A Day in the Life of a Happy Atchison Countian

• 7 a.m.:  Fall out of bed, not entirely happily. UNLESS it is like one of our recent gift days where I walk outside and say, AHHHHHH.
• 7:30 a.m.:  Feed kitties, who come running from various fields nearby when they hear the food hit the tin.
• 8:00 a.m.:  Depart for the office. Drive 35-40 mph all the way to town just because I can. Examine crops during leisurely drive. Wave to cows. Watch hopefully for a farm implement. Dodge a deer on Route B, something that’s possible when traveling at such Sunday Drive speeds. Relish the fact that I am the only person on the road. Check out lunch special on board outside of Food Country, checking specifically for inadvertently humorous phraseology or something baby in belly might be interested in that day.
• 8:30 a.m.: Arrive at office. Good Morning to Cara. Check email. Read Jerry Baker’s Thought of the Day. Delete junk. Check task list. Get to work.
• 10:30 a.m.: Meet with the ever-kind Representative Thomson (aka Mike) to gain outsider-perspective on our primary interstate exit (improving this is a current personal mission).  
• 12:00 p.m.: Listen for bizarro siren-honk noise Dad’s cop truck makes when he announces his arrival at back door. Head to Subway, where vegetable gal gives me extra pickles (she has quickly assessed that I need them). Porta-picnic commences. Ride around the county for a while, check out progress on wholesale water project, learn lots of random County tidbits. 
• 1:00 p.m.: Back to work. Try to decide which task (if any) can actually be checked off list. Research communities that do a great job of attracting their youth back home (another personal mission). Try not to become overwhelmed by number of personal missions.
• 2:30 p.m.: Fun lady shows up who wants to start a nonprofit in the county. Provide every bit of information that might possibly be helpful. Feel hopeful and happy as I do every time folks are excited to get something started here.
• 3:00 p.m.: Zip out to McD’s for the occasional small latte (don’t judge, I add extra milk and it’s the only caffeine Jack ever gets) and make the difficult decision NOT to order apple pie (which Jack and I both really, really want). Back to office.
• 4:45 p.m.: Head home via Tarkio, gotta go to Flower Mill to make copies of some photos and see what apple candles I can find. Have lovely chats with Betsy and Mary Ann. Appreciate that we have such a store in the county…and, more importantly, that we have Mary Anns and Betsys in the county.
• 5:15 p.m.: Stop by Mom’s on the way up Main Street to see if anything exciting is going on there. Talk baby stuff. Show her some short people pics on Facebook. No night meeting tonight (yay!!), head home to hubby.
• 5:45 p.m.: Arrive home after traveling amongst corn and bean fields and feel almost overwhelmed (as I do most days) that I get to live in this big old beautiful farmhouse. Greeted by kitties and hubby.
• 6:15 p.m.: Eat something totally uninspired. BUT enjoy some garden-fresh tomatoes on the side (delivered to our door by nice gardner-landlord).  Nothing better than a tomato grown around here.
• 6:45 p.m.: Haven’t taken a belly shot for a while, so head outside to take care of this task.  Stand in the yard, looking around…thankful, thankful, thankful.
• 7:15 p.m.: Hubby and I sit in our dueling recliners. He flips channels, I write out a couple of cards. Kicked back, Jack starts his mostly-nightly show of ricocheting all around my stomach.  We giggle and grin and bask in the awesomeness of this moment that never, ever gets old.
• 9:30 p.m.: Head to bed, knowing that I’ll be up 3-400 times in the night so might as well crash early.  Listen to the sounds of the country…coyotes, the whoosh-whoosh of the turbine blades across the road, and the otherwise quiet of the night.  Reflect on the day, hoping I contributed something to this place I love so much, pray for an opportunity to make life a little better here tomorrow.

