There are a couple of places where you can really get a sense of the heartbeat of a small town. There's almost always a little restaurant or coffee shop where people gather to read the paper and solve the world's problems. Elkin definitely has a couple of places like that.

Another great place to really gauge the closeness of a community is at the local high school football stadium on a Friday night in the fall.

Early in the football season, Elkin High School hosted North Surry in the Buckin' Elks home opener. The players were bouncing all over the place during warmups and there was a palpable sense of anticipation throughout Grissom Stadium. People were excited, ready to have some fun and watch the kids they've seen grow up through the Sertoma League represent their town and their uniform with pride.

The excitement and joy was, for a moment, halted that night as there was a moment of silence to honor the passing of Capt. Mark Garner. For several weeks, Elkin mourned the passing of someone who was a friend to many in this town, and quickly became a hero to all.

During those brief moments of near silence, many people bowed heads and said silent prayers, with only the occasional sound of sniffling as some tried to hold back tears.

Another such moment presented itself this past Friday night. It was announced before the Elkin-Union Academy first-round playoff game that local civic leader Johnsie Hudspeth died suddenly while on vacation in Florida. Hudspeth was known by nearly everyone in Elkin and had a major impact on this community, as evidenced by the voice mails and e-mails we received this weekend.

Hudspeth and Garner are heroes but for vastly different reasons. Garner, by all accounts was a exceptionally gifted man who could have made riches in a variety of different fields, but instead chose the road less traveled — that of a soldier that understood that his ultimate fate was one of the possible consequences.

Hudspeth was someone that by all accounts embraced the role of a community leader — someone that spent her time trying to make her hometown a quaint, lovely, prosperous place for all of its residents. According to one person, she would even help those in need pay their bills if needed.

Hudspeth's death is another sad moment for the town of Elkin, but it should be a proud moment as well. This little community produces not just quality people that add to the town — it produces heroes.

So here's the question — who amongst us will follow their example? — KPS