Caring lifestyles still abound in southern Iowa
By LeRoy the Tramp
HUMESTON, Iowa – Their faces were bright and eager and they were unfailingly polite. They asked smart questions, too.
About 40 kids – some from other churches – swelled the Sunday School class to about twice its normal size at First Baptist Church in Humeston on Sunday morning, March 11.
LuLu and I were there to entertain the Sunday School class, then do the children’s sermon during the regular worship service.
Sunday School is held in an adjoining education building, about two blocks east of Highway 65 on the edge of the Humeston business district.
Humeston, population about 540, is in far northwestern Wayne County. It’s part of the Mormon Trail school district, and we saw another part of the district when our hosts took us to Sunday dinner in Garden Grove, 12 miles to the west and south in far northeastern Decatur County. (Mormon Trail Café . .the Sunday buffet was m-m-m-m..good!)
We were visiting the heart of southern Iowa.
Humeston has a few empty storefronts. The percentage is higher in Garden Grove, (population 250), which isn’t on a state or U.S. highway.
Our hosts told us the Mormon Trail district has the second-highest federal lunch subsidy in the state.
I took that to mean that for many, times are tough.
But you sure can’t tell by looking into their faces.
The kids were bright and cheery. Adults came to our Sunday School show, too. They sat in the back of the room and appeared to be enjoying the proceedings. Adults and kids were dressed the way you dress to go to church on Sunday in small-town Iowa. (And LuLu and I are hardly the ones to be fashion judges!)
In church, they were a wonderfully receptive audience.
If Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, is accurate, 21.4 percent of the population in Humeston lives below the poverty line. In Montezuma, it’s 6.4 percent. The communities are just 93 miles apart and both are in rural areas. What’s the difference?
Something is tearing at the traditional way of life in Iowa’s southern counties.
“We’ve lost so many of our farm families,” one of our hosts said.
That’s tough in Humeston and Garden Grove, because there’s no major local industry to speak of.
Plus, the farm population wasn’t as dense to start with as it was and is up in central and northern Iowa.
In Montezuma, we have hundreds of industrial jobs in town and in Poweshiek County, less than 10 percent of our gross income is from production ag. The government classifies us as an industrial county.
Southern Iowa is hauntingly beautiful, with its wooded, rolling hills.
But the soil in that part of the state tends to be tough. Crops are grown there, but not on just about every square acre like they are up north.
So, when you lose farm families, chances are you’re not replacing them.
“You make do. You go on,” our host said.
They’re there for each other
You may not have money falling out of your pockets, but you can choose to have a smile light up your face.
You can be good to your neighbors.
You can be active in your church and community.
Those are things they obviously do in Humeston, Garden Grove and the Mormon Trail community.
In Humeston, they have a co-op grocery store, a variety store, a bank and more. Although a café was destroyed by fire recently, another one has opened.
We parked in front of the indoor community swimming pool. It requires a lot of upkeep as it has gotten older, but they’re obviously proud of have it.
They have a country club they are able to maintain.
They’re excited about the downtown park, located a half-block east of the church, because it’s going to get new playground equipment pretty soon.
The day we were there, they were going to a bowling party. They don’t have a bowling establishment locally, so they were doing that in Chariton, about 25 miles to the northeast.
You make do.
You do what you have to.
“Poor” might be a number and in the language of the day, “economically challenged” might be a reality.
Old LeRoy was never good at math!
But in terms of attitude and caring for each other, the people in the Mormon Trail community are rich and thriving.
We pray they will continue to use God’s resources wisely.
They have a way of life they obviously cherish – we all do in Iowa – and we want to be able to sustain that way of life as long as we can.
FUN FACT – Where did the “Mormon Trail” name come from? Well, research reveals that about 600 Mormon emigrants founded Garden Grove, Iowa, in April of 1846. They headed west in 1852, and wound up in Utah.
“LeRoy in Iowa” is presented by LeRoy and LuLu, the Kingdom Klowns of Iowa. Visit our website at www.clownsiniowa.com and click on the “LeRoy in Iowa” tab.