 ~MMB

Your Summer Checklist

It’s natural to want to escape in the summer.  Kids are out of school.  Work is (sometimes!) a little slower.  Days are longer.  All these things conspire to create a need to GO, to get away for a while.  Many of us have our go-to vacation spots…Colorado mountains, Lake of the Ozarks, weekend getaways to St. Louis or KC.  Escapes are good.  They give us a little recharge and make us ready and willing and able to come back to this place we love and dig in again.

The flip side of vacationitis is that we can so easily overlook the little outings available right in our own backyard.  Admittedly, I should have started this little checklist discussion EARLIER in the summer when there was more time to take advantage of some of these opportunities…but for those of you with short people heading back to school next week, maybe this weekend can be one last hurrah of awesome.  How many of these can you get done before summer’s end?  Ready, Set, GO!!!

• Ice Cream! Grab a treat from the Dairy Diner in Fairfax.
• Too hot to play outside? Head to one of the three library branches for FREE DVDs/books/magazines and camp out in your living room!
• Play a round at Rock Port Country Club or Tarkio Golf Club
• Head out to Charity Lake for a walk or some fishing
• Cool off with some inside fun at River Rock Lanes
• Don’t turn on your oven - take your girl or guy or kiddos out for a burger at Black Iron Grill or Mule Barn Café
• Check out the shiny new tennis courts in Tarkio
• Hit the pool in Tarkio or Rock Port
• Hide inside with some dessert from the Daybreak Café or Rock Port Café or KJ’s
• Slide, swing or play at any of our lovely city parks; if you’re in Tarkio, pick up some fried chicken from Torrey Pines and make a picnic out of it

What’s on your list?  What have I missed???

~MMB

It's Fair Time!

This week's guest blogger is Afton Demott, an Atchison County native and current president of the AC Fair Board.  A 2005 graduate of Rock Port High and a 2008 graduate of NWMSU, Afton is the Executive Secretary/CSR at Atchison-Holt Electric and Secretary of University Extension Council...AND, she's getting married to a fellow AC native (Chad Schomburg) September 1!  Many thanks to this awesome lady for taking time during this crazy fair week to blog for us!  For information on the Fair, check out the schedule in this week's paper or call the UM Extension office at 744-6231! 

It is here…Fair week!  It is a time for many Atchison County families to show off what they have been working on.  These families have dedicated countless hours of hard work into their prize projects.  The Atchison County fair is not just for the average farmer, it is a family affair for all ages to partake in.  

I remember how waking up early every morning during fair week was so exciting!  The chores, washing of the animals, grooming…I couldn’t wait!  I had a routine down after the first few years.  Feed, wash, and get ready for show.  When the hog show day rolled around the nerves hit.  I would tell myself “It’s ok, I got this.”  Walking into the show ring I was now showing everyone what I had been working on since April.  I smiled at the judge and presented my hog for him to judge.  Keeping good eye contact I walked around the ring with pride.  The ring men help pen the hogs and split up the ones that like to fight.  Thank goodness we have such great volunteers to help.  No matter how good or bad I ended up in each class I held my head high because I was proud of my project. 

The cattle show entitles much more work.  The nerves really hit on this day.  I wanted to do well and showmanship was what I wanted to win more than anything.  After feeding, I would wash my steer, blow him dry and start working with his hair.  All summer I had been rinsing him every morning, noon and evening to get good hair.  Hair on cattle can be what makes or breaks the animal.  I would spray all the necessary accessories on and brush them in and blow them in with the dryer.  Making some last minute touches with the clippers and scissors, I changed halters and headed for the ring with my show stick.  Eekkk!!!  I could not wait to show my steer off.  Entering the ring I made eye contact with the judge as I walked my steer into position.  Using the show stick to set his feet, I watched everyone else enter.  After circling the ring he placed the class and we exited accordingly.  After all the classes and champion driver are over, it is the showmanship classes.  Sometimes the judge will make you switch animals with another exhibitor.  I took pride in the showmanship classes, winning 3 years in a row.  Getting money and trophies are great, but we need to remember to thank these sponsors who willingly donate money to the fair.  Thank you notes are VERY important to write to the sponsors to let them know you appreciate them and what they have sponsored.

