Snapshots of History
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By Mike Avitt
I’ve written about the past almost 700 times. What if I wrote about the future? It’s been done before.
Jack Terry wrote in the Mount Ayr Centennial Book (1975) that we need to face the future “with courage and optimism” as our forebears did. And that Mount Ayr’s future depends “on what we do today.” Yes, I agree.
U. S. News & World Report, a news magazine, questioned Mount Ayr’s future in a March 11, 1985 article. The article focused on the Farm Crisis and the effect that event had on Mount Ayr. There is much “gloom and doom” in the article. The magazine named poor crops, high interest rates, and decreasing land values as the cause of the crisis.
There is no doubt the Farm Crisis brought great harm to the agriculture industry as implement dealerships, farms, and banks failed. The author of the article found a host of local residents to share their struggles and doubts with the magazine. A photograph of a dilapidated building on an empty street accompanied the article.
I took this week’s photo in 2010. It shows a dilapidated building on an empty street. Did the Farm Crisis cause this scene? I don’t know.
The interesting part of the magazine article to me was the subtitle, “A Ghost Town in the Making?” In this part of the article, the author suggests Mount Ayr could “dry up and blow away.” Many negative trends were pointed out to support this concern. Young people moving away, lack of non-agriculture jobs, declining school enrollment, and the professional community seeking employment elsewhere. All true. But, some of these trends were a reality before the coming of the Farm Crisis.
As Mount Ayr prepares to celebrate its 150th birthday, what predictions would you make? Some predictions seem too easy. The consolidation and sharing of professional services is one. Mount Ayr High School once shared their superintendent with Bedford. I believe that continues. Ringgold County Attorney is shared with Taylor County. Some of our medical professionals are shared with other hospitals. I think that trend will continue and expand. I believe the population of Ringgold County will keep declining. Urban sprawl and interstate highway communities will get the population growth. Buying goods via the internet will continue to hurt local retail outlets. But, Mount Ayr will adapt and change, just as we did after the Civil War, World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and the Farm Crisis.
Technology has and is changing many things including newspapers, education, commerce, work, communication, travel,….everything! Some things haven’t changed. I love walking into a restaurant and seeing old friends (all my friends are old!). I have attended many wonderful churches in our community and our churches are still wonderful. I often run into people I’ve known for 50 years or more and I love that!
I want to mention railroads. The “Iron Horse” has been roaming southern Iowa for 156 years and is still here. Trains are like dinosaurs that did not become extinct. Think about that the next time you see railroad tracks.
So, what about U. S. News & World Report? Well, in 2010 the magazine transformed to an online edtion, leaving the old, paper copy to “dry up and blow away.” In 2015, the online edition became a “ghost town.” The irony is worth recording.
I have grown old and fat since 1985, but I haven’t done it alone. Next week is “Snapshots of History” number 700!
