A FEW BAD APPLES

I am glad to see that my article on "Blame" stirred up some ire on the part of some of my erudite colleagues. After all, probably one value of this means of communcation is to provoke thought, whether it be positive or negative or agreeable. But, I was not really trying to blame any of us for our choices to leave CV for more favorable communities and opportunities elsewhere. What I was trying to point out, was the fact that some of us had unpleasant experiences in Cedar Vale and when we look back and try to understand what happened and why, we seem to be blaming the entire community, when if fact it was only a few bad apples that soured the whole basket.

Professor White had mentioned in earlier documents that some of the school children were unkind and abusive to him, but I contend that these few bad apples were certainly not the majority, and I for one tried to be nice to him because he helped me get through Mr. Sears' algebra course. And, that abusive grade-school gang that we all remember eventually produced upstanding members of the community, and some still live in Cedar Vale.

And Banker Foust remembers the people that condemned him and misunderstood his part in the bank failure. I was long gone from Cedar Vale at that time, but again, I would imagine that there were only a few "bad apples" that produced the stink that affected Phil and Pat. For the most part, the population of the town only remembered the hard-working funny kid that I knew, and the sweet person who was his wife, and knew the truth of the matters.

Mr. Williams felt that the community was unfair to his family when his father had the unfortunate illness that caused the need to sell the dealership. I, again, do not remember that episode in the history of CV, and I may have been gone and my father may have already died at the time, but again I cannot believe that the entire community would have turned on a pillar of the community such as Kale Williams. I remember he and my father were close friends, and my dad would not have tolerated unkindness toward the Williams family. Again, just a few bad apples were responsible for the loss of a valuable family from a community that could not afford to lose them.

When I was in college visiting my mother during the summer of 1959, I was approached by a gentlemen as I was mowing the front yard. He asked if he might speak to me and related a story that made me cry. It seems he was a teacher at CVHS and had been approached by the Superintendent of Schools who requested sex. The teacher was offended and went to the school board and reported the incident. The Supintendent was a man of some stature in the town, and most of the school board members voted to fire the teacher for smearing the name of the great man. He told me, however, that my father believed what he was saying , and even though he could not prevent the firing, he did prevent the reporting of the incident to the State Board of Education which would have ruined his chances of ever teaching again in Kansas. This gentleman could have had a very bad opinion of the town of CV because of a couple of "bad apples", but because of the way it was handled he had nothing but appreciation. The bad apples did not totally ruin his life.

To reiterate my point, we can't comdemn the whole basket because of a few bad apples.

Another Perspective

As tempting as it would be to think that somehow we collectively could have done something to stop the demise of Cedar Vale, I'd like to offer another perspective. Take a look at the map of Chautauqua County in 1899. What happened to all those towns? Where are Osro, Wauneta, Lowe, and Rogers, all on the trail from CV to Sedan? We all know if we think about it. The automobile and the U. S. highway system made it much easier and more convenient to travel to CV and Sedan to trade and these places dried up, even though they were on the railroad. In our time, we were seeing the next step in that process. The automobile and a better highway system made it easier to shop in Ark City and other larger surrounding towns. Now, in the case of CV, when highway 166 bypassed the town entirely the death knell was sounded. When people, collectively, choose to drive a few miles farther to shop, business districts die. I have written about the biggest casualty in the CV business district, the closing of L. C. Adam Mercantile and that happened in our time in CV. These are forces that are beyond the control of any individual or group of individuals. Do you really think that a Williams Garage could compete with the larger car dealers in nearby towns? I doubt it. Could it withstand the onslaught of TV advertising luring people away for a better deal in Wichita or Tulsa?

The only small towns that have survived and grown have made themselves into local tourist destinations. I recently moved from Boulder, Colorado, where there are some good examples of that "repurposing" of small towns. Just outside of Boulder is the small town of Niwot, which is now the home of a lot of small specialty shops, restaurants and the like. Since the town is very close to Boulder and Longmont (both towns with great job opportunities), it draws people out from both towns just to look at and shop in the antique shops, the local Grange building that is billed as an historical monument, and to eat in one or another of the local restaurants. There is no real business district there, only antique shops, quilting shops, and cute little boutiques, all housed in the ancient buildings that have been painstakingly restored to look "just like the olden days."

Niwot, Colorado looks very little like it did when it was the next town on the railroad east and north of Boulder. The people who now live there are the shop owners and service staff who work in this mini tourist town. In recent years new people have begun to move back in to have their homes near the quaint village, while they commute into Boulder for their jobs and a "bedroom community" is evolving. And, of course, there is a mini mall to serve the needs of that bedroom community, but it isn't on Main Street.

Change is inevitable in a society that is changing as rapidly as ours. Now watch the fate of towns that are not near major airports. I know that I wouldn't choose to live in a town where I would have to travel 100 miles or so to get to a commercial airport. Look at the population map of the U.S. and you will see a pattern of more and more clumping around major transportation hubs. That is unlikely to change until another major force comes along that I can't predict. Perhaps the masses of "old folks" like us will redraw the maps again as we look for places that are inexpensive with great climates and are quiet and far from the problems of the big cities. I think I see that one coming down the pike.