State Fair is another time when the county exhibitors get together and put up a county display.  We all come together and split the costs of the materials to have a nice display and let everyone know we are from Atchison County.  State fair is so much fun because you get to know the other exhibitors better and spend quality time with them.  We all help each other wash and get to the barns and tie outs.  Getting to know others in the county is huge and it helps out in the long run.

Living in such a great county we have numerous volunteers.  Without all of you who volunteer your time, the fair would be hurting.   Volunteering and sponsoring are two wonderful things this county is amazing at.  Sponsorships not only benefit the Atchison County Fair.  They also benefit the youth of the county and show them what this county can really do.  The people that volunteer their time as superintendants of the species for the show are truly appreciated, as are the ring men.  They keep the events running smoothly and if an animal gets away from an exhibitor they are Johnny on the spot!  The ladies that enter the horticulture and fine arts exhibits spend a lot of their time volunteering throughout the days of the fair.  And the list goes on.

As far as the volunteers and sponsors, I believe Atchison County has by far the best!  The willingness our county has to want to help others is AWESOME!  You don’t find people everyday like the people of Atchison County.  We also have the best sportsmanship when it comes to the show ring, congratulating other exhibitors on their win. 

The events that the Atchison County Fair offers are for a variety of ages: greased pig contest, Pedal Tractor Pull, Muttin Bustin, Pie Baking Contest, Parade and the livestock shows of course!  You can participate or come be a spectator, all are welcome!  Come out and give the people of Atchison County a hand!

Sweet Summertime

I remember well the summer of 1988. I was 8. It was hot, dry and brown. I would ride my bike through the orchard over cracks in the parched earth that were several inches wide.  Severe drought conditions caused our well too much stress to do laundry at home. A once a week trip to the laundry mat meant a morning at the library for my sister and I. While aware of the conditions around me, what I remember most about that summer are the long, hot afternoons curled up in our bedroom lost in the pages of the latest Newbery Award Winner.

It’s another hot, dry summer. Although we have all tried to stay positive, it is hard to be upbeat in these conditions. Even our blog has suffered. I just can’t get excited about anything when its 102 degrees, the crops are dying and my electricity bill is nearing a record high.

Thankfully, I live with an 8 year old. And this boy knows how to do summer living: Baseball games (they didn’t win one, but you wouldn’t know that by talking to Aaron), 4 different Bible Schools,4-H camp, 2 weeks of swimming lessons, 5 4-H pigs and a debut as Louis at the Liberty Theater’s King and I.

Even in these conditions, I do find something of which to be grateful. Being part of a farm community where so many livelihoods are dependent on the whims of the weather makes for a well rounded childhood. At 8 years old in 1988 I was keenly aware of the ever present worry and whispered prayers for rain just as Aaron is. I can remember dancing in the rain when it finally came late in August. Here, among the acres of corn and beans, it is impossible to protect our children from the reality that times do get tough, tightening your belt is prudent and wise and that we don’t always have control over the circumstances that impact our lives.

But the beauty of summer living in Atchison County, is that when you are 8 and life give you lemons….well you learn the finer points hog farming, get bragging rights for numbers of ticks at 4-H camp and spend the evenings practicing Rogers and Hammerstein.

Summer living is still good living here at my house even when its 102 degrees. 

It's Our Anniversary!

This month we celebrate a year of this blog, a year of recognizing everything good right outside our door.  If you’re a new reader, please take the time to look back through older posts – I promise it will bring a smile to your soul.

