Mary Elizabeth (or “May-Libba”) Dukes has lived in the Westview community off and on since 1974, when her mother purchased the house they still live in for $22,000. While she fears some changes that seem to be coming to the area, she still sees a lot of what she loves about it: the strong sense of community, the walkability. She likes to reminisce about the old days, even the ones that weren’t always great, saying “we remember sometimes at dinner there wasn’t anything to eat . . . back in the day, there might not be anything to eat. It seems sad, but we can joke about it.” She says of the Westview of her youth that, “Everybody knew everybody. They [hung out] together, did barbecues together, sat on the front yard together.” You can still find her sitting on the front porch of her neighbor Miss Louise’s house or walking or taking the bus through the neighborhood. "People kind of knew each other, people kind of looked out for each other.” She remembers when, “The kids could play on the streets. All the kids kind of got together on Sunday and played football down on South Gordon. But you can’t do that now.” She mourns the cars that speed through her street and the number of houses for sale there, as well as the prices of those houses, but she believes that the long-term residents are what keep the community strong. 

For her whole story, listen below: