Introductions

Although I had driven through Nocona many times since Highway 82 is the main road I travel to go back and forth between my hometown of Sherman and Lubbock, I had never stopped in Nocona before.  However, about two weeks before my internship officially started, I was making the trek from Lubbock to Sherman, and decided to make a quick stop in Nocona to meet my future supervisor.

I arrived on May 31^st to officially begin my internship.  Even though I arrived at 3 pm and only had 2 hours until the end of the workday, I consider that day my favorite example of the “rural” aspect of my internship thus far.  James, the director of the Nocona Economic Development Corporations (Nocona EDC), handed me a key to the office, and then told me to follow him around town so that he could introduce me to some folks.  We started our tour and introductions at City Hall, where I met the City Secretary.  However, the city manager was not in the office, as he was on the golf course – meaning he was the maintenance man for the golf course!

We then drove around the corner to the main street area.  But on the way, we saw the mayor in his car in line at the drive-through bank, so we stopped (in the middle of the street), got out of our cars, and walked over to say hello. 

We then parked and walked down Clay Street (essentially Main Street) to meet the major players in the revitalization of downtown.  We met the mayor’s brother, who had bought and restored a few buildings.  First, he opened Daddy Sam’s Saloon, which serves as a meeting place for concerts and events in the town.   We also met the local boot maker, who carries on the original Nocona Boots tradition by had crafting leather.  Finally, I got to meet with one of the two lawyers in town, a father and daughter team whose office is housed in an old hotel.  The daughter even took me upstairs and showed me the old run-down hotel, which is a sad sight as the only two-story building in Downtown Nocona.  As we talked, she enlightened me about the nuances of the small community.  She explained that she wanted to fix up the old hotel on the second floor of the law office, but that her father and the two other older gentlemen that own the building refuse to spend money to prevent the roof from caving in, which will eventually happen.  She also explained the dynamics of the legal community to me.  There are two lawyers in Nocona, and nine in Montague County.  One is the current judge, who is retiring.  There must be a District Attorney, a public defender, and a new judge, leaving only five other attorneys without a public position. 

My first three full days working, I began working on my first project for Nocona:  a city ordinance that would give the building permitting committee oversight when a new or existing building would be constructed or altered.  I started by looking at the old ordinance that the city passed a few years ago, attempting to do the same thing, but that did not have any “bite” or enforcement.  Next, I researched different possible ordinances that other cities had already passed.  Then, I began using a model ordinance and adjusting the ordinance to meet the needs of Nocona. 

On Thursday evening, I got to attend the Montague County Leadership Creative meeting.  There are three incorporated communities in Montague County:  Bowie, Nocona, and Saint Jo.  There are also several unincorporated communities.  There is a major rivalry between Bowie, the economic and population center of the county, and Nocona, most likely due to a long football rivalry.  In an effort to strengthen inter-community ties, leaders from each town began meeting to try to figure out how to bring the communities together.  This was the third meeting of the group.  The difficulty lies in the established rivalries and the inability for the communities to see how interdependent they are on each other.  The group even discussed how the communities resist change because “that’s the way it’s always been done.”  The group has to figure out how to change the thinking of the public.  The group is discussing the one factor that unifies the entire county – the Chisholm Trail – and the idea of raising a new generation of young leaders that are comfortable with working together.  The group discussed creating a historical tour focusing on the Chisholm Trail, as well as a new leadership group for young individuals representing the different communities in the county.