Ann and I have been kicking around the idea of a ‘Best of’ Blog as we acknowledge our anniversary.  The trouble is, we know and love every one of these contributors, and we love their stories.  How do you choose the top 10 from such a fantastic list?  In the end, we couldn’t.  We did decide to highlight a few, just in case you missed them…

• A Top 10 list of AC awesomeness… http://anewconversationinruralamerica.blogspot.com/2011/06/top-10-reasons-i-love-atchison-county.html
• A sparkling review of Fourth of July in Rock Port, but more importantly, a review of life lived in this place where people have your back… http://anewconversationinruralamerica.blogspot.com/2011/07/lil-firecrackers-and-lil-blue-jays.html
• A dad’s story of coaching his son’s baseball team… http://anewconversationinruralamerica.blogspot.com/2011/07/baseball-and-bathroom-breaks.html
• The Fairfax Fair, and a ‘mixed’ marriage… http://anewconversationinruralamerica.blogspot.com/2011/08/east-coast-boy-fairfax-fair.html 
• Friday Night Lights, Atchison County style… http://anewconversationinruralamerica.blogspot.com/2011/09/friday-night-lights.html
• The women before us, what an excellent heritage we have… http://anewconversationinruralamerica.blogspot.com/2011/09/woman-before-me.html 
• A tale of customer service: the story of one of the many ‘good eggs’ we are blessed and honored to call our own... http://anewconversationinruralamerica.blogspot.com/2011/10/customer-service-summa-pharmacy-style.html  
• A history of our wonderful county hospital... http://anewconversationinruralamerica.blogspot.com/2011/12/part-2-of-2-band-aids-babies-and.html
• Who needs Taco Bell when you have friendliness, families and farms? http://anewconversationinruralamerica.blogspot.com/2012/03/no-taco-bell-or-target-but.html 
• There’s no logic or bias behind this inclusion…this story is just about my incredible Mom... http://anewconversationinruralamerica.blogspot.com/2012/04/kind-of-gal-you-want-to-thank.html

There are many, many more excellent posts and stories on our blog, and we hope you’ll take the time to check them out, if you haven’t yet.  We know we’ve only scratched the surface so far and we can’t wait to hear what others have to say about why they love Atchison County so much.  It is truly a wonderful place to live, and if you aren’t lucky enough to call this your home, at least you get to live here vicariously through this little, joy-filled blog.

A Year Later

A year ago Memorial Day weekend I stood outside my parents’ house and listened to Dad tell us a flood was coming, and it was going to be huge, bigger than anything in our recent history.  I was here for the Flood of ’93, but other than knowing that my new-Sheriff-Dad was dealing with crazy hours and stress, my 15-year-old self wasn’t tremendously affected.  Last year, I heard Dad’s words but didn’t fully comprehend what it would mean to our county and our region.

I-29, Shelton Fireworks - Looking West from Bluffs - June 27, 2011

Looking West on Hwy 136 - June 27, 2011

It was indeed huge.  We were flooded in some instances for 4 months.  To the North, the Interstate was closed. Traffic was re-routed through secondary highways, through towns that weren’t remotely prepared for that kind of volume.  To the West lies the Missouri river, and obviously, there was no way to cross.  Hosts of families living on this side of the river had someone in their household who worked on the other side.  Most stayed apart from their families through the week and came home on weekends.  Others made the multiple-hour commute every day so that they could see their kids.  Families who lived on the bottoms were displaced for months.

Last summer and early fall, all I felt was gloom and doom and hopelessness.  I sat in shocked sadness, watching all that cropland sit underwater.  I saw businesses lay off employees and leave.  I would look through my office’s ‘all about Atchison County’ website, and I kept landing on the page where we brag about everything we have access to (barge, interstate, rail, nearby airports) that were essentially eliminated during the flood.  I was worried about what we would look like on the other side of this thing…whenever that happened.

Then, little by little, week by week, things started to change.  The importance of our existing local businesses became even more important.  My office did a little “Shop Local, we’re all in this together!” campaign, something that we created because we were desperate to do something, anything, to help.  I don’t know if it made a huge difference in sales taxes or not, but it was a reminder sign in the newspapers and in stores all over the county we are responsible for our communities and for supporting each other. 

