Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

What's Happening with Jon Chadwell

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory or defeat," Theodore Roosevelt, American President.

I read an article recently in a national magazine about small town America. The author, who resides in a large metropolitan area, was criticizing the government for giving so many grants to rural areas when their population is so small. He asserted that small towns ought to accept their fate and "leave the historic scene in a graceful exit."

Obviously, the writer, living in a large metropolitan area, has never felt the joy of investing himself in his community. He has never had to be involved in making his community a better place, but feels free through his pen to amply criticize millions who want to make their hometowns into great places to live, work and play.

Those who have worked in small communities know the joy that comes from being involved. They feel the sense of accomplishment in helping preserve the unique history of the area or develop infrastructure for the future. Those in the arena of developing rural America know what it is to spend one's self in a worthy cause.

Rural heroes include those who start businesses in small towns and work with their own blood and sweat to make them succeed. Professionals, who toil in relative obscurity and for financial rewards that are less than they would receive in a metropolitan area, are included in this number. Heroes, who teach for fewer dollars, who struggle in government with fewer resources, who spend themselves on countless community projects, are the ones who will ensure that small town America will never leave the scene.

We have many heroes in Prescott and Nevada County who spend themselves on worthy causes. Each one has soared on the wings of triumph as a project has succeeded and felt the heartbreak as a dream dies. Ignore the critics and know that the credit belongs to you, the one in the midst of the fight. And thank you for fighting to make our town a better place.