Spotlight on Dalton: Small town values, schools tie community together – Massillon Independent

The Rev. Mark Hirst, of Living Water Church, offers a view of the community through his eyes.

DALTON Since 1999, the Rev. Mark Hirst, has served as pastor of Living Water Church in the village, and has seen its membership grow to around 700 parishioners and the church open a campus in Massillon.

Born and raised in Dalton, the 45-year-old went to Dalton High School before graduating from Central Christian High School in Kidron. He furthered his education out of town and became pastor of a church in Michigan for several years before returning to Dalton as pastor of Living Waters.

Hirst's community activism didn't stop with his ministry. He was elected to the Dalton Board of Education, a seat he held for four years before stepping down.

Hirst answers questions about what makes the Dalton community special.

Q: The Village of Dalton has earned a reputation as a great place to live and raise a family. Why is that?

A: People genuinely care for one another, you tend to know who your neighbors are and what's happening in their life. The schools are a major focus in that we have a great place to assist in raising our kids and so having strong values at the center of the school is really big and I would say ultimately the school is the center of the community. It is the one thing that everybody ties into. There are these really great small-town values. People wave to one another, know each other. You feel like you are part of something.

A great story that illustrates this: The first day my daughter was waiting to go to kindergarten, waiting for the bus at the end of the driveway. I had two different neighbors stop, roll down their window and say, "I hope you have a good first day of school." I think that typifies the kind of community that we all want to live in and that people participate in that. Dalton by no means is perfect but there is that sense of small town community that we pull together and pitch in if there is a probem. People here are very supportive of that.

We had a young man in a really bad accident last year and was in the hospital for about six months and just to see the community support him in that and when he came home people were lining the roads, just affirming him and welcoming him home.

Those are some of the pieces of living in a community like Dalton that is, just, it's good.

Q: Is this community feeling a function of the fact that Dalton is a smaller community or are there other factors that go into that atmosphere.

A: There are certain values that people carry that this is important to them, that sense of community pride. It also comes out of common shared values and the Christian faith. There are lots of people who don't go to church but there are a lot of people who do and who take it seriously enough to allow that to impact their actions and values. So it's a value statement. As you move in and you come here ... generally people who move here from larger places are looking for that. It has been really neat over the last 17 years for me to watch many new families move into the area and to embrace the value system and to really love being a part of a smaller community and a smaller school. So I think it is an intentional choice to say this is what we want to be a part of.

People who do a little research on Dalton will find that the schools are strong. If they look online and do different things and ask questions, they find that people have good things to say about the community. Some may know about it before hand but others start to look into the idea of moving a little more out of the city and looking to the country. I also think that with Dalton being on the edge of Stark County, it's a place you can move to and be a little more rural and still get to Canton and Akron more easily, so location may play a part in that, too.

Q: What responsibilities does the church have to the community?

A: We have the the responsibility of supporting the community and the things that are important to the community, being a part of creating a strong school system. I was on the board of education for four years and I think Living Water has the responsbility to influence people that they would walk with strong values, even if they're not a believer, that we would help perpetuate those values of community, of loving one another. So when bad things happen, we have the responsibility to care for people whether they're in the church or not. We have the responsibility to not just be a part of Dalton but to push out beyond that into other communities. We want to take the value system that we have and help spread that. What you believe needs to translate into how you act and treat people around you, whether you know them or not and whether they are a part of the church or not. There's a culture you can create by extending love, grace, fun, enthusiasm. I want all of the people who are a part of Living Water to coach and be a part of community groups as much as they possibly can.

Q: Is local government another positive in the list of things that make Dalton a place where folks may want to live and raise a family?

A: Whether it's village council or township trustees or the school board, I think people deeply care so they do their best to lead well or to make change they think will imact. When they do that, you have to remember that there are a bunch of people who are very interested and care what's going on. At times you'll find some stress and division over what's going on. Things will get heated at times but by the same token we all live in the same community and we want it to be as good as it can so what I see are people who passionately care about things and are willing to voice their thoughts and opinions about that. Ultimately what we all understand is that we live here together and we want to make it the best that we can. I appreciate the people who are involved in local politics and local leadership, who do it simply because they care about this community. There's not much money involved and you take a little more punishment and difficulty but you do that because you want to make the place a better community.

Q: What have you learned about the business community in Dalton and how it may compare with larger communities and towns?

A: The businesses I know there's a sense that business is a part of the whole community, that business furthers the community, the idea that we're all in this together. You don't see much corporate attitudes. You see the attitude of giving back. There are a lot of businesses who've given in a large way and don't even make it known. I see businesses that care about their employees and understand that they are a part of seeing that we have a healthy community. The business leaders who I have interacted with are all generous and are willing to give. Even the small businesses are willing to give to door prizes for fundraisers or school events. People are willing to give and see their success tied to the community as well. So they're not looking to make a dollar at the expense of people in the community or the community itself. They want to further what we've got. Dalton is not the place you'd think of moving your business to, so when people do that where they are a part of this, they understand how much it is tied to the community so it's part of a whole rather than just themselves making a dollar. So in that sense we have good business leaders here.

Q: Does the community embrace outsiders or people moving into the community? Is Dalton a closed community in any sense?

A: To be 100 percent honest about this, I think it is 50-50. Half the community is very excitied to see that. I love to see new people move in. I love to see new ideas come in, just new perspectives. The other half is more they're very conservative with that and don't embrace people as well. They like the familiarity. We are in this place where I wouldn't describe us as the most open community. We're certainly not closed but I think there's a 50-50 mix where half of the community is glad when something new comes into town, when a family moves in. Others here would rather stay the same and I think that's the tension in small towns. But overall if you want to move in and get involved, there's opportunity for you and I know most of the organizations, schools and churches welcome that and want people who will become involved. So there's opportunity there. Many people are excited for that. And then you've got small town and some folks more of, 'Well what does this mean for me?' and 'I really don't like to see change.'

That's the interesting thing about small towns: there's great traditional values but sometimes that can get you stuck in an old-school mentality.

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Spotlight on Dalton: Small town values, schools tie community together - Massillon Independent