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A uniquely Iowan Christmas carol

Dec. 22, 2024 5:00 am
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There is just something about the holidays that makes me feel particularly connected to my Swedish roots. In my house, we are greeted by the smell of saffron and cardamom wafting from lussekatter baking in the oven. The eldest daughter dons a white dress, red sash and wreath crown to distribute the saffron rolls to visiting family. The satisfying crunch of krumkake made using my great aunt Naomi’s krumkake iron punctuates our conversations over coffee. Red and pewter Dala horses hanging from the tree, and the ancient Yule Goat sitting defiantly on the fireplace hearth, his horns chewed off years ago by a feisty orange tabby cat.
The importance of tradition and history is never as keenly felt when loved ones have passed on during the holidays, and when unasked questions weigh on one’s mind.
Jason Madison was able to ask his burning questions before it was too late. And the answers had a profound impact not only on his family, but for Iowans as well. “Being able to be a part of a project helped me meet family members that I didn’t necessarily know existed previously. It was emotional from a standpoint of I wish we had more time.”
Madison, a video producer from Des Moines, created a documentary about Buxton, Iowa. And there exists no other place I can think of in this country, past or present, that better represents the holiday spirit of joy, love, and hope. “There are people that want to strive for and to obtain that kind of connection again. There was a sense of community. Neighbors were not strangers.”
And this sense of community was inclusive of all Iowans. Buxton was a town that truly embodied Iowa’s slogan, “freedom to flourish.” And it did so because leaders were committed to harmony, and they staunchly stood by the principle that everyone in the town was equal. “You had management, you had leaders saying that this is the way it is going to be. If you cannot accept that your kids were going to be going to school with black and white children, taught by black and white teachers, your neighbors might be black or white - if you cannot accept this you were not welcomed or encouraged to stay in this town.” Rachelle Chase explained in a 2022 documentary.
Madison wanted to shine a light on this unique community that he wasn’t taught about in the classroom. “I just remember as a child hearing about Buxton from my family. My grandmother on my mother's side of the family came from Buxton. I wish I had heard those stories at a younger age. It had an impact on me as a 26-year-old at the time. I could only imagine what it would have meant to me when I was younger. To learn about families being raised with one another and having a sense of trust.” And this level of equity and integration was occurring at time where segregation was the norm.
Cheryl Hayes is a youth mediator through her work at Let’s Talk Now. Hayes had family from Buxton as well. Her grandmother told her that it was “a wonderful city where everybody got along, where there were Black barbers and Black stores and there were no problems. It was great until the mine closed.” Hayes’ great grandfather wanted to die in Buxton “Maybe because his faith was so strong, you know, God gave him what he asked for.”
Listening to Hayes talk about her grandmother stirred up secondhand memories of mine, whom I never knew. “My grandmother was a very, very strong woman. Worked the night shift at the Greyhound bus depot. My grandmother was my absolute hero.” My own grandmother was briefly Rosie the Riveter, worked at the newspaper in Minneapolis, and was known for her creative baking and decorating. Hayes’ described her grandmother as artistic and creative as well, and was responsible for coming up with themes for their famous family reunions. “The bystander wrote an article about our family reunions and it's hanging on my wall now.”
One of my own father’s early Christmas memories was watching the last standing Buxton structure, the Ebenezer church, burn to the ground behind his grandparent’s farm. Not much else stands out in his memory of Buxton and our family history. His parents, who were closer to Buxton, passed on when he was a young adult. Madison had the same issues in making his documentary. “Just trying to find those voices of individuals that could help contribute to the story firsthand was the biggest challenge.”
Hayes talks about how important history is to the kids she works with. “If you don't know your history, you are bound to not try if you feel everything is negative. Everything that's happening now is trying to take us backwards. The legislature doesn't even want us to talk about our history at all. It doesn't exist. We don't want to make people upset. You know what? History is history.”
And while the harmony of Buxton should be considered non divisive, and therefore, legal to teach in Iowa schools, its lessons cannot fully be understood without understanding the environment that existed outside of the Buxton bubble. As described in Madison’s documentary, his great aunt “Catherine distinctly remembers a number of racist incidents once she left Buxton and moved to Des Moines.” One cannot truly appreciate how precious the harmonious town was without recognizing the brutal violence of the time against Black citizens, and the radically disparate economic and educational opportunities due to segregation.
The effects still exist today, due to generational trauma and effects of redlining on generational wealth. And these effects are exacerbated by legislative and judicial acts targeting voting restrictions, affirmative action, and diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, among countless others.
The path to redemption cannot be found by turning a blind eye to the wrongs committed by our predecessors. We can learn from the lessons of Buxton and stand for nothing less than equity, diversity, and neighborly love.
And may God bless us. Every one.
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