Dorothy Guy

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Dorothy Guy

According to Dorothy Guy, "The kind of people who lived in this neighborhood wanted to be involved because they wanted to be involved with their children. So you started out with your family and did the things that were important to your family. But then it began to dawn on you that other people were also involved and that Mt. Airy had a really a good atmosphere in which to raise your family. As time went on, you took pride in the community.  My husband and I used to say that Mt. Airy has all the best aspects of city and suburbs without the negatives of either one. It still seems to have a good atmosphere in which to be widowed and elderly."

Dorothy Guy's pride in and appreciation for Mt. Airy has lead her to be involved in a wide range of activities. She recalls that, in each one, there were always a few people who were willing to take on the burden of sustaining the organization. Dorothy was one of the early leaders of the Weaver's Way Cooperative. She says "I don’t fancy myself a good organizer in terms of rallying the group. With the coop I don’t remember the coop leadership developing with great huge numbers ready to step in. But there were always one or two or three or four new ones who were interested in something and who would join a committee or the board." Dorothy was also extremely active in the Henry Home and School Association. Again she says, "My memory is that there was always a nucleus of people who got acquainted through their children and out of that there were always one or two people you knew to call on to do something." Much the same was true of the Girls Scouts. "When my girls were in Girl Scouts we had a very strong troop committee. I would attribute that to the two women who were leaders of the troop."

Of all her community involvements, Dorothy says that her church, Summit Presbyterian, is most important to her. "That is really a community of friends with whom you build very deep relationships. The Co-op is certainly a community of friends too, but a bit more transient than the church. As an older person, both of those to facilities are important to me physically, as well as psychologically and spiritually because I can walk to them."

Dorothy is still organizing the community. "I wasn't one of the initiators, but we have formed a little group called the Senior Support Group. There are about fifteen couples and widows who get together several times a year. We have a coordinator who will receive phone calls if you need someone to drive you or someone to water your lawn when you are away or who will visit you if you are sick. We are very informal, we don’t have a bunch of rules or anything. But that adds to the value of the community."