Busy stretches add meaning to life in different ways

During a busy time focus is essential.

I can relate to what farmers and ranchers and their families do to balance the many stressors that come their way—expected or unexpected.

A whirlwind of activities has kept myself and many others busy with Dodge City Days events, an out-of-town class reunion and HPJ Live. As I thought about the three events they add perspective.

Dodge City Days is a two-week festival that celebrates the American West and it brings many people to this community and families gather for reunions. Nearly every High Plains community has a signature event that draws families together and when that occurs it makes them stronger.

Dodge City Days celebrates a side of Americana I like to reminisce about, too, because I have always been fascinated with western history and culture.

For those who have never been to Dodge City Days and Roundup Rodeo I can assure visitors community spirit is alive and well.

A couple of events that I took in—the rededication of Stan Herd’s stagecoach mural and reception at the Carnegie Center for the Arts downtown and the King of the Ring auction contest at the Winter Livestock—reinforced community pride. Herd and top auctioneer Wade Leist gushed about the hospitality they had received.

All my hometowns had big events at various times of the year and working in the media offered an opportunity to gain a greater appreciation for volunteers. Community pride took center stage throughout all the events.

A high school reunion shows decades of change in a community and the individuals that made it successful. The unfortunate passing of classmates ensures that each gathering will be a little bit smaller. Moving away from where I graduated made it harder to keep up on the achievements many classmates made. While I liked the idea of going to college and going to new places I admired the classmates who stayed closer to their hometown. Their vocations were different, but just as important as what I did.

Classmates also had parents that were friends of my parents. That was a bittersweet time, too.

I remembered a newspaper column I wrote that was 25 years after I graduated from high school. As a product of the 1980s I always thought my class and those in that era all endured the farm crisis, runaway inflation and high interest rates. As a result, in visiting with classmates back then we all learned valuable lessons about the importance of being well-grounded in our principles and not carrying too much debt.

The school of hard knocks then and now taught us well.

The final part of my trifecta, the three-day HPJ Live that is wrapping up Aug. 8 represents an enlightened sense of community. Many segments in agriculture (and the rippling effects) have felt the pain of low grain commodity prices, persistently higher expenses and stubborn interest rates. The beef sector has been the shining star in the ag sector, but producers also shared stories about dealing with expenses, interest rates and unpredictable whims of Mother Nature that make them pause, too.

However, the good news was they could all come together in a special setting in Wichita and from multiple states and learn from each other.

HPJ Live was the result of a meeting a need to bring people together in a central community with a base of sponsors and volunteers. It made for a busy time, but a refreshing one, too.

As farm families turn their attention to fall activities they have a great appreciation of community spirit. That makes the High Plains the place to be indeed.

Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].