Little towns that don't know they're dead

By Ken Root

So many small towns have erased themselves from the map that it's sort of strange to watch one stir that should have been gone a generation ago. The message may be that hope is always alive and if a town can produce a single heartbeat it might just survive.

The place I'll use as an example is the one-stop-sign town of Macksburg, Iowa, population 172. It is a pin point on the map in southwest Madison County about 15 miles from Winterset, the county seat and highly touted birthplace of John Wayne. The county also is noted for its covered bridges and the novel turned movie: "Bridges of Madison County."

Macksburg held its 30th annual "National Skillet Throwing Championship" recently as a totally contrived event to bring people into the antiquated community for a day that started with a very short parade followed by skillet-slinging, beer-drinking and street dancing.

Without a doubt, Macksburg had its day. It has a one-block open park in the middle of town with huge oak trees that look to have stood for over 100 years. The most imposing building in town is a brick and limestone structure with huge Romanesque engraving across the front that says "Macksburg National Bank." It is now a bar. The original flat roof has been replaced with sloped prefabricated metal and the vault now serves as the kitchen. There has been so little change inside that the vault inspection slips on the door are legible all the way back to the early 20th century. The high counter with iron teller's windows is now the back side of the bar, either as a touch of nostalgia or because it was easier to leave them in place than do any more remodeling.

The other buildings around the square look to date to the early 1900s and most are standing relics of the past. The bank/bar stop sign corner also has an open front, dilapidated storage shed on the other side of the street with an Oliver 77 and assorted implements just rusting away. A couple of churches sit on the outskirts and the only official structure is a very small post office with the zip code 50155.

If the trees and streets could talk! Surely there was a time when farmers made their way to Macksburg proper on Saturday afternoon and folks strolled around visiting with each other while buying groceries for the next week. The children ran, rolled hoops or spiked tops while parents took a few hours from their busy lives to find comfort and conversation with their neighbors.

Now our transportation is so efficient that a run of twenty miles for gas, ice or milk is nothing and a town like this has no way to anchor its residents and little appeal except as an oddity that offers prizes to those who can accurately throw skillets. There is no gas station nor co-op, just a place to eat breakfast and lunch and another to have a cool one, play pool and catch up on the local gossip and news.

Places like this do have an important function as those who live in the area have no other organized means of sharing information. As Roger Welsch from Dannebrog, Nebraska, says: "When I hear an ambulance make a run I have no way of knowing who was involved until I go into town the next day and ask 'Slick' who runs the bar."

All may be lost and this town, like hundreds of others, will just melt away. But this strange little festival, promoted by a few community minded citizens, might just be the single heartbeat each year that keeps this berg alive. Tourism on Harleys, busses or tractors is still tourism. There is hospitality, simplicity and economy in living in a small town. You'll never be an insider, but you'll be known and cared about from your first day. If you want to live in retirement, you're welcome. If you want to put in a small business, you are also welcome. If you are looking for happiness, you well could find it here.

A man from rural Nebraska summed it up this way for me a few years ago:

Country people laugh when you laugh,

cry when you cry.

Know when you're sick,

care when you die.

Editor's note: Ken Root is now celebrating his 34th year as an agricultural professional. His career has spanned from being a vocational agriculture teacher to environmental consulting to farm broadcasting. He was the original host of AgriTalk (1994-2001) and now is lead farm broadcaster for WHO Radio in Des Moines, Iowa. Ken and Jeff Caldwell also publish the Midwest Ag Report electronic newsletter each Friday. A free e-mail subscription is available by going online to www.hpj.com/edemail/newsletter/MWAGRegistration.cfm. Ken can be reached by e-mail at kenroot@clearchannel.com or by mail at the Journal at P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801.

Date: 6/22/06

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