Save My Small Town

Clay City, Kentucky welcomes family owned and operated Grayson Funeral Home to the area. The home for funerals recently opened at 201 7th Avenue in the newly remodeled and former Tri Star Pools Building. The facility has a spacious chapel for funeral services and a comfort lounge for visiting family and friends. Owners Tim and Aimee Grayson offer clients a low cost funeral package of $3500 as well as pre-arranged funeral services and monument sales.

The Graysons said that the community has been very supportive of their opening and that there were many people who stopped in while they were remodeling to introduce themselves and welcome the couple, their family, and new business to the neighborhood.

If you would like to find out more about Grayson Funeral Home, give them a call at 606-663-9999 or email graysonfuneralhome@setel.com. Like their page on Facebook and visit their webpage at www.graysonfuneralhome.net

It is hard to imagine how many children in my neck of the woods in Powell County live in poverty. The Powell County Fraternal Order of Police is host to their annual “Cops and Kids” program at Christmas to benefit those needy children during the holidays. It has become such a vital asset to our community that this year organizers were determined to shoot for the stars hitting such country and Bluegrass music favorites as J.D. Crowe and the New South, the amazing Alison Krauss, and “Man of Constant Sorrow” Dan Tyminski.

One would expect to see those names appearing at the Grand Ole Opry or other large venue, but these gracious stars will be coming together December 3rd at 6pm at the Powell County High School Gymnasium in Stanton, Kentucky to perform. Ticket sales began in October, but there are still seats available for $15 and $20. The can be purchased at Ricks Music in Clay City, online at http://www.lillyraymusic.com/jdcrowesite/index.php?option=com_php&Itemid=53 or by calling 606-318-5000.

Merriam Webster defines the word resilient as: characterized or marked by resilience: capable of withstanding shock without permanent deformation or rupture b : tending to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. I met an 82 year old man named Billy McClain whose photo should accompany the definition of resilience – everywhere it’s found.

When Billy found himself disabled from losing his eyesight after working 25 years on the pipelines, he went home to farm and run a bait shop. But after a couple of years, he observed the growing need for more full hookup camp sites near Cave Run Lake. And in mid-summer of 1988, he completed the transformation of part of his farm to the Outpost RV Park and opened for campers. After 23 years in operation, McClain says it is the Outpost that keeps him young, busy, and healthy to this day.

He spoke with fondness of the people he’s had opportunity to meet over the years, from all over the world, because of the campground. The Outpost is host to many over the road campers and travelers passing through as well as folks visiting the Cave Run Lake area. The campground is home to 8-10 year round residents and around 15 he calls “snowbirds” who leave their camper all year, but migrate south in the winters and back to Kentucky in the Spring and Summer seasons. Altogether the park has 86 individual camp sites which includes 40 primitive sites without electric and water hookup and all 86 sites are normally booked up for as many as 5 holiday weekends.

The campground itself offers a swimming pool, basketball, volleyball, and playground equipment for the kids. And on holiday weekends, McClain tries to offer something extra for camping families like fireworks for the 4th of July and live bands at no extra charge. He says the busiest times at the Outpost are Derby weekend, July 4th, Labor Day, the pig roast the first weekend after Labor Day, and Halloween. He says he loves the busy weekends best even with so much work involved. To keep things running smoothly at the Outpost, he has 5 employees on staff full time and several he calls on for help on a part time basis. Even with people around to help and having impaired eyesight, McClain says he still enjoys doing his own bookkeeping.

Another plus for campers is that golf carts and four wheelers are welcome. This comes in handy when traveling to the campground’s general store to purchase food or firewood. Many of the state park campgrounds have restricted or banned altogether the use of ATVs.

The success of the campground has not come easy. In fact, McClain has bounced back time and again from setbacks with the Outpost. A fire in 2008 devastated the general store and office and destroyed Billy’s vast collection of University of Kentucky memorabilia. Then the floods in May of 2010 damaged not only the general store and entrance bridge, but many RVs and campers as well. Billy McClain is not a man who gives up. He rebuilt after the fire and cleaned up after the flood and enjoys every day taking care of his business.

He is also rebuilding his UK collection. He is a UK Wildcat fan through and through. He first started collecting memorabilia in 2000 and one of his favorite memories is of his trip to Maui, Hawaii to watch the UK Wildcat Basketball team in a tournament. Be sure to check out the photos of his growing collection.

