A Park Full of Character – While Reinforcing It

Sunday Drive to La Feria by Gretchen Losi

There’s a park in La Feria that pays tribute, through its hand-painted murals, to the six pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. The park opened in 2008 as a labor of love between the City and Mary Garcia’s fourth-grade class, before being renamed the Carmen Tinajero Tiny Town Park to honor a devoted city daughter. Tinajero is noted for having devoted herself to serving her community and its residents in a variety of ways, including volunteering at local adult daycare centers.

The park’s murals are illustrations from local artists and school children, each with a special message of hope, reassurance, or direction–under the six pillars of character–and include Martin Luther King, as well as characters from fables. These murals were done as a fun and elegant way of reinforcing morals and character.

The park is small and great for a picnic lunch, walking among native landscapes, or just sitting under a mammoth-shaded tree.