Saturday October 21, 2023

Residents from the Washington Street community joined our Mayor Brantley in a fun time with the residents of this community. Conversations were had, spirits elevated, and new relationships were made and some rekindled, all rising above the past and moving forward towards a more united community. His basketball skills were put to the test with our young people enjoying a game of ball with our Mayor. Thanks to Great Falls Heart and Soul the community was elevated through positive and open "Conversations in Great Falls".

Heart & Soul uses social media to find out what people love about Great Falls 

Same question. Different responses. 

JUST READ THIS AD IN THE GREAT FALLS REPORTER OCTOBER  4, 2023

What do you love about Great Falls, S.C.

Great Falls Heart & Soul Coordinator William Gonzalez wasn’t getting enough responses on the Heart & Soul social media page to the question “What do you love about the Town of Great Falls, S.C.?” so he tried the question on the “I grew up in Great Falls, South Carolina” Facebook group page. On that page, he got almost 50 responses to the question at last count. Gonzalez put that question out there as a sort of a test case, to see what people loved about, what they remember about Great Falls. He wanted to gather that information as data that will inform the Heart & Soul community initiative’s story gathering, but to remind everyone what is great about the Town they live in. 

“I also wanted to bring up those memories to break the negative perception that nothing good has ever happened, or happens in Great Falls,” he said. As to the reason why he posted the question in multiple places, Gonzalez said it was like a bit “throwing mud against the walls, you want to see what will stick.” Gonzalez must have found just the right combination, because the question on the I Grew Up in Great Falls, South Carolina page opened up a floodgate of memories and thoughts. 

The comments were a mixed bag: 

I grew up in Great Falls South Carolina page: WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT THE TOWN OF GREAT FALLS, S.C.? 

Doris Cheek I was born in Great Falls in 1937. Immediately after college, I moved to Columbia. To this day, I feel grateful to have grown up where everybody knew you; not only that, but everybody was a friend. I can’t think of a time when we locked our doors. I not sure we even had a key. Now I have security lights and a security alarm. My son, who lives in Spartanburg, can see anyone who approaches my house. Neighbors watched out for us in Great Falls! 

Brian Adams I grew up here, it’s home and I’m proud of that. I’ve taken the good with the bad and feel blessed to live here.

Louise Sherrill Our family moved there when I was in middle school, we were truly embraced. Never felt like an outsider. 

 Louise May When I think of Great Falls, I think of love and feeling safe.

Timothy Comer It’s home Phyllis Gallman Jacobs It’s home, no better people anywhere. 

Susan Smith I could write a book about how I feel about Great Falls. 

Loretta Baker Riddle My Dad was from Great Falls. Still have family there. Visited often while growing up Bear Morrison I love this town where I was raised I would love to see it cleaned up and all the old houses tore down and the mills torn down make it beautiful again

Donna Broom Rollins There are good, good people here! When someone is in need there are always those who step in. Like the John Mellencamp song says, “Well, I was born in a small town/And I can breathe in a small town/ Gonna die in a small town /Oh, and that’s probably where they’ll bury me.” 

David McKeown Love this town 

Gerald Lathan Will always be home 

June Tennant It is home 

Gail Rabon Dabbs It was a great place to grow up in the 50 and 60 that’s when I lived there my greatest memories of my childhood Great Falls Heart and Soul, 

Author Small town. Good people. Good neighbors who look out for each other. Safe town to live

Frank Jacobs The people! 

Tiffany Waters Will always be my home b/c it’s so PEACEFUL and the people Love each other 

Keevi Worthy Peaceful and lots of love 

Mary Anne Warr Petersen The people. Friends and relatives! 

Charles Belk Friendly people. 

Anita L Hall Raised there and will always be Hometown 

Jackson Knight Friends, it’s home I grew up here and I want my kids to do the same 

Becky Hensley Cunningham It’s quiet 

Debra Mcateer Steen Everybody loves everybody. They are all family to me

 Amanda Price Caldwell I love that in a small town everyone will pull together and help when needed. 

Teresa Gibson It has that loving feel, grew up here and still know the majority of the people. 

Claudette Henson Williams Thank goodness for the baby boomers in GF. They have done a lot to preserve the history of our little town. So many photos thanks to Jean Camp and the documentation that she has shared. I sincerely hope this generation will preserve all she has provided. Please keep it alive and praying that GF will come back to life and be better than ever. 

Paula Comer Most of the people. Very loving and caring. 