…..

…..

…..

…..

As a determined and successful small business owner, McClain has some advice for budding entrepreneurs. He says you need to make sure of your financial footing and that you have something in demand before taking the leap into business. He also shares that having fun is one of the most important keys to his success. He says, “If you enjoy what you do it makes all the difference.” Seeing the smiles of all the happy campers at the Outpost on a packed weekend like July 4th, I’m inclined to trust his advice as sound.

For more information about the Outpost RV Park, please visit their site online here > http://outpostrvpark.com/default.aspx

…..

Red River Empowerment Solutions is pleased to announce the start of their new radio show called Spotlight On Sustainability which will air its first hour of programming July 16th at 11am on WSKV 104.9FM, Stanton. The show will focus on ways we can increase our capacity to endure and thrive in these times as individuals, families, and communities. The weekly show will be hosted by Angela Osborne, founder and blogger of Save My Small Town.

The show will kick off with a fantastic line up of guests, the first being Steve Day of Home for Health located near the Red River Gorge and Natural Bridge in Stanton, KY. Home for Health is a Christian-based health and agriculture ministry and lifestyle center that helps to teach people ways to live healthy and stay healthy. Steve and his wife Suzanne operate the center which sits on 300 beautiful acres, some of which they are utilizing to grow various foods to keep costs low and provide the best, most nutritious food for their guests. The Days are currently hosting a health session that started July 3rd to the 22nd and will be hosting a Raw Food Retreat with the RawBrahs, Paul Risse and others from July 24th through August 14th.

SOS listeners can look forward to hearing more about better health through better nutrition as well as sustainable agriculture from Steve on the 16th and also the Raw Brahs when they stop by the studio for an interview on July 23rd.

Today the very first of my Festal Banner day lilies stretched itself open in full bloom. After a slow recovery from a vicious weed-eater attack, I remained hopeful I would get to see their ruffled rose pink petals this year because  they are quite special to me. I have two groups of them, with long reaching stems, spotted with buds extending toward the sunlight. They were a gift from my mother for my birthday last year when we visited Hickory Springs of Montgomery Daylilies in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.

I’m spoiled, I admit it. My mother asked what I wanted to do for my birthday and I had no trouble deciding how to spend our day. I desperately wanted to visit the daylily garden before the blooming season was over. My friends at Clay City Pottery had made a recent visit and suggested I make time to see it. So we went to Hickory Springs and marveled at the beauty of all those varieties of lilies! I’m so glad we didn’t miss it and it was the perfect start to a perfect day. Once we got back on 460, we traveled into Menifee County to the amazing roadside park known as Broke Leg Falls. On the way back we stopped in at The Corner  Restaurant in Frenchburg for a sandwich, tater tots, and a cold beverage. Seeing the majesty of that first bloom brought a smile to my lips as I remembered the fun of that day nearly a year ago.

My mind is still trying to wrap itself around the thought of thousands more varieties growing at the Hickory Springs farm. We literally spent hours walking up and down the rows with our catalog and pens trying to pick from hundreds of thousands of spectacular blooms, the perfect lily specimens to bring home and plant. Even using the names approach was impossible with lilies called butterscotch parfait, Grand Canyon sunset, and hearts of fire. Should my first patch of lilies be called something sweet, stunning, or soul revealing? I have never taken such delight in being so indecisive!

I have another patch of lilies growing in my yard that I found hidden under a wild rose bush I cleared away just a week after my trip to Hickory Springs. In the eight years we’ve been here, the lilies haven’t bloomed once because they were completely shaded by the invasive roses. Once uncovered, I recognized what I had and separated some of the shoots and roots to transplant in a nearby lasagne garden bed where they could get more sun. They are radiant, a ripe bright orange color and finding them was like a special birthday gift from God. They are my oldest daughter’s favorite flower.

If you get the chance, stop in and see the lilies in bloom at Hickory Springs at 4410McCormick Road in Montgomery County, just outside Camargo.  Their open garden tours began June 17 and run through July 19: Thurs, Fri, and Sat from 10am-5pm and Sunday from 1-5pm. The rest of the year, tours are given by appointment only.

Corner Restaurant – Frenchburg, Kentucky

Powell County kids looking to cool off this summer will love Stanton’s new Splash Park set to open in just a few more weeks.

