LAKE WALES, Fla. — Lake Wales is a small town filled with people born and raised here, like Tashayla Irvis and Michelle Threatt.
“This is what I know,” said Irvis.
“It’s a little town but to me it feels like a little big city,” said Threatt.
WATCH: City of Lake Wales focusing on uniting neighborhoods with connected plan
They both are part of the local Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation, which focuses on serving the community.
“Just want to give back and make a difference. That’s the goal of MLK,” said Threatt.
Another one of those goals is sharing and remembering the rich Black history of Lake Wales, the good and the bad.
“Segregation… was big back then,” said Eric Marshall, communications and engagement director for the City of Lake Wales.
Segregation, like in most places, created separate neighborhoods in Lake Wales that have since changed over the decades.
The city is focusing on creating more connections now throughout the community, with the Lake Wales connected plan.
“The key component of it is to connect the historic downtown district to the historic northwest neighborhood. We’ve got 2 historic districts in Lake Wales that are very unique,” said Marshall.
The goal of the project is to increase mobility through the different neighborhoods and parks with two-way cycle tracks, broader sidewalks, and trees.
“We’re trying to create a connected city where people can easily communicate from one area to another,” said Marshall.
It’s something Threatt and Irvis said they’re in support of.
“We're all going to connect, be involved with everything that’s going on and all of our area of our city. That’s how we grow, that’s how unity comes,” said Threatt.
“I think this is a great place for us to start, really try to bridge the gap between communities, between generations, to really bring us together as one Lake Wales,” said Irvis.
Threatt thinks this is more than just a city project and believes it will have long-term impacts on the entire community.
“It’s just the differences that things make by coming together for a vision, for all of us. Not just for one person. Not just the Blacks, not just the Whites,” said Threatt.
She and Irving see that vision for what’s possible and believe this connected plan will be a key component to building the city’s future, while honoring its past.
Because to them, Lake Wales isn’t just any other place.
“This is just home for me,” said Irvis.
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