River Road to Syracuse, KS; Distance = 9 Miles; People Met = 5
After shaking the dust out of our tent from the previous night’s storm, we had a short but chilly morning hike into Syracuse. We drank hot tea in Ky’s camper for an hour, taking a rare break from everything, before proceeding to the Hamilton County Library to do the usual research of contacts and web posting. Joyce Armstrong the head librarian was quite accommodating to us and even bought a copy of Systems out of Balance.
Joyce Armstrong, Hamilton County Library Director
Marcus Ashlock, publisher of the Syracuse Journal, came to the library to do an interview. In truth, we interviewed each other. He informed me of a couple neat ideas in the community. One was the Bible Baptist Church holding luncheons for the honor students in the local high school. The other was the work of the Economic Development Committee to initiate a Community Festival. He also invited me to both a Lions Club meeting that evening and a Rotary Club meeting the next day.
When we went to the Lions Club meeting that evening two consequential events happened before the meeting even started. We were parked outside the Methodist Church where the meeting was to be held when Ky got front-ended this time. The driver of the black pick-up in front of us apparently did not know what he did as he simply drove off. That makes two bumper collisions of her parked vehicle in one week.
Inside the Methodist Church we discovered a Community Friendship meal going on. These are held once a month, the result of Janet Weis’s hard work. Much of the food is donated, which then allows the proceeds from the donation basket at the dinner to be used for either food or to help those in need with things like their fuel bill.
Janet Weis
At the Lion’s Club meeting, besides being able to give my usual “luncheon” style talk, two nice things happened. The President of the Lion’s Club is Pastor John of the Methodist Church, and he allowed us to stay that night in the very same room where we met. But first we went on the scheduled field trip the Lions had to Matt Gould’s loft.
Syracuse, like many small midwest communities, is aging. Matt grew up in the area and came back at a still young age of 33. He has an entrepreneurial spirit that will serve both him and Syracuse well. He’s a hunting guide; he raises buffalo; he brews beer; he’s a photographer; he’s a handyman. He is making these all come together in his renovation of a downtown building. Upstairs is the loft with accommodations for up to 8 people. Downstairs he has just begun renovations for putting in a bar and grill. For five months of the year he will fill the loft with his hunting clients. On the walls of the loft, and eventually for the restaurant, are prints of his photography, creating his own gallery. He will of course sell his beer and buffalo burgers at the restaurant.
Matt Gould (in the center) showing us the loft he renovated
Matt mentioned of other young people he knew who also came back to small town America, disenchanted with cities and corporate economics. He has two objectives that will be important for the new (old) community economics necessary to overcome our systemic problems. He emphasizes the need to diversify, to have multiple income streams and, in his case, to find ways to integrate them.
The other is he plans to work into his old age. Indeed, that was one of the driving forces behind the restaurant, which he visualizes he will still be able to work at part time in his golden years. In other words, he’s not counting on a retirement account to maximize far beyond what the real value of money should return, bringing him “something for nothing.” Rather he plans to continue with what he enjoys, still producing for the income he receives, while mentoring to future entrepreneurs.
People like Matt are precisely what we need for a new community economics to replace the “too big to fail” corporate economics that is leading the country by the nose.