Reports from the Stanton City Park Facebook page say that the last adjustments to the pump system should be complete today (June 24, 2011). With cooperative weather next week, Stanton City Park officials expect Goodwin and Sons to make great progress on the remaining concrete work. Once that is completed, the recreation company will install tables with umbrellas and benches. The final touch will be enclosing the area with fence.

The finished splash park will have to be inspected and approved by the state. Officials hope to have everything done and the park ready to open in 2-3 more weeks.

On Thursday June 16th, ten students received certificates of completion for business classes given by The Kentucky Entrepreneurs’ Alliance. The KEA worked in cooperation with the Powell County Industrial Board to utilize a $10,000 grant awarded by the Appalachian Regional Commission. The three classes offered were Entrepreneurship, Accounting Fundamentals, and Customer Service, Sales, and Marketing, the first class began in January.

Students completing the final class were Shirley Lowe, James M. Bicknell, Mary Moore, Danita Stone, Clare Graham, Michael Gentry, Ila McEntire, Henry Birchfield, Jacob Parker, and Anthony Osborne Jr.. Several of these students completed the entire series of classes that met at Hood’s Country Cookin’.

The KEA plans to offer more classes like these in the future for existing business owners and for people interested in small business startup. Subscribe to www.thekea.org for updates and our fall class schedule.

With Wall Street nosedives, the Federal Reserve’s devaluation of currency, the big box corporate giants killing mom and pop enterprise, outsourcing of jobs, and growing instability in the ever-more-intertwined global economy, how can we save small towns in the US? These specific concerns are financial, but what about small town history, culture, agriculture, and opportunities for education and training? As a life long resident of small towns in Central and Eastern Kentucky, I have observed so much of what I love about small town living come under attack or fade into history and I am on a personal mission to find and share ways to help these struggling communities.

I’ve looked incessantly for a formula or strategy to assist, but to date, none of my research has uncovered a clear cut plan for preservation. However, I have some thoughts I would like to share here from my studies of permaculture that I think speak to the issues and problems mentioned. These aren’t pat answers or ideas that could be implemented overnight, but they are worthy of consideration by citizens, leaders, and businesses within small towns.

#1 Re-localization of the economy.
People are becoming more aware of their need to buy locally to keep money in their communities, but this trend must continue and increase. Small and rural communities must make education about entrepreneurship available to its citizens and I will dare say that small town governments (who charge fees for licensing small businesses) must work with potential small business owners to make their startup ventures more affordable. A fruitful economy is a diverse economy. I believe there should be an all out recruitment of new entrepreneurs to create new businesses and innovations.

#2 Re-localization of agriculture.
People have to eat and the best most nutritious food is fresh, locally grown, organic, and in season. This being so, why are we eager to buy food that was grown and shipped from foreign countries or from industrial farms that use pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones to produce substandard livestock or GMO crops? ? Why are we seduced by the convenience of cheap processed foods in the Western world? Is it really cheaper in the long run? Our local farmers and gardeners need the support of communities and citizens need to come together and make a conscious effort to buy locally grown and in season first. And once again, I believe there should be an all out education and recruiting campaign to entice people to grow food instead of lawns that have to be mowed….why not eliminate hunger in small towns while we’re at it?

#3 Re-localization of culture.
Culture is defined by wiki as:

• Excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, also known as high culture
• An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning
• The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group

All of these facets of real culture have been highjacked by popular culture that seems to only cultivate consumerism. In the end it amounts to nothing more than a distraction from what is good and genuine right in our own neighborhoods and towns. Celebrity worship has become more important than honoring hometown heroes or preserving our heritage.  This trend must change and it must begin in our very homes. Unplug. Stop feeding a system that seeks to rob you blind. Know your neighbors. Know your local leadership and get involved in and support local arts and historic preservation. Am I preaching? YES! We turned off our satellite TV nearly a year ago and my family is happier, healthier, and more locally connected (and more cultured) than ever before.

#4 Better and more education including apprenticeship opportunities..
I’ve already mentioned entrepreneurship training, but I would also add that communities need to look to the wealth of knowledge of their people and create opportunities for them to teach skills and share their wisdom. In order to live more sustainably, many people will need to learn new skills and live more cooperatively. This can be achieved through apprenticeships and community education programs. We are making headway in my community by making small business classes available at a low cost and writing grants to start such programs.

I will continue my thoughts on ways we can move toward saving our small towns and communities. Please comment and share your thoughts.