by Mallory Leonard

Blount County isn’t perfect, but luckily it’s home to lots of good people who want to make their hometown better and are willing to work to make that happen. Like Rosalind Robinson.

A few years ago, Rosalind spearheaded a project to clean up and beautify a section of Hall Road, between Edison and Howe. Before, this area was a huge mess, covered in massive amounts of litter and overgrown with weeds. After looking at such a depressing sight day after day, Rosalind decided to do something about it.

At first, she started cleaning the place up herself, with her own money and tools. Then, with the help of Charlene DeSha at Keep Blount Beautiful, Rosalind applied for and was awarded a Beautification Grant from Lowe’s.

Now this project could become a community effort. Although Rosalind may have started it all, she does not see this beautification project as “hers;” it has always been about the community.

The location has special significance for a number of reasons. For one, Rosalind remembers how many of the dads, including her own, would walk home every evening from Alcoa, and before splitting off to their individual homes, they would sit on the rocks and socialize together and unwind after a hard day’s work. Also, the site is adjacent to the building that, prior to integration, was the school designated for black students in the area. Rosalind remembers attending through the 9th grade and transferring to Alcoa High School for her last three years.

In addition to working with KBB, Rosalind assembled a team of workers and teamed up with the City of Alcoa to make this plot of land a sight worth seeing.

Rosalind was acutely aware of how many people drive down Hall Road every day, whether on the way to Knoxville or the mountains. So she and others have worked hard over the last few years to clean up and plant flowers and trees that will say something about this community to those passing through, but more importantly to those who live here.

To Rosalind, this effort is all about “caring for home.” She cares deeply about her home, the place and the people, and she knows she couldn’t have accomplished this much without the support of other people who care about home. Still, she knows they’ve got a ways to go yet...