Thursday night I attended the monthly meeting of the Harlan Community Association. The current Springfield Township Trustee was also there, along with a mix of volunteers. I learned more about the long history this association has of supporting, promoting, and improving Harlan.
Many people don’t know this, but Harlan is not an official town. It is officially a census-designated place in Springfield Township with its own ZIP code. It was platted in 1853 and 1859 (that’s a history lesson for another day), but never incorporated as a governmental body. Because of that, no taxes are levied specifically for Harlan. That’s why the association was formed many years ago.
I also learned that each church and community organization in Harlan has a representative on the association board.
The discussions I heard were not about exclusion by a bunch of good old boys. The topics were how to get more activities in Harlan and how to get more people to live in Harlan, not just have a Harlan address.
There was no media and no candidates giving stump speeches, just citizens, some not even residents of Harlan or Springfield Township, working to make our little part of Allen County better.
I left the meeting more knowledgeable, but more importantly, encouraged that we can make Springfield Township more than just a place where someone has an address.