When I was running for Mayor, I remarked that one of the things I liked most about West Liberty is the neighborliness of the people. When I have my granddaughter in a backpack, people stop so that we could cross streets.
I continue to see that sense of kindness displayed all over the community. When Mayor Anderson lit the City Christmas tree, it was a reunion of the people who call West Liberty home. People were happy to be there with their families, friends, and neighbors.
In West Liberty, I see friendliness joining with a progressive spirit. The more I hear the history of this community, the more I see that union has been here since the beginning. Imagine being a resident here when John Brown brought freed slaves to West Liberty on their paths to freedom.
I have a friend, Irmeli, who lives in Helsinki, Finland. Baby Irmeli’s mother had just put her to bed on Dec. 1, 1939, when Soviet planes flew through the darkness and dropped bombs throughout Helsinki and started what is called the Winter War. A bomb crashed through Baby Irmeli’s nursery, shattered her with glass, and fell to the basement. Fortunately, it did not detonate.
Knowing what happened to Irmeli made an event many years later even more special. My daughter, Allie, and I were in New York City the day Irmeli’s baby granddaughter received her United States Passport. The relief her parents felt, coming from an all too often war-torn country, radiated.
Often, we don’t know what pain, sorrow, and conflict our neighbors have endured.
Combining the welcoming, progressive nature of West Liberty with our desire to be a neighborly community is why I want to introduce new citizens at City Council meetings. I’ve had the honor of working with Maria Guadalupe Mojica Campos as she studied for her citizenship class, and I was in attendance when she took the oath of citizenship. She has five sons and one of her fifth-grade twin sons will be West Liberty’s first Junior Mayor. I want to extend that honor to many children to pique their interest in city government.
I am writing this column on December 15, 2023. This is after others and I delivered some toys and food packages to West Liberty families and assisted in the distribution of these items at First Church United. That, too, is one of the many events that demonstrates we care.
In the month of December, many of us celebrate religious holidays in accordance with our faith traditions. May these holidays be extra meaningful because you are part of this community.
Mark Smith is Mayor of West Liberty and can be reached at mayorsmith@CityofWestLibertyIA.org or by telephone at 641-750-9278.