April 30, 2003 cont'd
Christy said "We need to find a way to help new people feel at home enough that they'll get involved in the community, so we don't have a constant inflow and outflow of people. The longer you've been here, the more you feel a part of the community, the more you give the community. If you're here and you feel like a stranger in town, you are a stranger in town."
"A fellow like Tom Kelly at the newspaper," Dan said, "is an outgoing person. He's the type of person who can make friends and get involved. Someone who's not very good at that, someone who needs somebody to come get them, that's tougher. We need to make an effort to help those people."
The characteristics of the people of West Point? "Generally, they're pretty hard-working people," Dan said. "They take a lot of pride in the community, in the schools. They give a lot of time and money to keep things going. They take pride in the hospital."
"Stubborn," Christy said, "did we mention stubborn?"
"Stubborn - that's good and bad," Dan said, "because they get things done but are resistant to change. Sometimes a little leery of new people coming into town."
"Very family-oriented," Christy added.
"Anything else you should tell me?" I asked.
"The whole Fire Department thing, you should tell about that," Christy said to Dan.
"My dad had been on the Fire Department here for thirty years," Dan said. "That's one of the things I used to say - 'Man, if we moved to West Point, I could be on the Fire Department.' I love it. We burned a house down last night for practice. That's one reason I looked to come back here and I knew a lot of the guys on the department."
"When we moved to Hastings, we saw the situation from the other side," Dan said. "It was a town of about 50,000. We didn't know anybody there. We had to work to feel a part of the community. It was tough to get involved in the things we like to do."
Dan laughed. "There are days where we wish we were kind of anonymous again. You just have to quit worrying about everyone knowing what you are doing. Because around here, they do."
Regardless of where they live, Dan and Christy agree it has to be close enough for both of them to visit family.
"I told Dan," Christy said, "that I'm finally somewhere that feels as much like home as when I was at home. In fact, you know if you decide you don't want me around, I'm not leaving town, this is my home now. It was his hometown when we got here, now it feels like home to me. If something happened to Dan, I like it well enough here that I'd stay here by myself."
***
May 1, 2003
An excerpt from "Riding With the Local Used Cow Dealer", my interview with Steve Engelhart. You can read the complete essay here.
I arrived at Steve and Cindy Engelharts' home right on time for breakfast this morning, May 1, Feast of St. Joseph the Workman, 8:00 a.m., in a grey rain. It would be a cool day, which is always good in the rendering business. Dead animals can get awfully ripe in the heat of full sun by the time Steve gets to the farm to pick them up. A dull, grey day helps hold down the stink.
Cindy was making pancakes when I arrived, and "fresh-squeezed eggs," bacon. After we all got introduced, Steve fed the cat, Cindy went on making breakfast, I found a chair at the kitchen table, we talked. Steve is a big bear of a man, you wouldn't want to have to tackle him, or break his tackle. He wears a fierce mustache on a jagged face, he's got enough muscle he could swat me down any time he wished. You could tell he wouldn't, though; he has interesting and interested eyes, this look of curiosity that comes across his face now and again. He likes to talk and has something to say. Cindy runs "Cindy's Sewing" out of the home - there's a sign for her business out by the road. Steve said she drives truck for him, too, when she has to, in the busiest times. The Engelharts rent the place they live on, they have some horses, the landlord feeds cattle across the yard from the house, Steve keeps his rendering trucks parked in front of the garage. After we'd eaten, Steve suited up - coveralls, his tall rubber boots, gloves. It was 8:50 a.m. when we climbed in the truck. The door of the truck is painted with the company's name, Wisner Rendering; and I saw that I'd be riding with "Your Local Used Cow Dealer."
"First, we pick up some pigs," Steve said.
To be continued....
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