Butte Falls bulletin., February 01, 2000, Image 4

b y Ja n ic e S c h u ltz
OUR TOW N
In y o u r m in d , w h at are th e m ak in g s o f a co m m u n ity ? W h en y o u
th in k o f th e co m m u n ity th at m ak es up th e T o w n o f B u tte F alls, w h at
d o es y o u r m in d s ey e see? M o re o ften th an n o t, th e an sw er is so m eth in g
g en eric su ch as "a n ice p lace to live."
I w o u ld lik e to tak e th at an sw er o n e step fu rth er and u se th is sp ace
to rem in d ev ery o n e that "a n ice p lace to live" d o es n o t ju st h ap p en . "A
n ice p lace to live" is ach iev ed b y ev ery o n e in th e co m m u nity w o rk in g
to w ard th at goal. "A n ice p lace to live" is a d elicate b alan ce o f
in terw o ven th read s creatin g a stro n g fo u n d atio n fo r a tow n.
M ak in g Y O U R S E L F acco u n tab le fo r th e co m m u n ity su rv iv in g , I
feel, is th e first step an d t A he key to th e su ccess o f th e T o w n o f B u tte
F alls. T h is is a hard p ill to sw allo w fo r a lo t o f us. W e are m u ch m o re
co m fo rtab le m ak in g o u r N E IG H B O R acco u n tab le. T h e p ro b lem is
alw ay s their k id s, their dog, an d their li festyle. T h ey w o rk w ro n g , th ey
p lay w ro n g , and th ey liv e w ro n g .
A n o th er co m fo rtab le trait is to let so m eb o d y else d o it, an d th en
co m p lain ab o u t it. W e d o n ’ t h av e to b e o n a co m m ittee, o r o n th e fire
d ep artm en t, o r th e sch o o l b o ard . W e d o n ’ t h av e to g iv e co n stru ctiv e
in p u t ab o u t an y th in g , b u t w e w ill su re let th em k n o w w h en w e th ink
th ey ’ v e screw ed up.
T h e en d resu lt o f th is b eh av io r is a frag m en ted co m m un ity , w h ich
rem o v es p art o f th e th reads th at w eav e p eo p le to g eth er an d m ak e B u tte
F alls "a n ice p lace to liv e." A s p aren ts leav e m o re an d m o re o f th eir
ch ild ren ’ s m o ral ed u catio n to th e alread y o v erw o rk ed teach ers in o u r
sch o o ls, k ids lo se th e ab ility to co m m u n icate w ith ad u lts. T h ey d o n ’ t
H a v e y o u h e a rd th e G o o d
N e w s!
B u tte F alls C o m m u n ity
i B ib le C h u rc h w ill so o n
talk to , o r w ith , th eir p aren ts, an d are n o t h eld acco u n tab le b y th eir
p aren ts to ato n e fo r th eir actio n s; th erefo re th ey ro am th e streets, d o
w h atev er th ey w an t, an d th in k it ’ s o k . A n y ad u lt th at q u estio n s th o se
actio n s is th e b ad g u y . It h as b eco m e p o litically in co rrect to q u estio n
ch ild ren .
T h is is n o t accep tab le an d k id s n eed to k n o w th at it s n o t o k , an d
h ere is w h y . B ecau se m o st p eo p le w an t to settle in a safe en v iro n m en t
an d a co m m u n ity th at sh o w s p rid e in o w n ersh ip , th e k id th at is free to
ro am th e streets w ith n o acco u n tab ility is w riting a d eath w arran t fo r
o u r to w n . E ach act o f v an d alism th at o ccu rs, an d each tim e so m eo n e
is th reaten ed o r p u t in d an g er b y th e careless act o f an o th er, tw o m o re
th read s, safety an d p rid e, are rem o v ed fro m th e w o v en in tricacies o f
o u r "n ice p lace to liv e."
T h e fo u n d atio n o f o u r to w n is u n rav elin g , an d leav in g B u tte F alls
to so m e lo n g -ran g e co n seq u en ces th at are frig h ten in g . W e lo st o u r
eco n o m ic b ase w h en w e lo st M E D C O . W e lo st ad d itio n al rev en u e fo r
th e to w n w h en th e tav ern an d W illo w L ak e clo sed th eir d o o rs. N o w w e
are facin g th e p o ssib le clo su re o f th e F ish H atch ery . If w e sh o u ld lo se
o u r sch o o l b ase d u e to a lack o f in terest to m o v e h ere, it d o esn ’ t tak e a
ro ck et scien tist to fig u re o u t th at w e are d o n e. P lease, in stead o f
th ro w ing th is article d o w n an d calling m e n am es, th in k ab o u t w h at I
h av e ju st said . T h en u se th e en erg y th at it w o u ld tak e to co m p lain
ab o u t th is article to tak e a lo o k at y o u rself, an d see w h ere y o u can begin
to b e acco u n tab le.
The Old Round Ta b le
(Ma y 30,1937)
Who re me mb e rs
a dining room, ta b le s mooth a nd round,
I k now is a b le to
, k now a s we ll,
to ha ve a nd hold p ock e ts full of childhood gold.
b e sta rtin g a m a jo r
The re , p a tte rns
we re p inne d a nd s cis s ors fle w,
re m o d el a s so o n a s th e rqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
w e a th e r p e rm its..... W e a re so ex cited a n d
cutting fine s ilk s a nd y a rds of b lue .
The n, re a ding, writing a nd a rithme tic too.
th a n k fu l to b e p a rt o f th is p ro ject!
Long winter evenings went slow, went quick,
as rosy apples and smelling like heaven,
and bowls of popcorn appearing at seven.
E m o g en e A b b o tt sh ared w ith h er. T h ey w ere talk in g o n e
d ay ab o u t h o w so m an y tilin g s are d o n e aro u n d o u r d in in g
ro o m tab les. E m o g en e sh ared w ith C aro l th a t sh e h ad a
Then valentines with newsprint lace
were cut and pasted with hard won grace.
sp ecial p o em o n th e su b ject. T h e n ex t d ay w h en C aro l w en t
to h er m ailb o x it w as in th ere. It w as n o t w ritten b y
E m o g en e b u t o n e th a t sh e read fro m a m ag azin e d ated M ay
3 0 th , 1 9 3 7 . It m ean t a lo t to h er, sh e h ad it tap ed
u n d ern eath h er “ o ld ro u n d d in in g ro o m tab le ” . It w as
fo u n d w h ile m o v ing th eir fu rn itu re to h er d au g h ter, B eth ’ s,
h o m e.
The petaled lamp swung from a chain above
with a width of warmth that enclosed on love’
So the past is kept for the hearts long night
in a firm gold circle of warmth and light.
(In lo v in g m em o ry o f E m o g e n e A b b o tt -
W e m iss y o u )