Church attendance is mandatory in our family almost. That's Wally man stock one of the 1368 residents who consider Mott North Dakota his home. This is one in a series of programs titled our hometown which explorers of values and quality of life in small towns produced by Minnesota Public Radio Station k c c m financial assistance to produce a series was given by the North Dakota committee for the Humanities and public issues are today's program. You'll hear residents of Maat tell of the role that religion plays in their lives and a discussion of an issue, too many communities provincialism.The interviewer is John ydstie. These families are your old strict German family. balance children learn their dues and don'ts some of the family's or a little more relaxed on different things and others are but still there's basically the be courteous to others in this type of thing. And if it's not yours don't take it and stuff. I mean, it's just general rules of growing up and stuff that comes from the family the learning of sharing and caring in this type of thing your family starts at the church and the school reinforce it and as a children grow up why they continue in this vein. We have several large families around here that have anywhere from 10 to 19 kids in the family and the older ones as they grow each one takes the younger one and they are responsible to help that younger child and this and you'll learn and your family is it you're responsible for members of your own family and to care for the members of community and stuff. Certain events within the church's films or speakers or anniversaries 50th anniversary of the church or something. You'll have standing-room-only crowds at the place of El Dorado people turn out for my people genuinely religious, or do they go to church because it's expected of them. I think that's an individual question person has to answer himself. You can't measure someone by attendance Gaylor? but the giver I think it's very hard to judge and who's to say who should judge. That's an individual role. I think that everyone has to account for themselves. As far as our community goes I think your word church going community. As far as are they really religious when I hear the word religious, I see the quotation marks and both ends the bended knee the develop face the whole thing. That's not what I consider religion. I consider just Fellowship and concern and learning to really show love to others whether you really like or agree with what they do and I think this is something we are seeing happened. We're in our particular Church. We've been without a pastor for a year. And this was a Growing Experience for our church because all of a sudden we had to do it ourselves. and we had to sit next to each other in church because we had one service instead of having to and it was really I think a growing time for us we got to know each other and perhaps care a little more for each other if you didn't care for your brother or sister or for the The welfare of your fellow man. I don't think you would care and mock people care when there's anything and I think down deep this is religion. I noticed that this particular funeral today, there was a mixed group that were the pallbearers. and it was held the Lutheran Church and I was setting But I could see this young Catholic man, and he was singing right along and trying to follow a little ritualistic Bard. We took from the book and then I was going to go ride along with in some communities. They feel it is only one church. And that's the one they belong to hear the pallbearers today were from three or four different churches. This is a situation when it's held in the Catholic church. Do they have Protestant? Pallbearers in the end I think nothing of it in religion and doesn't mean as much in. I mean the bit we don't use it as a political football in town like they're doing some small towns at 8 does I know I know sometimes I don't use religion in fight against each other and it wouldn't buy from one because he was of this religion or that religion, you know. You said you are aware a bonfire the other night. Is that a hayride type of thing or? I know region farmer lives over there and we went out there and then he took us in a hay rack and pulled over the four-wheel drive pickup truck auction on 17-18 kids. I guess she had there and we had a Well, I know but it was there was a lot of fun. We're getting together in a Christian type of bug root canal and I thought I was kind of a social thing once a month would be a you know, a real neat things to do in denomination. That's behind it. I'm moving. How are you doing? High School someone praying Okay, maybe I should explain the purpose behind what we're trying to get started tonight. It seems like a lot of our youth groups are dying out around this area. I think and even if the kids are still showing up for youth group. So losing their enthusiasm. And we're hoping that by having activities on a regular basis so we can get some of this enthusiasm renewed and get some really good Christian Fellowship going. And so we need a lot of cooperation and it's it's up to us if we want to do it. We got to be willing to put the work into it and you don't just keep it going and I don't know how many of you really think this is, you know, if you think this is something that's worth pursuing or not. And I suppose we're going to have to get some opinions on it and I'd like to know what you think about it. Young people are always saying, you know what we got nothing to do and we got nothing to do and we're willing to put forth to work and we're willing to get something going to do something and you know, we're not we don't have to do the same things all the time as a multitude of things can be thought of to do. And it's important for Christian young people to have fellowship and to be together. And what we want your ideas and what you want to do and then we'll take care of the work to do them and set them up for you. All we need is Is we need to know what you want to do? It's not the idea of one church group or another church group leading anyting it's not trying to bring forth one denomination. Are there any method or any system or anything like that? But just to lift up Jesus Christ as a group of young people who are interested in doing and having good clean fun. and with the with a Christian background maybe we you'll help me sign. Lauren thank you so much