Rural decline

To the editor:

Last week’s opinion piece, “Bigger Isn’t Better,” hit upon some bitter truths in general about rural communities.

I moved to Marion with my family in 1961 when I was 12 years old. I moved away to Madison, Wisconsin, in 2011 when I was 62.

Marion was a very different place in the 1960s. The changes that came in the 50 years I lived there happened slowly but were major.

We raised our three daughters near Marion, and I don’t think they were at any disadvantage having gone to a rural school and in fact may have been better prepared for college than their urban counterparts.

All three did their undergrad degrees at KU with honors, and all have advanced degrees from the UW Madison.

The major hit to rural America has been the concentration of agriculture into the hands of a few large companies and the technologies that have made large-scale agriculture the norm. Communities like Marion were the hub of supply for the population of small-scale family farmers.

Census figures reveal major changes in the last 60 years, and it is not just less population. In 1960, the census had for Marion County a population of 15,143 with 6,890 living in towns and 8,253 rural dwellers. The 2020 census counted a population of 11,700 with 7,290 living in towns and 4,410 rural dwellers.

In 1960, the majority, if not all, of rural dwellers were living on working farms. The majority of rural dwellers in the 2020 census would most likely be classified as “rural residents,” meaning they lived in the country but were not actively engaged in farming.

Farmers of the 1960s depended upon nearby towns for supplies, fuel, implements, entertainment, and schools.

Farming is an occupation that requires a multitude of skills and abilities. I fear that we, as a country, have lost a lot of the human collateral necessary to maintain and improve the food system for our large population.

We still have our retirement IRAs with a Marion-area bank that was owned by a local family I grew up with and still have as friends.

Recently, the bank was made part of a larger network of banks following a trend that has defined banking in Marion County for years.

There is something to be said for having local capital stay in the local community for local use.

Harry E. Bennett
Madison, Wisconsin