When John Epp of Clavet, Sask., died of a heart attack this fall, his neighbors rallied around to help surviving family members harvest the crop.
When Leonard Conlon’s brother was killed in a traffic accident last month, his neighbors in the Lloydminster area congregated to haul and stack Conlon’s 1,400 bales.
These and other incidents of community spirit found their way into the pages of the Producer, and we’re glad they did.
Such examples of neighbor helping neighbor offer a chance to celebrate the spirit that built the Prairies. They are a chance to acknowledge unsung heroes, most of whom consider their deeds to be little more than common courtesy.
Read Also
Agriculture needs to prepare for government spending cuts
As government makes necessary cuts to spending, what can be reduced or restructured in the budgets for agriculture?
Trouble is, common courtesy, like common sense, isn’t all that common sometimes. But maybe it’s more common than we think.
We were talking about this in the newsroom last week and now we need your help.
Do you know an individual or group “Good Samaritan?” Has someone gone that extra mile to help you out in a time of trouble or in a time of joy? Have you heard about good deeds that seem worthy of note?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, tell us about it. Use the phone number or the address at the bottom of this column, and if you choose to write, include your own phone number and address in case more information is needed.
If common courtesy lives up to its name, the results could become a standing feature in The Western Producer. You could help establish a place in the news pages where we can sing the praises of unsung prairie heroes and celebrate good deeds and community spirit.
Failing that kind of volume, your stories may be used as the basis for features or as fodder for this column.
They may even find their way to www.producer.com, so everyone on the worldwide web can better understand the makeup of prairie culture.
It’s a pretty good time to invite “good news” stories, don’t you think? After all, cynicism is never so rampant as during a federal election.
There’s always more than enough bad news to go around. We’re counting on you, our prairie neighbors, to help us out with the good news too.
Call 1-800-667-6978 or write to me at The Western Producer, Editorial Department, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask. S7K 2C4.
