“How long will you stay?” was the one question over the years that continued to plague Meeker’s newest residents. It seemed to be an integral part of the welcoming tradition and was included in an impromptu game that most all new residents unwittingly played in the early months of their move. Their new neighbors always asked questions meant to reveal the purpose of someone’s reasons for coming to the White River Valley.
I was never comfortable with these lines of inquiry. Frankly, I was more than a little confused by the persistence of this particular local habit. There seemed to be enough boom and bust cycles by the time I moved here and people appeared to welcome the growth from the energy industry. But often it seemed as if local residents forgot about the time-honored tradition of temporary employment stints that were part and parcel of that industry in particular.
What it often implied to me was that that while locals were mostly welcoming, some of the longtime residents felt that most newcomers weren’t willing to settle in and make their new place of residence a home. Time and again in those early years, I would be questioned about my intentions, even though I threw myself into the community and got involved by participating in local organizations and boards such as the Library Board. It is telling that that one question doesn’t come up much these days.
The nature of work in the field of energy has always been for short periods of time reflecting the cyclical nature of every boom and bust so this line of questioning became pointless over the years. The dramatic socioeconomic upheavals and the recent pandemic seems to have caused that old thorn-in-the-side question to disappear. What does it matter if someone doesn’t plan to stay here a lifetime? It is their interest and participation in community activities and organizations that counts.
One hometown boy, Freeman Fairfield, believed that coming home to stay wasn’t the point. He invested in his hometown’s future by setting up a fund to guarantee that yearly worthwhile community projects, as well as post-secondary scholarships, would provide that incentive. Each year worthy graduates of Meeker High School go on to further their education, and while some of them say they intend to come back to live in their hometown in the future, it doesn’t change their chances of obtaining the means to go out into the world to further their education. There are now so many local organizations and individuals who have become true believers in our youth and their ability to shape our future, that the list of scholarships seems to go on and on.
This years cancellation of the Old Timers Association get-together and the altering of some of the traditional events held during Range Call Days has made it more difficult to not only welcome tourists, but to host neighbors and friends for their yearly visit. There isn’t much to say about all of this except to extend a big “welcome back” greeting, when it becomes more possible to get back to the old familiar routines.
By DOLLY VISCARDI | Special to the HT
