Volunteers are Cottonwood Shores’ ‘glue’

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

For small towns like Cottonwood Shores, volunteerism and civic engagement are the glue that holds the community together. The city of less than 1,200 people has a small library run by a volunteer, Sherry Henderson, and financed through donations. Its five parks are also maintained almost entirely by a crew of folks who labor almost every weekend because of a sense of pride in their community.

“We have a magnitude of work that was done by volunteers on the Nature Preserve, P Squared, Aspen and Community [parks] this year,” said Susan Montgomery, of the parks and recreation commission. “Volunteers also maintain the landscaping in front of the police station, which most people entering Cottonwood Shores see.”

Henderson, 72, has been the Cottonwood Shores librarian for three years “off and on,” she said Wednesday, Sept. 3. “I love books. I’m an avid reader. And I’ve grown to like computers, so being a librarian is perfect for me.” The library made its appearance in the community in 2009.

“It’s a laid-back library, we’re country folk, so we welcome everyone and say ‘Come On In’,” she said. “We have a good group of folks who come here. We’re like one big family. I want to see more people here on Bingo nights, because the bigger the crowd, the more I like it.”

She just likes people, and is proud of how her little town is growing. “The more people we meet and bring in here, the better we are,” Henderson said.

Volunteering like she does is something that has come naturally to her her entire life. “If I can help, I’m all for it. Anything I can do.”

One of the mainstays on the parks volunteer crew, Jim Bristoe, thinks along much those same lines. He was raised with a perspective that is less prevalent than it used to be: When something needs to be done, do it. He has lived in the city for five years and has been volunteering for around two years, he said.

He used his own lawnmower and weed-eater to manicure the city’s parks, but now he’s able to use the city’s larger mower. “The city only has so many employees,” he said. “So many volunteers have really worked hard for their city and hardly anyone knows it.”

For the full story, see Friday's Highlander.