for the night. I want you to Jesus that we were able to have this Fellowship. Thompson people in this group tonight, and I'm sure you've been with us every step of the way. Or there's a lot of problems that are going on. Why not only Talent all over. Are Jesus I just surprised so much more that you won't be done because that's what matters. Lord As we go our own separate. Peace. And help us Lord, and if we haven't started now. Be what you want us to be or do what you want us to do. Please help us up. We start moving and really move. Just pray for everyone in this group. All the time that we have lived here. I wanted to leave thinking do we have to be stuck here? Do we have to live here? But of course is where we were making our living in hurry raise their children and they all were sent off to school and all I could think about was sending them off and so they would never have to come back here and live thinking this was almost as bad as Siberia, you know thinking this is nothing we have no culture. We have nothing very much to offer people and are only outside entertainment would be the TV and maybe our my study club and our churches and once in awhile to Tender a concert at Dickinson State College already go to Bismarck to something. And them but as the years went by we went more and this we found out that we are happy to retire and stay here that as home base and we enjoy our our friends here and know that we are free to go other places now, the world isn't so small. our town is Miss confining as it used to be because we can leave now many people from here to go to Minneapolis for four plays and four concerts in for baseball and football games and that sort of thing and that there is very little cultural Recreation here except for the things by the Perry stage of it comes every summer what you enjoy and I have always wanted to live in a bigger town because I felt rather smothered here I felt I I thought if we could if I could ever leave that you know that I would be happy in it. But tell him now that the children are growing up feeling anymore wouldn't be happy on farms are living with or near farmers and they have always rather put them down or maybe that maybe it's our fault. Maybe we have to because we always felt that they weren't to him. as There's their culture seem to be slower and dollar than ours than what we wanted. But of course is all changing to because then the firm has her project kid here now, but are our children would be happy and there's more people in this community. That have been around. certainly throughout the United States many to Europe many to to the Hawaiian Islands quite a few to Japan Lobster Canada Merida Mexico We'll come back from our trips and discuss the trip with another person who's also been there and we find this happening over and over. It's a it's a traveling community. They are at 5th and maybe it started because someone got going somewhere and way back and then the next one said by ghali I'd like to I'd like to see that myself and they went and it just spread not a well-traveled well-educated people in this town. Does that help the community the more knowledge one has they have greater the chance of discussion and intellect use of the intellect course the more, you know, the greater your Sorrows to People in small towns nowadays are educated is the people in the big cities. The radio has brought everything into the TV. Window on the New York we've seen I think some of them might all the best of cultural life in New York their stage plays and things like that. A lot of unspeakable it boring and I can see why people in New York consider them a great advantage or some of my masterpieces. Yes. but there's nothing a limited or circumscribed or the Inn in the obnoxious sense provincial And the small towns any longer? Small towns are accused of being prevention Disney. That's true. Yes, probably very much. So I think they are. Probably the last stronghold provincialism in America small town. Is that good or bad thing? I think it's good because I think we I'm all for change but I think sometimes we changed a little too fast and it's provincialism are traditionalism or whatever you call it in the small town, maybe makes a stop and think sometime I will admit that I get a little upset sometimes when I want to do something and and I can't because the town may not go along with it. The majority of the people in the town would not accept it, but I think in the long run, I think it's very good for us if dumb. a little bit of a link with the past which I think we need to stabilize this I've talked to some people have said that the media and our transportation technology have kind of taken away from a small town some of the valuable things that it had such as that a close personal relationships And isolation from the evils of the rest of the world, but also it's been beneficial because like for those of us who enjoy other forms of culture that you don't have readily available, you know, like real high-class movies or plays or performances or sometimes it just like to get off to a unique eating spot. You can go in the car and then an hour or two you can be there. Then I gets really made living in a small town. Even if you are a hundred miles away from the Sun. Almost like living in a suburb you retain the freeness of the small-town community where you don't even trust your neighbor and everything, but the other you want cultural influence, you can go after the big tell him that and be there in just a matter of minutes that may take away a little bit of the resourcefulness instead of lemon just a few miles away and not this weekend. They're putting on Fiddler on the Roof our society Society down there is putting on the production of it themselves with local people. Been in the cast. So I I disagree that it takes away the resourcefulness of the community. So you see that technology. by isomer hesitate about the Nightly News on TV. I sometimes wonder if we don't get it too quick and I suppose this is something for somebody in the news field to criticize news media, but I think we are too aware of things happened in the nation and perhaps we could kind of slow down a little bit and not learn of how quick the stock market reacts or something would be a little bit better off because people and push the panic button and get all upset or it's good to hear your work what's going on in the country, but I think you were a