Report from the Nebraska Synod
Rural Immersion Class
Journal by Jordan Miller & Pictures with captions by Dirk van der Duim
| January 11, 2006 |
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Bob Osborne, the owner of
Osborne Fabrication, shows us his newest building, which is still under construction.
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After spending time in Aurora for the rural ministry conference, our group drove further west to the town of Atkinson. In this town of about 1200 people, we were able to see how local businesses are vital to a small town.
At Osborne Fabrication, a metal fabricating business, we heard the story of how the owner spent several years in the construction business working under someone else, and then began to work on his own. Now, 15 years later, he is starting his own metal fabrication business in his hometown, which will provide the community of Atkinson with a solid company that will eventually employ between 25 and 30 people in good jobs that will allow them to stay and raise families here. |
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Tim Braun, the owner of Braun's Locker, shows Rural Immersion student Brahm Smith a refrigeration unit full of meat that will soon be processed.
Our day continued with visits to several other businesses. At the Subway restaurant where we had lunch, the grocery store and the meat locker (where meat from local farmers, ranchers, and hunters is processed and stored) that is co-owned by two brothers from Atkinson, and other businesses that we visited, I noticed a common theme. The people involved in these businesses have a sense of investment, not just in the product they produce, but also in the community where their business is located, which is also likely their hometown. Local businesspeople take pride in the fact that they work hard to provide quality products and services for those around them. They care a great deal about their hometown and their neighbors.
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It was a pleasure to see that people are often so personally involved in their jobs and businesses in a small town. This fact, which is lacking at times in larger communities, can provide rural areas with a living environment in which residents are concerned about doing good work and taking care of each other. A strong work ethic, integrity, and compassion make local businesses an integral part of these small communities, and a source of pride and hope for their people now and in the future. |
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Leo Seger explains the embalming process
to the Rural Immersion
group during our tour
of Seger Funeral Home.
Seger takes pride
in providing
compassionate service
to his fellow
community members.
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