attempting to control it, but if this can be accomplished we could develop a happier and healthier planet. In my case, had I just stood back and continued to admire the beauty of the tide pools instead of standing on the edge of the cliff I would have avoided this near death experience. This experience also gave me an example of how nature has the ability to give as well as take away. Sometimes nature provides that light rain that allows crops to grow and flourish, but nature can also bring a tsunami that causes death and destruction. In my circumstance, had I not grabbed onto the edge I very well may have died, and I learned that I had no control over nature whatsoever.

Many people tend to think that they have control, but no one can control the awesome power that nature holds. When I was standing on the edge I felt a sense of control, but the wave that knocked me over thought different. While we cannot control nature, we can alter the way nature affects us, as well as the severity of its effects. Most people live in a house under a roof that shields them from the rain, snow, and cold and the levies in New Orleans prevent the city from being under water. Even with these prevention methods, scenarios arise where these anticipation techniques fail; for example, the levies in New Orleans broke and allowed the flood waters of hurricane Katrina to devastate the city. We also tend to think that because of technology we can avoid the wrath of nature. The most recent example would be the snow storm in February that covered much of the north east in two feet of powder. This storm knocked out the power in thousands of homes in the Washington area alone, and most vehicles were totally useless unless they were dug out of the snow. Even with the advanced technology that we possess today, disasters that are large enough can render this technology completely and utterly useless. It is important to not be completely reliant on technology, because when a catastrophe happens it may be necessary to function without technology.

My experience changed my life in more than one way. It taught me that humans must learn to peacefully coexist with nature and not attempt to control it. Nature has the power to bestow great gifts, and also destroy life, as it almost did in my case. I developed a greater appreciation for the magnificence of nature, and a better understanding of the incredible power that it is capable of unleashing. Most importantly, I learned not to stand on the edge of a cliff when gigantic waves are crashing into it and that have the ability to knock a ten year old, not even 100 pound kid over. Standing on the edge of a cliff that was constantly being pounded by huge waves was unsafe, and clearly it was a terrible idea, and the near death experience I had could have easily been avoided.

The Unseen Meaning of Oscar the Grouch

There are many places that seem to be defined by and intertwined with a singular person, and I felt it was important to try to explore a person and place that are intertwined in a strong way but also interesting and out of the ordinary. One that goes unnoticed but is essential to understand is the relationship between Oscar the Grouch and a trash can. This relationship defined to Americans, at a young age, the purpose of trash cans. Just as the trash of our daily lives is thrown away in these all important disposal units, the trash of Sesame Street was put away in this filthy home. On a deeper level, Oscar is linked to his trash can in a profound way that many would notice, and this link represents a specific type of person. This relationship exposes the fallback of being an angry, cruel, and brutal human being. Oscar shows that by living life in a way that pushes people away, you will lack the strong friendships and connections that are necessary to live a happy and healthy life.

As a young child, if you were to ask me the first thing that comes to mind when the words trash can were said, I would have immediately blurted out Oscar the Grouch, and I am sure that many children who watched Sesame Street would say the same. But what slips past the young viewers that tune into this program is that Oscar and his trash can are intertwined at a much deeper level. Oscar is not only there for entertainment purposes, but has a profound symbolic meaning. I am sure that Oscar was never very pleasant, and probably not a very enjoyable person to be around, and because of this, the other inhabitants of Sesame Street most likely got fed up with his downright grouchy attitude. So I would assume that they placed him in his grimy prison so that his home matched his personality; therefore intertwining this person and place for eternity. This is a way of life that the producers of Sesame Street want children to stay away from.

Understanding the type of person that Oscar really was and still is immensely helps in understanding the place, that being the trash can. As mentioned before trash cans are used as garbage disposal units and the small bits of trash that we come across in everyday life are pitched away and forgotten about. The same goes for Oscar; by living life the way he does and exhibiting that type of disruptive behavior he became the garbage that taints the beautiful world of Sesame Street. Children that watch the show begin to understand that this type of behavior is unacceptable and may even fear the dire consequences of behaving in this way (being stuffed in a trash can forever). On a more educated level, a person living this kind of life will be living in a metaphorical trash can; they will be surrounded by the misery and isolation, or in other words metaphorical trash, if they choose to live in this fashion. Many who choose to have this type of miserable existence are unhappy, grouchy, and depressed because of the metaphorical filth that they surround themselves with, just like Oscar. He symbolically represents garbage, and what do you throw away in trash cans? Garbage of course goes in trash cans. Oscar is extremely essential to the understanding of trash cans, and in essence, defines them. He does this not just in a literal sense, but symbolically shows the downfall of pushing away friends and breaking bonds that would lead to a much more enjoyable time.

One of the downfalls about Oscar being connected to his trash can is that it sets a bad example. It is important to recognize that Oscar lives in a trash can, therefore encouraging viewers to throw away all of the garbage they come across which is not very environmentally friendly. Instead, Oscar’s home should be a recycling bin, because if this were the case at least he would be promoting something that was beneficial instead of being a completely negative character.

Although this person and place may not be the first to come to mind, they are in fact intertwined in a very strong way. The intertwinement can be taken at face value (Oscar physically living in the trash can), but also has a much deeper symbolic meaning that describes a specific type of person. This relationship shows that being a grouch does not have any advantage, but instead causes only emotional pain and hurt. Oscar should reevaluate his own life and realize that he needs to make a change, and that this change will only better his terrible situation. It is important to recognize that Oscar the Grouch defines trash cans, and vice versa, so this attachment needs to be understood by all.