The Rural Appeal
Leaving the small town of Glasgow, vast seas of prairie grass and farm land on either side of you, making the 50 mile drive to Lustre (20 miles of which are solid gravel roads), you may feel very secluded.
Being isolated doesn’t necessarily mean lack of community. This is what my mother, Violet Vix, experienced throughout her childhood, growing up in Lustre, MT, a farming community quite literally in the middle of nowhere. A sense of security and freedom are particular advantages she enjoyed, living within 10 miles of extended family and friends from church and school.
“The freedom to just be outside…and walk as far and wide in any direction as I could,” Mom said. “I always felt safe.”
Traveling to Lustre, a place that seemed so far from everything, enduring miles of Montana gravel and occasional cattle guards, was jolting in more ways than one. However, the community was definitely a source of warmth (especially in the winter) and almost immediately drove away that feeling of separation from other people. My siblings and I would joke about meeting mysterious, unknown relatives each time we visited and, because Mom’s family is so large, there was no shortage of acquaintances for her and Dad to reconnect with.
“Everyone pretty much knew each other,” said Mom. “We were either related or they were people from your church or for sure people from your school…It was just a very, very close-knit community.”
Lustre is located about 50 miles from any urban location, which doubtlessly categorizes it as a rural area. But, what exactly qualifies as “rural”?
According to the Census Bureau, rural is “any population, housing, or territory NOT in an urban area.” In this case, nearly 19% of America’s population dwells in rural areas (as of the 2010 census). This is equal to about 60 million people.
The rural location where my father, Kenton Vix, has spent most of his life, close to Sawyer, ND, is a contrast to Lustre in that it is only a half mile from a county highway and 20 miles from the city of Minot.
“For us here, it wasn’t so much a community advantage,” Dad said in contrast to his wife’s childhood home. “But it was nice…we were close enough to an urban place where we could go and do some fun things.”
In addition to living close to an urban setting, Dad said that some other major advantages are privacy and closeness to nature, “The peace and serenity of it…being able to see sunsets and sunrises. You can watch the storms roll in from a long ways away.”
This family farm where my dad was raised became my home as well when I was 3 years old. I can testify that his love for this setting has been passed on to me and my siblings.
There is something so exhilarating about being able to see the sun on the horizon without any hindrances or gazing up at the myriad of stars soundtracked only by chirping crickets.
Dad and Mom both agree that their current location allows for easier access to boughten goods and medical care than a location such as Lustre, and Mom enjoys having the space to grow her own produce.
Another advantage to rural living is less stress. According to the Rethink Rural website, “Living away from the hustle and bustle of the city can significantly reduce our stress, and benefit our mental and emotional health.” In a study published in a 2011 Nature journal, “scientists found those who lived in cities had a 21% increase in mood disorders, a 39% increase in anxiety disorders, and double the risk of having Schizophrenia as those living in rural areas.”
Similar to my parents, I made the transition from living in a more remote area to living in the small town of Hillsboro, KS. The reason for this move was to attend Tabor College.
I relate to my mom’s statement that she experienced “the best of both worlds” — being close to the countryside but also within a social atmosphere. She and Dad were both excited about the opportunities living in a small town (and being close to a larger city) brought while also living somewhere not too different from their homes.
“I loved it,” Mom said. “I loved actually being in a town, but it wasn’t big enough to be overwhelming.”
Of course, even small town living is different from farm living. There is an adjustment to make when you are suddenly surrounded by other people and hear traffic sounds outside your window. If homesickness ever affected my parents, they did not mention it in their interview. I’m sure it did, considering the struggle I’ve had from time to time.
We’re most definitely biased, considering the fact that my parents and I have never lived in a large city, or at least a city that seems large to us “country folk”. But I would never trade my country childhood for anything, and I know they would say the same.
However much I consider our family farm to be my favorite of these three places, each shows me a different aspect of the rural attraction and convinces me that this appeal has firmly drawn me in.
Reference Articles:
Special thanks to Brooke Holzrichter for photos of Lustre, MT.