Dusty Brantley There’s no place like home! I love the friendly faces, caring neighbors, churches, and small businesses. There’s so many people in our small town who go above and beyond. I know I say that a lot. Lol it’s because I’m still amazed with the amount of people who make Great Falls so much better. We have many amazing organizations that help our community that I’m thankful for. Grasp, Greater Great Falls, Hear t and soul, and Thirst Quenchers. Obviously we all could go on and on because Great Falls is full of Great people and the Love in our town is a blessing that we can appreciate!

Clyde Baker I was born in a house on Circle Street in 1943 and grew up in another house on Circle Street. I think I grew up in the best small town in South Carolina. 

Beulah M. Reid Nothing 

Carol Green It’s sad Nancy Broom It’s a small town with a lot of friendly people. 

Teresa Fields I moved to Great Falls 30 years ago. This is where my children grew up. I visited as a child to my grandparent’s farm and loved it then. No matter where my children go they come home to visit or live they find love and joy right here. 

Rob Mckenzie Nothing 

Dave Garner My high school friends and fishing at the depot. 

Vivian Simpson My husband 

Debra May Nothing like a small town. I’m a small-town girl. 

The last time Gonzalez looked at the analytics, the question on that page had received about 3,000 views. “For most of the questions, I tried to determine what people responded to the most. A lot of their answers have to do with the community,” he said. Many of the responses are bound up with the writers’ nostalgia about Great Falls, or their conception of what the community is. 

A Data Management Committee of the Great Falls Heart & Soul volunteers will do their best to codify these answers and put them into their responses, along with the answers to the questions from the more formal story gathering process the group is undertaking. 

Right now those story-gathering sessions are individual interviews, but Gonzalez has plans of setting up group discussions at churches and places like the Senior Center, schools and restaurants. “I’m really interested in setting up the group discussions, because that’s going to lead to different layers of responses from people,” he said. This effort to get a sense of what people love about Great Falls joins an earlier and still ongoing effort by Great Falls Heart & Soul where they set up message boards in different spots around the Town and provided sticky notes so people could quickly scribble their thoughts about what they loved about their community. 

Gonzalez’ next plan is to organize the community meetings in churches, businesses and senior centers to gather even more ideas of what people love about their town. According to the Heart & Soul brochure, these stories will be gathered from residents ‘with the goal of identifying what the Great Falls community loves most about their town. 

These expressions of what matters most, the hopes and ideas, are translated into vision statements to guide decision making, called “Heart & Soul statements.’ Based on the Heart & Soul statements, the residents will then create an action plan to guide future planning in the Town. This action plan is presented to elected officials, community leaders and residents. The final phase of the process is when the statements are adopted by Great Falls decision makers. To learn more or participate in a survey check out the Great Falls Hear t & Soul social media and their website at www.greatfallsscheartandsoul.org. 

More from the Town of Great Falls website

Tim Andrews Round 86’ I joined a band, Crisis, from GF. I traveled three nights a week while in high school to rehearse there, old IGA bld. It was a true cultural experience and I loved it and the people, not all may have taken to me but I really love a bunch of good folk I met there over the years! Thank you to all the friends there and the support you showed to our bands and all the fun we had!!!

Kathy Dawkins Hinson Tim Andrews I remember Crisis!!

Richard Broome Tim Andrews you and Crisis or probably if not the best one of the best bands that’s ever been from around the area

Tim Andrews Richard Broome thanks brother!

Kay Ray I have always loved Great Falls. I used to visit my great uncle and aunt one Sunday a month when I was growing up. Great memories. 

Dusty Brantley It's nice seeing others outside of Great Falls appreciate it as much as we do

Kay Ray Dusty Brantley I grew up in Chester, so a county girl, but loved visiting in the 1960’s.

Great Falls Heart and Soul Dusty Brantley dusty, visit our WEBSITE, I've been updating the website with current updated information.

Mike Munt Class 1 Rapids & A TV show called the Real housewives girlfriend of Great Falls.

Sharon Bailey Totally agree!!!

Bruce Cullom The people

Susan Blackwell Reeves The people and the nature, both are beautiful!

Randy Sr Newman Love Great Falls S.C --Good people``````````

Tyler Dale Langley No matter where you are in GF your only just a few mins from a good fishing spot it’s always going to be home

On september 23, 2023, we had Sara Lightner from the Vermont Office of Heart and Soul provide the first training to our community residents gearing up to join us in our efforts of capturing the voices of the Great Falls Communities. The Heart and Soul of Great Falls training components is one of many geared towards the development of our listening, hearing components of the Heart and Soul. We are all learning together to effectively listen to each other, to involve everyone, in every place, for all occasions; to focus on what matters and to playing a key role that requires our leadership to hear the heart and soul of the people of Great Falls through the Great Falls Heart and Soul program.

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