Rural life is changing

[GlueGuy]

<font color=blue>I will end by saying that in our neck of the woods the main issue is folks moving out and then wanting every convenience (Wal-mart, grocery stores, Home Depots, McDonald's, etc.) they left. That is where most of our problems begin and end.</font color=blue>

Amen.

The GlueGuy

 

[cowboydoc]

fuzzmetal,
You are the exception rather than the rule. Let me tell you the rule. Perfect examples: McCall, ID, Bozeman, MT, Boise, ID, Sun Valley, ID, Flathead Lake, MT, Ennis, MT, etc. and the list goes on and on. All of these places were nice country places to live. Boise was a small, small city with no crime, no traffic, no urban sprawl, etc. The others were the same. Well at one time or another people found out about these jewels. Without exception people moved and displaced farming, ranching, and the good and wholesome life, morals, and attitudes that made a small town great. They brought their big city ways with them and changed the towns to big city towns. No more pulling to the side and driving slow on gravel roads, no more helping your neighbor out, traffic, crime, drugs, etc, etc. Everything that made these towns so great was gone. They brought their big city politics and their big city money. They bought out the men and women who actually made a living with the land and replaced it all with golf courses, convenience stores, subdivisions, shopping malls and chain stores. They took over town councils and bought whatever got in their way. They took land that ranchers had rented for decades from the govt. and bid the prices so high that they couldn't afford to get the leases back to run their cattle. Then they lost their farms and ranches and the banks were right there to take them back and give them to the city people for the highest dollar. The ones that could stay are getting forced out by the outrageous sums of money that city people will come in and pay for the land. The city people get on the councils and raise the taxes and assessed values of the property. Now the guy that lived on the land his whole life is forced to sale because he can't even make the property tax payment anymore or the increased sales taxes that have been made in the county. Then the land and animal rights people move in and now it's just living in the middle of a big city with more rules and regulations that just choke out a man used to the ways of the land and living the ways that an honorable person should live. That's the rule not the exception. I've seen it happen in town after town and have helped to fight against it but in the end you lose because they just keep coming and making more and more rules and laws until it's to the point that you can't even go out and walk or jog in the town before 7am because people's dogs will bark and wake people up. Yep it gets pretty ridiculous. NOW by all means I'm not saying that all city people are this way but MOST of them are and it's really sad because in town after town in the west they're taking away what made the town desirable in the first place.

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Cowboydoc

Amen, brother!

SHF

 

[TerryinMD]

Cowboydoc, the same applies in the east.

Ashburn, Manassas, Fredericksburg, VA; Frederick, Anapolis, Gaithersburg, MD; Gettysburg, King of Prussia, Somerset, Pa.... need I say more.

Growth is inevitable!! However, just look around at the developed areas and you will see strip malls, office buildings, large buildings that once housed Lowes, WalMarts, etc., empty. Huh??? What's the deal?? I know the basic reason why!! It just makes no sense! Apply the Golden Rule; He who controls the Gold, sets the rules..... Follow the gold....

 

[Bird]

Richard, of course you're right, but what's the solution? Where are all these people going to go? It seems to me that the situation is never going to change until population growth decreases, and since almost everyone wants kids I don't expect that to change anytime in the near future. And having traveled this country from one end to the other, I can tell you there is still a lot of farm land where you won't be crowded out in our lifetime if you don't mind being 25-50 miles away from all the convenient shopping and other facilities. Now of course it may be a different matter for our grandkids./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

I graduated from high school in '58 in a little farm town of less than 5,000 population, out in the country north of Dallas. Last I heard that town's population was 160,000 and you'll never know when you go from Dallas city limits into its city limits./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif It's not just the country that's developing and growing fast, but the big cities, too.

Bird

 

[Anonymous Poster]

You bet rural like is changing...and it always has! I guarantee you that when the towns anywhere were first settled, a few years after that there were folks moving on because there were just too many people moving in. That is what fueled our westward migration. Change is a fact of life, and although we can bemoan changes that don't suit us or that we cannot control we need to consider this: lots of folks in rural areas all over the country would love to have these kinds of problems. While some of us may live in popular areas where growth is fueled by jobs, beautiful scenery or locations close to major cities, many small towns are still dying and would love to have an influx of people who bring a need for jobs and services.

Lonestar

 

[skent]

The property we own has been in my family for over 150 years. My Uncle has paperwork and documents dating to the 1850's. Union army soldiers on their way to Gettysburg stopped and took horses/food/water from my Great-Great-Great Grandfather. (Stories handed down from generation to generation. My Great Grandmother wrote it all down - times/events/etc). I wish for this to continue and to keep the bloodline living here.

We are VERY lucky in the fact that my relatives (before we moved in) placed the entire property in Ag preserves that won't expire till 2020. All neighbors on three sides are in Ag Preservation till at least 2022.

(I don't know what it would take to break an Ag Preserve - I guess if you got enough money it can be done).

We might be suffering from a false sense of security but hope no development will occur in our area for at least 20 more years.

Steve

 

[TerryinMD]

Kent,

There is a program within Maryland to preserve farmlands and scenic areas. In Washington County, people are being paid to amend their deeds to prevent any development. I believe it is permanent. Now, this may only apply to registered historic preservation and easements around historic areas (Antitem Battlefield, Monocacy, etc.) There was any article in the Hagestown newspaper a few weeks ago discussing the program. You may want to talk to your local extention office to see what you might be able to do. Heck, this is one way of getting back some of your tax dollars!! Maybe even a newer, bigger, better tractor!!!! Woo-who!

Well, maybe my bad...

Here is the link to the article.

http://www.herald-mail.com/news/2001/07/11/local/State_approves_preserva.html

The State has approved some preservation money, but it maybe localized to Washington County.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by TerryinMD on 08/15/01 11:36 AM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Skent, I pray you're able to keep your farm in the family.

My wife's family farm is one of the oldest in the state of Iowa, her ancestors are recorded as the 3rd to register their claim in the state. Doesn't mean a thing. When the city decided it was time to expand the runways on the local airport they offered 32 cents on the dollar for the land. Her grandfather refused to sell so the city used immanent domain laws to "condemn" his cropland. After spending a lot of money in court and loosing, he received 13 cents on the dollar.

Because of this it is no longer possible to make a living on the farm, it's just to small. They share crop with another farmer who does all the work.

PitbullMidwest

 

[Bill_Ryan]

One of the sad items of today is that land is no longer valuable as farmland...it's worth more as a housing development.

When farming begins to again be a worthwhile and profitable career for your average Joe, then urban sprawl will slow.

Bill