People always say they know their home town so well: unfortunately, there can be a lot of things you don’t even notice until you have to look for them. The same goes for me. I’ve grown up living in the small town of Springfield my
entire life and I’m still learning more about this place I call home. Before learning and becoming part of the Ogalalla Commons internship program, if someone were to ask me what the key assets in my community were, I wouldn’t have had an answer for them. Now that I do know, the common wealth assets of my community that really show what Baca County is really like are:
- Soil and Mineral Cycle
- Food shed
- Water Cycle
- Wild Life and Natural World
- Sense of Place
The soil and mineral cycle is very important to my home because if you’ve ever made a trip down here, you would see that most of the land around Baca County is farm land with dozens of crops. These crops have provided lots of jobs for our community which is big because we don’t have very many job options. And I’d have to say, you can’t have too many farmers! Another part of the soil and mineral cycle is the diverse wildlife Baca County has. Animals can help the soils and fertilize it what helps plants and such to grow. This ties me to the next asset I think of here and that is the food shed. The crops and farm animals such as cows produce food for all of the families that live here. In fact, the farmers send produce to our community store which is the only store here. Next is the water cycle. Around these plains are different water sources such as lakes ponds and creeks. Baca county has several but is most famous for Two Buttes Lake which is right beside this little place called the Black
Hole. These places provide homes to many animals around this area which leads me to the next asset that comes to mind when thinking of my community. The wild life and natural world surrounds all of Baca County. If it wasn’t for all of the wild life and landscape, living out in the middle of nowhere would be miserable because that’s what gives Baca county all of its desirable looks. It also gives it our sense of place. Many people from all of the different small towns in our county come to have fun at the lakes and such with our families and friends. With Baca County having such a small population in the towns here it gives you security that cities can’t provide. Last but not least, for anyone who has been down here, Baca County sunsets are like no other and makes small town living enjoyable.
