After a three-year COVID-induced hiatus, Salkehatchie is coming back. Salkehatchie Summer Service from Newberry, as well as around the state, is a means to serve others by repairing homes for those less fortunate.
During one of the previous “Salk” weeks, a speaker talked about punching holes in the darkness.
As the story goes, author Robert Louis Stevenson wouldn’t go to sleep. He just kept staring out the window into the night. Exasperated, his father finally strode to the window, pulled back the curtain, and asked, “What are you looking at out there?”
Peering out, the elder Stevenson could see the old-time lamplighters who went about their nightly task with a ladder and a torch, setting the streetlamps aflame for the night. Robert, though, saw something deeper. Turning back to his father, he said, “Look at those men! They are punching holes in the darkness!”
The “darkness” could be many different things for different people. For some, it may be substandard and unsafe housing. For others, it may be loneliness, sadness or grief. For others, it may be literacy or learning difficulties. The list could go on, but many people in our community face some shade of darkness.
Rabbi Will Berkovitz says that our task is to punch holes in that darkness and share freely the light we were given, so that it may ignite the flames of hope to those around us, those who are living with a darkness.
Fortunately, it doesn’t always take a Superman-sized punch. Often, it can be just a tap, so to say. A small random act of kindness can make a big difference.
Dr. Harold Sala tells of his visit to Carlsbad Caverns, a huge underground cave. Dr. Sala says the cave is so deep that when the lights are turned out, a person absolutely cannot see his hand in front of his face. While he was there, the park ranger turned out the lights, and after a moment, the ranger struck a match — only one. Sala says he will never forget how very quickly that one single match allowed the group to see very clearly.
And that’s one of the great things about Newberry. The willingness and capacity of our people to punch holes in the darkness.
I experienced such a thing firsthand when I moved to Newberry more than 30 years ago. I was alone in a new place, but “Miss Shealy,” my next door neighbor, was a constant source of support. Her kindness was the first of many examples of the tight-knit nature of Newberry County.
Newberry County is a pretty tight-knit community.
You might not find that term “tight-knit” in Washington, D.C., but the synonymous term used there is “community cohesion.”
Community cohesion describes the aspect of togetherness and bonding that is exhibited by members of a particular community. In simpler terms, it can be referred to as the bond that holds a community together. (To me, “tight-knit” sounds a lot better.)
Community cohesion leads to community empowerment. Community empowerment enables more people to play an active role in the decisions that affect their communities…decisions that help punch holes in the darkness.
Efforts like Salkehatchie tell us that community empowerment works. By taking part in these types of activities, each to his or her own abilities, we as a community grow together and become problem-solvers instead of spectators. We take the opportunity to punch holes in the darkness rather than just throw punches in the dark.
Hugh Gray is the executive director at Westview Behavioral Health Services and can be reached at 803-276-5690.