lot better off if you didn't know about it right away. Maybe had a few days left in there. So tempers had a chance to cool and people didn't react as quick. The spirit of isolationism is going yes, and I think that is a good thing because so many times is small towns. You felt like here you were just a little tiny Circle and hear the rest of these huge world was and you felt completely alienated from the whole world. I know lots of times in the winter when you're driving at night, you'll see the farm lights dotting the countryside that is just like H4 might as its own little isolated area. And I I think it's it's good that it's taking people out of the isolationism, but they should things should slow down a little bit here pretty soon everybody just going to go was that the world's going to go or something. Is it everything just moved a little too fast? That's one thing about a smaller town. Your lifestyle is not so hurry. It's more leisurely you relax and enjoy that you can enjoy your kids your home and stuff people in small towns live for smaller things. It's a nice thing. If you take the time to appreciate something like that her or appreciate nice trees are driving around and Fallen trees are changing colors and stuff. I think they missed a lot of that kind of trees that I don't think in some of the crowded areas. Are they doing? It? Maybe suburbs have more but I don't know. They just don't seem to take the time for little against that happening today. It's nicer. To go and do those things in the big city and then leave it and come back. That's what's nice. Are you sacrificing is a monetary gain or some kind of personal growth and something that he can't get a small town. I want a fur coat maybe if your whole life is going to be Turn as much money as you can and set aside the pleasures until you had all that money. You want you going to waste all your time running your money and never enjoy the pleasures and so it's nice to have a lot of money and it's nice to have enough money to be comfortable. But if we had to move to a city to be any more comfortable, I wouldn't make the change. They would probably like to live in Minneapolis to go to the Guthrie now and then but how many people are like that rainy and a lot of people over there? But as far as culture nowadays, it's hitting just about everywhere like with TV and in your getting if you want culture, you can see it, you know, like on television. It's sitting about everybody. I think you're getting away. I think a lot of cultural education is important. That is wise should we know a lot about art music and I think too much of this is a status. Symbol you'd be surprised at the culture and art that we have in this little jerkwater place always bothers me that you never went to college that you have no appreciation of culture. That you don't know what's going on that you're a hick. And boy, this is Ray Ray Falls because a tremendous number people from this town of going to college, but awful lot of I've got a degree. I can name you almost all my friends have degrees and they are necessarily professional people somewhere out here farming and they have a full four-year college degree. We have a tremendous amount of culture as far as music. Beef around here commence the musical I break the clown up here and I've got a choir this far as I'm concerned in this Catholic Church is out of this world. There's nobody gets paid. Tremendous number of people leave Pennies on the office. I painted every down one of those myself. I'm just one of many. We have a lot of opportunities Recreation for golf for swimming for fishing for hunting. I noticed one thing that when we go out and get in the big cities that were resting exactly the same Are Up In Style culture, I think and culture or even perhaps even a bit ahead of people in the big cities because we have to strive to get it. It isn't handed to us on a platter. So we go out of our way to get it we worked at I think today we have around 83 artist. We have many local artists that go to Bismarck and and are they are chose? They have one rabbits. They have even hung been chosen to hang their picture in the governor's mansion. And it just snowballed and it's amazing of that that that the talent they have. Will have a farmer come into the bank. Anxious to get back to his tractor and he wants something taken care of at one of the tellers windows, but he'll take a moment off and with his dirty boots charge from painting to painting looking at H1. Admiring them shortly and when they're changed we see that same fella come back and do it again and they hit it tells us that there is a latent undeveloped appreciation of Art in all of us. That that has two that can come out if given an opportunity. What kind of painting did most of the people did they start out with the landscape type that seems to be the day beginner stage, but they have soon Advance dance and some some Newport rates some do animal life bird life. Some do buildings. There's California people that will come in to visit and they'll see a picture with an old Farmstead and they just fall in love with it and buy them. So that happened this Summer that was such a demand for him that I think lot of them ever decided haircut to paint. Somebody's Old Farm stands. I do a lot of I do a lot of oils. It's just something I picked up and I became interested in and then and there really isn't any The community doesn't really offer a program in this artistic bent or an intellectual in a small town. Is it a tough place to grow know? I don't think it's a tough place to to to grow within your interest yet. But as far as most people might what are those people look at you any different? I think it's true. I don't think I really do some people look at you like you're a little squirrelly maybe but but I think the fact that they recognize fact you're different. I think this is true and I think you shouldn't take no offense. But like The Yodeling whistle to you don't say so. Mott North Dakota population 1368 our hometown one of a series of programs Exploring Life in small towns produced by Minnesota Public Radio station kccm with financial assistance by the North Dakota committee for the Humanities and public issues producers of the series are John ydstie, Dennis Hamilton and Bill seem ring. You may purchase a copy of this program by contacting kccm and care of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota 56560.