Full Circle: One Senior’s Lifelong Connection to Hayden

For Lizzie Scott, 91, the historic Hayden Village Center in Franklin is more than a place for community gatherings and senior living—it’s a part of her life story. From student to staff member to Senior Services volunteer, her connection to Hayden spans almost eight decades. 

Mrs. Scott’s graduating class.

Mrs. Scott attended Hayden High School when it was still in its original wooden building, just yards from where Hayden Village Center stands today. Life wasn’t easy for her in those days. In eighth grade, her family’s store and home burned down.

“We lost everything,” she recalled, and she missed months of school as her family rebuilt their lives on a farm outside town. 

As one of seven children in a farming family, she missed classes every fall during the harvest, when the family worked together picking corn, peanuts, and cotton. On rainy days, the work paused, and she headed to school. “The other students would say, ‘It rained today—here come them farmers!’” she said with a laugh. 

Although it took her longer to graduate because of all the missed days, she persevered. She especially enjoyed home economics, learning to sew from patterns and improving her cooking skills. On June 2, 1952, she graduated in a class of 31 students—just a year before Hayden High moved into the new brick building that now houses Hayden Village Center. 

She had hoped to become a nurse, but family responsibilities meant she started working right away. In 1961, after Franklin became a city and established its own school system, she became a bus driver. When Hayden High School transitioned to a Junior High, Mrs. Scott was hired as one of its first teacher’s assistants, later serving as a school secretary. 

Hayden Village Center’s exterior with the historic Junior High    lettering intact.

After Hayden Junior High closed, the building stood empty for years until Senior Services brought it back to life. Following a historic renovation completed in 2020, Hayden Village Center opened with 28 affordable senior apartments, a community center, and space for health and wellness programs. 

The gymnasium where students once gathered still echoes with activity, but now it’s for events like the Hayden Senior Games, where Mrs. Scott recently reunited with old friends. Several of the participants that day were former students who remembered Mrs. Scott from her time working at Hayden Junior High. 

Mrs. Scott’s ties to Senior Services extend far beyond the building. Since 1999, she has served as a Senior Companion volunteer, visiting older homebound neighbors, running errands, and delivering homemade treats. “I’d do anything for those ladies,” she said. 

Mrs. Scott credits her good health to keeping active. She rides a stationary bicycle daily and tracks her steps faithfully. After a car accident years ago, her doctor advised, “Whatever you do, don’t go home and sit down.” She’s followed that advice ever since. 

For Mrs. Scott, Hayden isn’t just a building—it’s a thread woven through her life, from the classrooms of her youth to the community gatherings of today. Her story is a reminder that when a place holds generations of memories, it also holds the power to bring people together, again and again.