From The Home Front
By Linda Kenyon
Rush County News

Don’t get run over by the parade

   Last weekend was the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Rush Center.  It’s the only parade I know of where two major highways are closed for a small town parade.

(US #283 & US#96).  Anyone who doesn’t actually see it may find it hard to believe, but don’t tell Rush Center that it is impossible.  They’ve been doing it for 21 years.

   The people come from all over for the parade, which is amazing.  The event kind of follows the guideline of an agritourism session I attended recently.  The things I learned included not selling yourself short just because you are in a rural area.  The best advice is to find your niche and fill it the best you can.

   That goes for the entire county.  McCracken holds a rodeo that has been named Kansas Rodeo of the Year eight times.  LaCrosse has a museum complex that keeps growing every year, plus the only ball of barbed wire I’ve ever seen.  LaCrosse also hosts the Barbed Wire Weekend every Year.  Otis has Old Iron Days every year, with a little bit of everything, including a mountain man rendezvous.

   And let’s not forget the Rush County Fair, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.  It’s gone from a dying event to a living, breathing success in the past few years.

   Don’t give up on us just because we have a small population in a rural area.  We may not be mighty in numbers, but we’re just as determined and innovative as our ancestors were when they moved out here in the first place.
 
  Don’t tell us what we can’t do, but move out of the way and help us reach our goals, whatever they may be.
  
Rush County is home to one of the biggest helium plants in the world, manufacturers of furniture, flame burners and fiberglass tanks, a wind turbine rebuilder, an alpaca farm, several bed and breakfasts and several hunting lodges.  We have excellent libraries, a hospital under reconstruction, restaurants with good food, and people willing to take a chance and try something new.
  
We’re home to some of the most interesting people around, who are willing to try anything at least once.  We know how to grow winners.