“Grinnell has been good to me”
On the morning of the 4th of July I rode along in the 61st annual 10th street parade with Jim White. Jim is a Grinnell native and longtime 10th street resident. As I climbed into the passenger seat of his 1960s red Chevy convertible, he told me to get ready, “this is Americana at its best”.
As we cruised slowly down 10th street he described the culture of his neighborhood, including their long standing traditions. For example, to make sure newcomers feel welcome he and his neighbors host a barbecue every time someone new moves in. “Grinnell has been good to me” he went on. His granddaughter, and her boyfriend sitting in the back seat nodded in agreement. He explained how Grinnell has what most other towns don’t anymore: dentists, hospitals, restaurants, parks, churches, schools, a pool.
Jim was proud of his town. “People don’t know how good they have it here,” he said. “You can pick up a rembrandt in the Grinnell college print room. How many places can you do that”? Even when you move away from Grinnell, “you stay connected”.
I also talked with Pastor Eric from Grinnell United Methodist Church.
He told me about the communal memory people hold of what Grinnell used to be. Despite the businesses and traditions that remain, the town has changed. “People remember when you could get a job, or at least they hear the stories” Eric explained.
He described how Donaldson's, a welding plant, used to employ many of Grinnell residents before shutting down in the early 2000s. People remember Donaldson’s fondly because they took care of their workers, something that’s getting hard to find today.
I also chatted with a few more 10th street residents. I shared with them the joys and hardships I had heard about from Iowans in other rural towns and I asked them what they’d like to see happen in the future.
One of them said something that stuck with me, “ at the end of the day, we all want the same things: “roads, healthcare, and to get ahead”.