Editor,
I wanted to tell a story about a family member because it sort of pertains to a local issue. This happened about 20 years ago, in Nebraska. The family member was my cousin’s wife, Berdina – we all called her Bert.
My cousin had passed away leaving Bert a widow with two mostly grown kids, livestock and a good size farm at the edge of the sandhills. Being of good German stock and very independent minded, Bert kept the farm going on her own for a number of years. But eventually, when the kids had married and moved away, she decided it was time to move to town – join some church groups, ladies clubs, etc., so she put the farm up for sale.
She immediately received a fair market value offer on the farm from a wealthy man who owned several large hog-confinement operations (similar to those on the Buffalo River) around the state.
Bert just as immediately politely declined his offer, explaining that she couldn’t in good conscience sell her land to a corporate farm that would ruin the land and distress her neighbors. End of the story?
No. The man showed up on her doorstep two weeks later, with a big smile, and handed her a check for 30% over market value. Bert looked at the check (a large sum of money), handed it back to him, and as politely as ever suggest that perhaps he could use his check to wipe his … well, in place of toilet paper, and closed her door. End of story? Yes.
Bert is my hero.
Gloria Churchill