In the Commonwealth Mapping exercise, many things became apparent about my area. We are a very faith-based community, and we produce food despite an apparent lack of the water cycle in the area. I also discovered that most of the entertainment in the area is found in Springfield.
Our community has a large faith base. Every town has at least one church, and a few of the towns have multiple. We still have prayers in schools and community events. Pastors are asked to pray at the barbeque at the end of the fair every year. A prayer is given before our 4-H end of year banquet. Rodeos in the area have prayers before them. Churches come together to support the others in times of need, like when a pastor and his family must travel for medical help. Churches regularly help with funerals in the area. These are just a few examples of faith in our area.
I live in a farming and ranching community. Harvest time is a busy time for many in our community, and snowstorms have the potential to destroy a rancher’s entire lifestyle for that year. And yet, the area has a lack of evidence of the water cycle. For a few summers, dirt storms ravaged the area, even taking out windows and telephone poles. Over the past year, the moisture has been up, but the lack of creeks or lakes in the area also speaks to the lack of evidence of the water cycle in the area.
