This past Saturday an event took place that once again demonstrates what can be accomplished when a community pulls together, and no, we are not writing about yet another example of something taking place in Elkin.

According to Edward Green, nearly three years ago to the day, the original Clingman Community Center burned to the ground.

It would and could have been easy to walk away from the center, remove the rubble and perhaps just put up a plaque where the community center — which originally was a school — once stood; especially as Clingman is unincorporated.

But Clingman residents resisted taking the easy path. The community needed its center — both literally and figuratively — and they set about doing so.

To hear it told at the grand opening/ribbon cutting dedication Saturday, it took more than just the vision, it took effort to make the dream a reality.

Yes, some board members who spoke Saturday admitted, occasional mistakes were made along the way. But they were humble and open enough to realize their mistakes and reverse themselves where and when necessary, and rapidly, because they never lost sight that it was the needs of the community that mattered. It’s an idea our elected officials should take a page from.

Also, the rebuilding the Clingman Community Center came to mean something to the “outsiders” involved — the architect, the contractor’s firm, and others who helped in the construction. As one of the abovementioned said, often, once a job has been completed, the working relationship is over and rarely is there any further contact. Not so with the Clingman Community Center. Several deep friendships had been made over the three-year span, friendships that would last a lifetime, he said.

In the final analysis, perhaps that is what makes the newly-built Clingman Community Center special. It is not the actual edifice itself, per se, but what it symbolizes — not just the best in individuals, but the community as a whole.