Old Settlers’ Day has been a tradition in Marion for nearly 100 years. It used to be an “Old Settler” was someone who was born here and died here. That definition has changed.

Being a settler is being a good neighbor — there to help when the going gets tough and ready to roll up sleeves to get the job done. Settlers are those who are involved in church, school, the neighborhood.

I could be considered an old settler, having been born at St. Luke Hospital. When my family and I lived here in the 1950s and early 1960s, the attitude was if you weren’t born here, you really weren’t a member of this community. I was born here, moved when I was 5 years old, and returned about 20 years ago. I lived the majority of my life someplace else. So, technically, I am an old settler but not a continuous settler, I guess.

There are a lot of us “settlers” in the community — those who have always lived here and those who moved here, those who call Marion home.

“The Best Place I’ve Seen” was true 100 years ago, 50 years ago, and holds true today. Look around. We have so many assets within reach — two lakes a little more than a stone’s throw away from town, state-of-the-art athletic facilities, a hospital currently undergoing renovation, and a community showing renewed interest in becoming a PRIDE community again. When something needs to get done, we have a “can do” attitude.

More important than buildings, we have people who care — they care about the community and the people who live here.

Welcome home, former Marion residents. Isn’t it amazing that regardless of where our lives take us, we can always come home to Marion? Have fun this weekend.

Regardless of whether you’re a Marion High School graduate or new to the community, thank you for calling Marion home. This community wouldn’t be what it is today without you.

This weekend, we’re all old settlers at heart.

— susan berg