The lure of a small town

This is coming to you from the great state of South Dakota.

Now that my husband is retired we come back to my home state to spend a few months throughout the year. Palmerton is our home and it always will be.

I can remember moving to Palmerton over 45 years ago and someone asking me if South Dakota is near the state of South Carolina. I couldn't believe that anyone would not know where my home state is located. Gosh, it is right here practically in the middle of the United States and the 17th largest state in land size.

I applied for my first job at the Gnaden Huetten Memorial Hospital which is now called Blue Mountain Health Care systems, Lehighton. I was taken aback when the person who interviewed me said, "Wow I have never met someone from South Dakota before." With a population of 677,000 compared to 11.91 million people in Pennsylvania I guess the odds were rare that you would actually meet a South Dakota native.

I would correct people when they referred to Pierre, the state capital, as if it were a French word "Pee-err" - it is simply pronounced "peer." Another question was if Fargo was in South Dakota. No, it is in North Dakota.

We are spending more and more time in my hometown of Geddes now that we don't have jobs to rush back home to in Pennsylvania.

Some people might think we are crazy not to go to Arizona or Florida for our retirement getaway and they wonder why we would go to somewhere in the middle of nowhere?

There is peace and quiet here. Most mornings we can watch the sun rise over the flat land and the only sounds we hear are the morning doves and cattle mooing in the far distance.

The night sky here is amazing. You can actually see billions and billions of stars. The milky way and big dipper are always easy to spot. If you want to feel like a small peck in this universe just take a look up at the night skies and just feel the serenity around you.

We can see for 10 miles in any direction. Waving fields of corn, wheat, and soybeans always standing tall and the fields of sunflowers with their big yellow heads bobbing in the breeze never get boring to see.

This is America's heartland. Men, women and families are farming here. This is where hard work is taking place to make a living off the land. People here wave, smile and say hello even if they don't know you.

My husband always says the air smells so fresh as if it is filtered by the warm sun and the green fields of growing crops. Unless, of course, if we are driving past a hog confinement barn and then that smell is called "money."

The Missouri river is just a few miles away. Fishing, boating or just relaxing by the water is wonderful.

Many evenings are spent having relatives or friends over for a nice supper followed by a rousting pitch card game.

The drawback of this state maybe the weather. It can be very cold in the winter and get very hot in the summer, but a good heating stove and an air conditioner can take care of those problems.

Tornadoes and hail storms are a real possibility. If the sky turns dark, we turn on the television for any special reports. Plus, we live right across the street from the city water tower, so if severe weather is coming the whistle will blow to let us know we need to get in the basement.

Slowing down to share the road with a large John Deere combine or some farm machinery as they move them from one field to another is a must. This is a no-brainer as their vehicles are three times the size of your car.

Another problem could be that we have to travel if we want to shop. We have to drive 15 minutes to the nearest grocery store and two hours to get to the nearest malls. I quickly learn to stock up, and as for the malls they can wait until we get back to Pennsylvania. But darn, sometimes I do miss my Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee.

The scenario I just shared can be found in small towns all across the United States. They offer peace and quiet and simplicity and friendliness.

When people ask us why we decided to spend our retirement time in South Dakota we say "Why not?" After all Dakota is the Sioux Indian word meaning "friends."