I was recently asked what I mean when I write about “re-pioneering“ — what hopes are built around the concept, how it benefits the larger community and why it could help with redevelopment efforts.
“Re-pioneering” is an attempt to revitalize rural areas by recapturing the vision of the community that the original pioneers possessed and build our future on their legacy of innovation.
The original pioneers were motivated by many factors, but among them were a love of the land, a spirit of self-reliance, a willingness to help others and a desire to raise families in a safe, supportive and prosperous environment. Most of all, the pioneers were motivated by a desire to be free, to build and lead lives best suited to their needs and temperaments.
Are our hopes that different today?
The pioneers were, of course, people just like us, good and bad, skilled and unskilled, successful and unsuccessful. But in looking back at those who succeeded, those who shaped the landscape we inhabit today, certain qualities become apparent, qualities that not only created successful communities but can help revitalize them today.
Not to romanticize, but the pioneers pretty much had to be courageous. They had to persevere. The pioneers had to make sacrifices in order to realize their dreams.
The pioneers had to be builders, innovators and entrepreneurs. They built farmsteads and dry goods stores, mills, roads and bridges. And the pioneers utilized the latest technology everywhere they could.
The pioneers cared about community. They created organizations that brought people together to quilt and to husk, to sing and to pray.
The pioneers weren’t afraid of diversity — people from vastly different places, with vastly different customs and languages, worked together to settle the Plains.
The pioneers wore many hats. They didn’t just farm and raise livestock — they were at the same time carpenters, teachers, politicians and planners.
The pioneers were visionaries. They could see in their hearts what the future could be and understood that through hard work and focus, they could achieve their visions.
The pioneers were optimists — they didn’t let the challenges of rural life dissuade them.
Imagine if more people in rural areas could once again be as inspired by a vision of what the future holds, as reluctant to let challenges stop them, as open to new ideas, as willing to do what has to be done as their predecessors were. We’d still have farms and ranches, but we’d also have more green spaces, cleaner air and safer water. We’d still have co-ops and sale barns but we’d also have a wide range of businesses utilizing technology to do business globally.
We’d have a broader approach to development and pay more attention to non-economic factors. We’d include more women in our decision-making processes and seek to recruit and retain entire families instead of just businesses.
We’d recognize the vital importance of bringing people together and thus do more to incorporate the arts and humanities into the development process.
The original pioneers were perhaps too successful — we’ve been riding on their coattails in many ways. But if they could see us today wouldn’t they ask why we haven’t done more to build on the foundations they laid? Wouldn’t they tell us how much harder it was for them, yet point to all they achieved? Wouldn’t their eyes glaze over at the technological frontiers they could pioneer today?
They proved that people with vision and determination can reshape life on the Great Plains, something we desperately need to do again today. What they failed to teach us was that reshaping is a never-ending process. We are forever staking our claims to the frontier of tomorrow. By reclaiming the best of our pioneer heritage, by applying past lessons to the future, we can, like the original pioneers, make rural areas prosper.
What we lack, though, is a strong guiding vision. So perhaps we can recycle the vision of the pioneers, a vision of freedom and independence, strong community bonds and high quality of life. Because at it’s heart re-pioneering is about recapturing a sense of all tomorrow can be and embarking on a voyage to that tomorrow with the same perseverance and faith the original pioneers possessed.
In honor of Veteran’s Day the World-Herald ran a series of insightful essays discussing the lasting impact of “the Great War” on our world today. One point that wasn’t explored, however, was how this war marked the beginning of a significant and prolonged out-migration of young people from rural areas.
As a popular song of that day put it, “How ya gonna keep ‘em down on the farm after they’ve seen gay Paree’?” Talk about a generation gap — the values and traditions of America’s agrarian past lost their hold on a generation which came of age amidst the mangled bodies and fading grandeur of war-torn Europe.
This outflow of youth is a serious problem in rural Nebraska. Boone County’s farming population has been declining since the 1920s. Not only that, it’s picked up speed. The population of rural Boone County decreased by 56.5% between 1950 and 2000, and dropped an additional 9.8% between 2000 and 2006.
This is not a situation unique to Boone County — it’s the same across rural Nebraska. Anymore parents just assume the younger generation will one day leave never to return.
But assumptions can mislead. And while it will always be hard for the generations to communicate, talking with our young people is essential to understanding how they see life in rural Nebraska, what causes them to leave and what might lead them to return.
Craig Schroeder, Senior Associate with the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, recently completed an extensive survey of youth and young adults in the Albion area in order to gain a better understanding of their attitudes and concerns. Supported by the Connie Day Fund and Nebraska Community Foundation as well as Central and Northeast Community Colleges, this survey is proving many assumptions wrong, including the assumptions that young people don’t like it here and don’t want to return.
For example, of the 96% of Boone Central seventh and eight graders who completed the survey, 38% listed this as an Above Average place to live as a young person while even more — 42% — rated it as Excellent. And while 78% plan to attend college, 65% see themselves living in the Boone County area in the future. 68% believe this is a good place to raise a family.
I suspect this will surprise many parents. We’ve come to just assume our children plan to leave. But this may be because only 35% of the students surveyed said an adult had talked with them about their plans. One of the major comments students made was that adults “need to talk with young people about opportunities after graduation.”
The survey held another surprise. While young people’s comments involved the predictable complaints regarding a lack of shopping and recreational activities, they listed the fact that “the heritage of our community is not shared with youth” as a primary concern.
An often overlooked but vital factor in keeping people in rural areas is a strong connection to place. Love of the land and a sense of both family and tradition have sustained those who have chosen to live in rural Nebraska through recurring depressions and droughts.
And while it can be hard to justify building a huge water park in a small community just to keep young people happy, as some survey respondents advocated, it is well within the ability of every community to instill a sense of place by sharing its past with its young people. Our children want to know where they come from, want to hear stories of the people who came before them.
This suggests a wonderful opportunity for schools, libraries and museums to work together to educate young people about the past. Many towns have small museums which work hard to preserve the history of their area, providing an opportunity for students to see and when appropriate handle items from their past. Libraries and museums often archive local newspapers and it’s not unusual to find locally-compiled books of a town or county’s history. There’s a wealth of educational resources under our very noses.
The bridge spanning the generation gap is built on the pillars of communication and buttressed by the legacy of the past. By using our historical resources to acquaint our young people with their heritage we can strengthen their roots in our communities, increasing the chances they will find a way to raise their families in the same place they grew up, adding their own stories to our collective heritage.