Commentary: Orlan Love and his neighbors on the joy of small-town Iowa

QUASQUETON - A Facebook posting by one of this town's 554 residents could easily read: “Nothing much to report.”

Which suits them - and many other residents of Iowa's 726 incorporated areas with fewer than 1,000 people - just fine.

For the most part, they like the status quo in the small Iowa towns that University of Iowa journalism professor Stephen Bloom savaged in a recent Atlantic article.

“Research clearly shows that most rural Iowans are highly satisfied with their communities and their lives,” said Iowa State University sociologist David Peters, who has studied rural and small town Iowa for 15 years.

Most residents of Quasqueton, my hometown -- including Bill and Nellie Berns, who will soon celebrate 25 years as proprietors of the town's popular Wee Willy's tavern -- consider themselves satisfied.

Removed from many of the dangers and temptations of cities, “Quasky is a great place to raise children,” Nellie Berns said.

“It's the people's values. They are good neighbors, willing to reach out and help when needed,” Bill Berns said.

The spirit of neighborliness, a central part of the Christian Gospel, is often visible in rural communities, said the Rev. Kevin Jennings, pastor of the Quasqueton Union Church.

Small-town residents share a common history and interests and a spirit of caring that binds them together, Jennings said.

Few small-town residents believe that Bloom's complaint of their “in-your-face religion” is even a problem.

“For those of us who believe in the faith we were raised in, it is a comfort, a part of the fabric of our lives and not a shield we throw up to keep others out,” Jennings said.

Leone Sauer, who has attended the Quasqueton church for 87 of her 92 years, said: “People around here are very quiet about their faith. The Bible encourages us to spread the good news, but we are pretty timid about that.”

Far from falling into Bloom's category of elderly Iowans “waiting to die,” Sauer -- who is active in the town's garden club and historical society, as well as church -- said she's too busy to think about dying and too satisfied to consider leaving the farm she and her late husband, Vincent, bought in 1950.

“I am going to tell you that most would not leave their small towns if they could help it,” said Donna Harvey, director of the Iowa Department on Aging.

The church, the garden club and the historical society, along with the fire department, the community club, the American Legion and its women's auxiliary are among the volunteer associations that strive to enhance the quality of life in Quasqueton.

Patriotism is the special province of the Legion and auxiliary, which join forces each Memorial Day to organize a veterans' commemoration service that most residents have come to know by heart. Prayers are said.

Dozens of the 71 members of American Legion Post 434 typically turn out to provide an honor guard at the funerals of local veterans, providing an additional personal touch to a ritual that brings solace to the bereaved. Prayers are said.

“It's in the Legion constitution to help the community to the best of our ability. We do a lot behind the scenes,” said Cleon Ohrt, commander of Post 434.

The flip side of small-town unity, as ISU professor Peters acknowledges and Bloom noted in his essay, is an insularity that can be unwholesome.

“Rural communities are tight-knit, which is a positive when someone needs help, but if you are new to an area, it can be isolating,” Peters said.

Jennings said he thinks small-town residents give newcomers the benefit of the doubt. “They are as willing to accept you as you are to become a member of the community,” he said.

Garion Lopez, 25, who moved to Quasqueton from San Francisco 3 1/2 years ago and works nights at the Quasky Mart convenience store, said he was readily accepted into the community.

Lopez, whose distinctive clothing styles often include a coat and tie when he's working the counter, said, “I definitely knew I was different (from most Quasqueton residents), but people just don't care. Everyone says hi and calls you by name.”

Small-town residents have a reputation for being biased and close-minded, he said, “but it is no more pronounced here than anywhere else.”

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