“Well, I was born in a small town, and I live in a small town…”
It’s easy to take small town life for granted. I admit there were times I thought small town life was boring. When I moved off to college, I thought it was amazing to live down the street from a Dairy Queen and be less than 10 minutes from multiple shops and stores. The best part? Walking a few houses down the street to see my friends.
But as time wore on, I longed to be back in rural America. There’s nothing like it – especially if your small town embraces the concept of community.
I think that’s what drew me into learning more about the story behind Audubon, Iowa. The thought of a small town of 2,100 people coming together to make their community an inviting place to raise a family was simply a story I couldn’t pass up.
One of Audubon’s residents, Kate Hargens, said something that really struck me.
“In order to continue to recruit people back into rural communities for jobs, we need to support the growth and essential businesses like a grocery store and stores that improve quality of life such as a rec center, coffee shop or movie theater,” she says. “Young professionals currently entering the workforce with young families are not willing to sacrifice the comforts of a larger town or city when looking for a job.”
Animal agriculture needs small towns that thrive to attract the right kind of people. It’s true that you aren’t just recruiting people to a job – you are recruiting them to a life.
I thought about the small town that I live in today. It’s not very big, and it’s not perfect. But I’m proud of the work community members have done to improve the park, rally around our local 4-H club, and support a local restaurant that has delicious (and enormous) tenderloins that draw people in from hundreds of miles away. I appreciate that my neighbors cheer on our kids and would not falter to step in and help if needed.
I’ll never forget what our community was preparing to do 11 years ago. We were bracing for what was later named “Snowmageddon,” and most importantly, I was preparing for the birth of our youngest child. The forecast for our induction day looked awful so we decided to head to the big city early and stay at a hotel until it was time.
A neighbor later told me that they were prepared for the Shike baby to come in the storm and had outlined a plan for the trucks to clear our road if needed. I think they were a little disappointed we didn’t put them to test!
My point is this doesn’t just happen everywhere. But that’s not uncommon in a small town.
Regardless of where you live, I challenge you to be a Kate or a Jason or a Steve or a Nicki. Be someone who thinks about others and puts the needs of the whole above their own. There’s no question there’s an upside for these Audubon, Iowa, community members. But the reality is they didn’t have to spend their evenings and weekends raising money, writing grants and cleaning up their town – literally and figuratively.
In the paraphrased words of John Mellencamp, if you had the privilege of growing up in a small town, don’t forget where you came from.
Your Next Read: The Power of Community in Rural America
