Per Aspera
Cheryl Unruh
Originally published 01:30 p.m., February 5, 2008
Updated 01:30 p.m., February 5, 2008
After reports of Tyson’s job cuts, I woke the next morning recalling the words of a new friend, a journalist from Denmark.
“There is a lot of pride and stamina among people in Kansas,” Jonas Langvad Nilsson had said.
On his visit to our state last June, Nilsson saw Kansans for what we are — resilient and tough.
Now some of our physical stamina surely comes from enduring the ever-present wind, which can be exhausting, yet we handle it.
But much of our toughness comes from the hardships we encounter and overcome. Every Kansan can recite the state motto: Ad astra per aspera — to the stars through difficulties.
Difficulties surround us right now. Losing 1,500 jobs — suddenly and unexpectedly — is an agonizing blow to Tyson workers and to the entire region.
But Kansans are a plucky bunch and always have been. Those who have lived on this prairie have survived many trials.
Let’s consider the early ones who led the way. Five and six generations ago, our forefathers settled the empty prairie, made Kansas their home.
In the early and mid-1800s, pioneers and Native Americans did not always greet each other with open arms. There were ferocious battles. People died.
And then there was a battle with insects, the grasshopper plague of 1874, during which grasshoppers consumed pretty much every green thing.
But it takes something more catastrophic than a billion insects to dissuade a Kansan from staying put. Go ahead, grasshoppers, eat all our food, but we’re here for the long haul.
Then there’s the extreme weather. Some Kansans who homesteaded this state outlasted ice storms and blizzards while living in sod houses. And in the miserable heat and humidity, they plowed fields with their horses.
Many early Kansans traveled, worked and slept on the prairie during tremendous thunderstorms. (Lightning rods are us.) And just imagine the surprise when a settler saw his first tornado.
Here in the Flint Hills, our ancestors took on the backbreaking task of removing limestone chunks from fields in order to claim the land for crops.
When the railroads were built, sometimes the tracks bypassed small towns.
A railroad connection was vital to a town’s survival. So, what did the people in Cuba, Burdett, Beeler and Rochester do? Residents picked up their towns and moved them to the tracks. They did what they could to keep their communities alive.
Kansans faced cholera and the 1918 influenza epidemic. Then there were days in the 1930s when they inhaled more than the recommended daily allowance of dust.
And somehow, for some reason, quite of few of the settlers stayed in Kansas; they built homes and communities.
Emporians experienced tornadoes in 1974 and 1990. Both times, we assessed the damage and we rebuilt.
And today, certainly, tough times are ahead for Emporia’s displaced workers. They will be making countless decisions — where to go, what to do, how to sell their homes in a saturated market. Hopefully, in the long run, they will find good jobs and prosper wherever they land.
Tyson’s decision will cause a variety of economic struggles for this area. This is a time for us to stand together, to support local businesses so money, sales tax receipts and jobs stay in town. And it’s to our advantage to remain hopeful and positive.
As workers and as a community, we’ve been knocked down. Rising, we wipe the dust from our knees, assess the damage, and rebuild. We will move ourselves and our town to the railroad tracks, so to speak.
In working together, this may become our finest hour.
Life is full of difficulties, but we Kansans have always found our way to the stars.
“Flyover People” is online at www.flyoverpeople.net. • Cheryl Unruh can be reached at cheryl@flyoverpeople.net.