Community

C O M M U N I T Y

We all have a story to tell. A story that has been shaped by the people in our lives, events, community, and time. Many of us often forget to stop and listen to those stories. When that storyteller is our child, our spouse, our parent, our friends, a stranger, or one of our precious elders, we need to listen. Every time we stop to listen, we will only enrich our own story and strengthen our community.

Gallup is one of those unique places that attracts people from many different backgrounds. The early coal mines brought Europeans, railroads brought another set of people, schools and hospitals bring professionals from around the country, and of course we have the diverse surrounding Native American peoples. Eventually, we developed a mix of families who have been here for generations - now interacting with those who have just arrived. Hopefully, the

newcomers will stay and the kids from those generational families will help to make this community grow.

This month we have put together a collection of people who have been in the community for decades. Some of them were new to Gallup and others come from families that have been here for a very long time. Of course, we didn’t get their full stories, but something that hopefully will interest you to learn more about them and your town. Most of us are willing to have a conversation at hello and always seem to be willing to share a little something about us.

I imagine if you start to think about it, you have some very special people in your network of friends and family. Some of those might be very close, but do you really know their story? Take the time this summer to visit with these people, learn the stories, share yours, and build on our community.