I-29, Shelton Fireworks - Looking West from Bluffs - June 14, 2012

Roads opened up and repairs began.  Construction on our levees and roads brought newcomers to our county who are still shopping, eating, and staying here.  Since early this year, a massive wholesale water construction project has been underway, bringing even more visitors and workers here.

Looking West on Hwy 136 - June 14, 2012

Businesses that had temporarily closed have reopened and others have been able to bring their regular numbers of employees back on board.  Most all of our businesses were able to persevere, and while last year will not go down in the books as an easy or profitable one, they made it.  A few, like the campground, have not reopened yet due to the severity of the damage, but they are now starting their long road of recovery.

A year later, there’s good news to be found if you look around.  The vast majority of families who were displaced during the flood chose to relocate elsewhere in the county.  The mild winter we experienced allowed road and levee repairs to start much sooner than anticipated.  While some farmers continue to deal with significant sand issues on their land, many have planted and are back in their fields.  The tax base has held, far better than I anticipated.  And regardless of how people feel about the Corps, they have done a tremendous job restoring our levees.

The bottom line in all this is, we ‘made it’ this far largely because of the kind of people we are here.  We pull together in catastrophe.  We help our neighbors.  We work together to get things done.  I’ve said it before and I’ll surely say it again, but in good times and in bad, I am so proud to be a part of this county and these people.  

~MMB

Shall we Dance?

This week's post comes from Debbie Johnson, Lynn Hunter and Donovan Jones....3 of Atchison County's very talented musicians/actors/directors. I have had the pleasure of being a part of two productions at the Liberty Theater in the pit orchestra and I've missed very few of the musical productions. Each time I set foot in the theater, it is a very rewarding experience. Thank you to the Liberty Theater Group for all you contribute to our community!

Though some may think life in a small community means seclusion from the finer things in life, life in Atchison County is not so. With the establishment of the Atchison County Memorial Building/Liberty Theatre, there has been an awareness brought back to life for the fine arts. 

Since 2004, with the opening production, "The Sound of Music", hundreds of thespians and lovers of the theatre have volunteered their time and talents in an effort to provide live entertainment for Northwest Missouri. Some of these wonderful shows include: "The Wizard of Oz", "The Odd Couple", "Little Shop of Horrors", "Forever Plaid", "Always, Patsy Cline", "Polterheist!", and "Thoroughly Modern Millie", just to name a few. Through the comedies, dramas, mystery dinner theatres, choral groups, and classic musicals, many a smile has left the theatre with a yearning to return at each upcoming event.

 

 This years Summer musical, "The King and I" by Rodgers and Hammerstein, will exemplify the talent within our portion of the state once again. With actors ranging in age from four to sixty-four, this show will be enjoyed by all ages. Some of the popular songs from this musical include: "Getting to Know You", "Whistle a Happy Tune", and the infamous "Shall We Dance?". While Anna and the King fall into a deep romance, the love between Lun Tha and Tuptim is intercepted by the powers that be. The play-within-the-play, "Uncle Tom's Cabin", brings new light to the Harriet Beecher Stow literary classic.

The theatre will be undergoing renovation beginning in the Fall of 2012. We, the Liberty Theatre Committee, hope that you will all join us the last weekend of July and first weekend in August for our final production this season.   

We hope you will decide to become an associate of the Liberty Theatre with one final sponsorship for this 2012 season. And for those who have already joined with a donation, A HUGE 'THANK YOU' TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU! You may contact any of us if you have questions.

THE LIBERTY THEATRE COMMITTEE:Scott Deatz, Steve Hoffrogge, Lynn Hunter, Malisa Linthicum, Debra Wyatt, Deb Johnson, Jan Carpenter, Donovan Jones, Annie Schmerber, Debbie Martin