December 2021 - 34

AG LABOR REVIEW
Farm, ranch community exudes essence of America
MICHAEL MARSH
President & CEO
National Council of
Agricultural Employers
Michael@ncaeonline.org
When I was seven years old, my best
friend moved to town.
His father was the minister of the
local church that stood in gleaming
white reflecting the bright Wyoming
sunlight just a block off main street, or the
highway as visitors called it. The structure
had been built some time ago of brick and
block with a tall steeple that overlooked
the elementary school playground next
door. The chime of the church bells tolled
each hour, or thereabouts, and could
be heard from all over town reminding
residents of passing time.
The church was a centerpiece of our
little farm and ranch community and
flourished each Sunday. The parking
lot in the back filled with cars, pickups
adorned with gun racks in the back
windows, and station wagons, having
disgorged their occupants in their
Sunday best at the front door. If anyone
had ever checked the parked vehicles, I
would guess they would find that few of
the doors were locked. Just like the doors
on the homes.
The church was a place of community
for our town.
In addition to hosting the annual
turkey dinner fundraiser, where all of
us local kids bussed tables and fetched
refills of water for guests, the adults
washing dishes and carving up turkeys
after mashing potatoes and cooking the
green beans just right, it served many
spiritual purposes as well. And my
friend's family was always in the middle
of it, living in the small church manse
adjacent to the church.
The minister and his family were
always some of the first to share the
glory whenever a baby was born. They
were also among the first to hear when
a member of the town or surrounding
environs was seriously ill. And of course,
they were among the first to learn of and
lend comfort to families grieving the loss
of a member.
The community celebrated baptisms
at the church and weddings, too. In fact,
my great grandmother remarried in that
church six or so years after Poppa passed
away. My parents were witnesses and my
buddy's dad officiated over the ceremony.
And, if you were a kid attending
Sunday school near Christmas time at the
church, you might even get a surprise visit
from Saint Nick! More reason to heed the
teacher's admonishment to avoid being
naughty. You know, it was sure funny
how Santa's voice sounded a lot like Ivan
Whipple. Ivan was the lineman for the
rural electric company who lived in the
red brick house down the street.
It was also the place where the
community came together when tragedy
struck. When I was in high school, a boy
who was a year ahead of me in school,
lost control of his car and crashed. The
accident killed him.
School was let out early on the day of
the funeral, held at the church. My friend
and another classmate of mine sang at
the service. A pretty girl from the class
behind ours sat next to me in the pew
that sad day. Whenever I catch a whiff of
the perfume she was wearing, my mind
wanders back to that afternoon. Probably
needless to say, it's not a favorite scent.
Other towns across rural America
have their own places of community like
that church. They all have places where
residents come together to celebrate, share,
live, laugh, love and sometimes mourn.
Those kinds of places sort of bind people
to one another in shared experience.
As most crops are now harvested
and put away, and as darkness will
continue to dominate days until just
past mid-December in our hemisphere,
those places of community will fill
once again. But places like that church
will continue to call to its community
like a beacon of light through even the
darkest days. Families will gather with
extended family; meals will be shared
with neighbors and people will gather
to celebrate the holidays with extended
community. I am even willing to bet
that in some other small town, there is
another seven-year-old who will meet
his own best friend.
The community of farm and ranch
country is something to be rejoiced in and
is one of the finest things about America.
Rejoice! FGN
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December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2021