The fairly rapid growth in the population of Santa Fe is mostly people who have made a lot of money elsewhere and want an artsy town to live in that is a bit off the beaten track and quaint. We have older Hollywood stars (think Shirley MacLane), ex-political figures (think Valerie Plame Wilson and her husband), and retired artists. I love living here. Just today we spent a wonderful two or three hours up on Museum Hill looking at an exhibit of quilts and other "found object" art that are the work of a small group of African American families in an isolated part of Alabama. There were four wonderful videos of these folk and their creations and the local fiber arts guild attached a fun exhibit of the fiber art that is being created here. And that exhibit is one of five or six exhibits at the International Folk Art Museum, and there are four other museums on Museum Hill, not to speak of those in downtown Santa Fe. We are very rich in the arts here.

Yes, don't blame the town of Cedar Vale, but also, don't blame us. We were all caught in forces that were outside our control. We were shaped for better or for worse by the small community of Cedar Vale that was crumbling around us while we were growing up in it. I, for one, am happy to have grown up there, even though I didn't like some of the kids I grew up with. The adults that I mostly associated with were wonderful teachers, both formally and informally. The evenings I spent in Bill Leonard's projection booth are a priceless memory for me and I could multiply that many times. My own family, with very distinctive views that were not the views of those around them, were my primary shaping forces and I'm happy to have had that background.

Just another perspective. I'm sure there will be responses to this one!

WHY BLAME THE TOWN

As I read the articles and comments in the "blog", it is somewhat distressing to read all the negative thoughts that we have published concerning the Town of Cedar Vale, which gave us our start in life. It is like blaming our parents because we are not tall, or beautiful, or athletic, or a great success in life, or rich and happy. How can we blame a "TOWN" for our failures in life. I should blame the town because I was shy, and backward in dealing with the female population of the school?? The town did not make me the failure that I became in many aspects of my life, but it did provide me/us with many opportunities to improve on that with which we were born. How many communities would provide a venue where a skinny 5'9" boy like myself could compete in basketball, football, track and baseball along with other short, skinny boys, and really make a success of the effort. How many schools would have afforded musicians like Gary and Phil and Don Shaffer the opportunity to excell and be superior in their art. In schools like Wichita East, for instance, in spite of their talent, would they have even been noticed. Would Janice Sartin and Marilyn Holroyd been stars in the production of "The Mikdo" had they been in Kansas City Wyandotte?? A very few of us, probably Gary, for instance, might have excelled even in the larger community schools, but the rest of us were happy that we were allowed to do the things that we were good enough to do in the Town of Cedar Vale.
Maybe it is not the towns fault that it is dying or withering. Maybe it is our fault.
WHAT IF: Bob Hays and I had returned to set up a regional medical center.?
Gary White had returned to be music director at old CVHS.?
Roy Walkinshaw had returned to the medical center to open his physical therapy
center.
Phil Foust had returned to open a succesful and progressive bank that could loan
money to farmers that were needed to support the whole community.
Jay D. Mills had returned to open an electronic software technical support plant
or a photographic business.
Don Cox had stayed and kept the dogs and cats and cattle of Chautauqua county in
good shape.
Dick and Bill Williams had returned to renew the Chevrolet Dealership. Or maybe
Dick would have opened a CPA office also.
Bob Cable had taken over the Cable Implement, and kept it a viable business.
Judy Stone had returned with her husband to join the medical community.
T.D. Oltgen ? Another competing bank?? Sedan, I think has more than one.
All of the boys and girls that grew up on farms might have stayed to run the family
farms instead of going off to the big cities of Winfield and Ark City and Wichita.
Gerry Kelley might have returned to have an engineering consulting firm??
But instead, we all had our own dreams that did not include the town where we were "hatched and growed". Just think, if we had all returned, raised our families there and contributed to the wealth and prosperity of that little hamlet, it might still be a good, interesting place to live, offering almost everything that we have where ever we are now.
No, don't blame the TOWN. We can all blame ourselves if there is really blame to lay. The town may have had some problems, and some people who were not our ideals, but it did provide all of us a starting point. We are all "successes" maybe because of the start we had in that idyllic little community. Don't blame "THE TOWN".

Listening to Music

Gary White

I very seldom choose to listen to music these days. That might seem like a surprising statement from a professional musician and composer. People often assume that music must be my frequent companion—that I would enjoy having the radio on for example, when I read. The truth is that when music is present I have no choice but to listen quite actively.

When I go to the movies I am always aware of the background music. I follow its development through the film, noting how the composer develops themes for each situation or sometimes each character. The music track is just as much a part of my experience as the other sounds—the dialog and the sound effects. (They are generally recorded separately and then mixed together in the final editing of the film.)

In a restaurant I am always aware of any background music and often find it difficult to carry on a conversation because I’m listening to the background music. If the music is live it is even more obtrusive and I listen as if I’m at a concert.

It is precisely my long training in music that makes it impossible for me not to listen. The idea of background music, or music to “not listen” to just doesn’t happen for me. How students can study with music blaring in their ears is beyond me.

I do enjoy music when I can give it my full attention, but I resent the constant barrage to which we tend to be subjected in grocery stores, elevators, and shops. I listen to music only in a few circumstances, when I go the opera or a concert, when I am driving on long trips and I need something to keep me alert, those special occasions when I want to or need to listen to a piece of music for a definite purpose, and when I’m working out in the gym. Otherwise, silence is truly golden.