Fun Times in Small Towns

When you live in an area where cows outnumber people, your entertainment isn’t the same as it is in the city. We don’t have amusement parks, shopping malls or white-tablecloth restaurants. Heck, we don’t even have a movie theater in our county. So when we are looking for something fun to do, it’s a bit more old fashioned. Our events more often involve large parts of the town or county coming together to kick back and celebrate.

For example, in Tyndall every June we have Hot Dog Nite. It’s kind of a business appreciation event where all the local businesses put out little stands on Main Street and give away hot dogs and beverages. Hundreds of people from multiple counties come to binge on hot dogs, listen to a polka band, and enjoy a classic car show.

And eat snow cones. Who doesn’t love a good snow cone?!

The vet clinic had our table set up just outside the VFW/American Legion building. I now feel quite adept at placing hot dogs on buns in an efficient manner. I’m pretty sure we served four pans of buns and several dozen hot dogs.

Not every event is as elaborate as Hot Dog Nite. This weekend we had a kickball tournament at the park on the north side of town. Four teams played in a high stakes, double elimination tournament to become the undeniable kickball champion of Bon Homme County.

Our team was a rugged crew of farmers and cowboys. We played valiantly, but ultimately were defeated by a combination of the youth of our opponents and the increasing number of cool beverages we consumed whilst playing the game. We won one out of three games, which isn’t an impressive record but included some clutch plays worthy of SportsCenter.

 

And my Carolyn was there to cheer me on, which was the best part!

If no events are going on, a favorite pastime is to hang out at the river. Between fishing, kayaking, boating and swimming, it is a place where people can have fun all day, and then come back the next day to have just as much fun. In the winter, some people go ice fishing, though I’m not too much of a fan of that. Bit too cold for this guy.

Other than the river, there are a lot of great things to do in small towns. We spend our time hunting or shooting clays, going on walks in the river bluffs or just taking relaxing Sunday drives. Carolyn loves to garden, and I like to hang out with friends to talk about cattle and farming.

I know it’s not like the glitz and glamor of urban life, and for some people all this sounds incredibly boring. But for those of us out here, we love the simplicity and authenticty of rural living. People are quite important to country folks, because without all the other distractions, all there is out here for entertainment is to be with the people out here. And you know what, that’s a pretty darn good way to spend a day.

-Jake