Hilltop Square Celebrates Moving Forward

by Karin L. Nauber

karin@inhnews.com

For years, it stood just as it was, familiar, dependable, maybe even a little forgotten. But lately, things had changed. Architects had been coming through, measuring, sketching, talking in low voices about what could be. What might be restored. What might be lost.

There was excitement in that. But there was something else, too.

Because as much as Hilltop Square was about the future…it carried a past that refused to be ignored.

So many had stood in those same spaces, worked those same floors, laughed in those same corners, and learned within those same walls.

And so many who were no longer with us.

Names came up quietly, almost reverently: Kay Nelson. Jan Notch. Dale Rachuy.

Not just names. People who had built something. People who had been something here.

Individuals who played key roles in earlier stages. Their contributions helped lay the foundation for the current progress.

And then there are those still here, still showing up, still pushing things forward.

One of those people is Harry Grammond of Grey Eagle, who recognized early on what this kind of housing could mean—not just for one town, but for the broader community. He saw the potential in repurposing former school buildings into something lasting, something useful.

Verna Toenyan, who has worked tirelessly on this project, noted that it takes a larger village to bring a project like this to life, and Grammond was a clear example of that. He played a vital role in the effort to turn the former Grey Eagle School into housing and remained committed to seeing it through.

“He wanted to see this project get done and had come to meetings many times from Grey Eagle to help with it,” said Toenyan.

Nine years and then some. That’s how long the work had taken to get to this point. Nine years of meetings. Of plans that didn’t quite stick. Of starting over. Of pushing forward anyway...

Subscribe to get the rest of the story...