A Monthly Publication of the Talbot Center for Rural Studies
RuralLiving
VOL.1 MARCH 1 - PRICE 5$
Understanding, Sharing and Celebrating The Rural Life
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The Road Less Traveled
The Power of Family History
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Good Health
Is Rural America at War With Healthy Eating
Belles of the South
Corporate Neighbors
A Place to Call Home
Over a decade ago, I took a cross-country road trip to help my youngest daughter move from California. That trip made me realize the vastness of this country and the fact that most of this land that we love is not inhabited by skyscrapers and towering buildings. The tapestry of America is dotted with little towns and small cities. I grew up in Talbotton, Georgia one of those blink and you’ll miss it towns on the state’s western border. I often thought that my hometown and by default, my life could have no sophistication and culture. As a teen growing up in the 1960’s, I dreamed of Big City living and moved to Atlanta for college. I loved the excitement and activity of the city, but as I have grown older and wiser, I see that in its own perfect way, my little town of Talbotton is packed with rich culture and unique sophistication that could never be found in the concrete jungles of New York City or Atlanta. These days, I understand the true treasure that is rural America. The Talbot Center for rural studies is dedicated to understanding, sharing and promoting the treasures of rural life. I hope that you will enjoy this flagship edition of Rural Living as it is dedicated to doing the same. Sincerely,
Dorothy Bass Editor-in-Chief
RL contributors Deana Bass Elizabeth Bersce Amani Council Southerylyn Reisig Eric M. Seabrook, Esq. Dee-Dee Wilbon
Is Rural America at War With
Good Health
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A Place to Call Home
Talbot Center HQs
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Events and Activities Around the World for TYEs
ON THE COVER
Green Tomatoes a popular rural
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On The Agenda
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Rural Living
Is Rural America at War With
Good Health?
by Robert L. Patrick
could change lifelong habits.
T
here is an undeniable contradiction between the picturesque reality of farm fresh foods that are produced in rural America and the grim reality of the health care disparities that exist in rural America. Understanding and addressing issues of Good Health is one of the three key areas of engagement for the Talbot Center for Rural studies. As with most cases of disparities in healthcare, the problem lies in access. Almost a quarter of all Americans live in rural communities only 10% of the physicians practice in rural communities. It is an issue of access to not only physicians, but also access to information and education that
While it maybe difficult to attract doctors and dentists, the ability to educate and inform rural America is well within our reach. Education and awareness can make a significant impact on the lives of rural residents Americans. Residents of rural communities have lower incomes making it more difficult to buy healthy products in grocery stores, which can be few and far between in rural areas. Residents in rural communities per capita make about $7500 a year less than residents of urban areas. Despite popular belief all rural residents don’t simply walk out of their front doors to a cornucopia of fruits, vegetables and prime rib.
communities. Hypertension is higher in rural communities. Diabetes is more prevalent in rural communities than urban centers. The Talbot Center recognizes the power of rural areas from its natural resources to its human capital. Good Health based on prevention teaches the residents the power that their daily decisions have of their lives and the impact of their children.
Alcohol and tobacco use is far greater among teens in rural
Baked Not Fried...An Easy Choice Fish - 3 oz of Talapia
Baked – Total Fat 2.2g Calories 109 Fried – Total Fat 10.5g Calories 197
Shrimp - 6 oz Serving Boiled or Steamed – Total fat 4g Calories 220 Sodium 310mg Fried and Breaded – Total Fat 25.8g Calories 470 Sodium 1500mg
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The Road Less Traveled O
n the list of items that I wanted to accomplish before I turned 40, learning the names of my great, great, great grandparents topped the list. I tried ancestry.com and while it produced some exciting documents, like my grandfather’s World War I draft card, it did not yield anything close to the deep genealogical lines that I had hoped to find. That’s not really a slam on ancestry.com. It’s more of a comment on the historical bias that ruled recording the lives of black Americans unnecessary. One of my best friends, who happens to be white, traced ancestors through ancestry.com back to 16th century England. Well in my pursuit to discover from whence I came, I literally travelled down roads that had not seen humans in years. If you do not think you can learn anything from the guldens in your life, you better think again. The tour guides down these roads less traveled were my grandmother’s cousins Jake and Annie Belle. Cousin Jake and Annie Belle are vast resources of family history and common sense that cannot be found in books or television.
L-R Cousin Anniebelle, Me and Cousin Jake
While I am still on the quest to learn the names of ancestors five generations deep, the journey did take me to the plot of land where my great, great grandfather lived. The actual home was long destroyed but the perfect storm of time, weather and neglect. But stones from the chimney remain. The tour also included the one bedroom house where my grandmother was raised. It was so far back in the thick southwest Georgia woods, I marveled over the sheer will, determination and hutzpah that it took for a black, woman in the late 1930’s to make her way from these dense woods to Morris Brown College in Atlanta. I understood for the first time, how her journey away from these woods and back again is the prequel to my very existence and worldview life. Bigma so valued education that she knew she had to leave Talbotton to find it. But she also valued the land which is why she and my Granddad chose to return and raise their children their. As a little girl, I spent my summers at my Bigma’s. My worldview was framed by the charm and beauty of a itsy bitsy town where half of residents were related by blood or marriage, where family values, hard work and education were always in fashion and where the pursuit of the good, the true and the beautiful was made me easily recognizable as Lula Mae’s grandchild. -Deana Bass
My Mom picking pears
My Bigma’s childhood home Bigma’s childhood home
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Tid Bits & Happenings
Rural Boutiquing Northern, Virginia
Rural Living Cafe Style Northern, Virginia
A Day in the Life Southwest, Georgia
Georgia Family Connetion Region 8
Send your pictures to appear in next month’s issue of Rural Living to ruralliving@basspublicaffairs.com
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Rural Living
A Place To Call
Home
The Tillly-Jordan House The Talbot Center for Rural Studies will be headquartered in Talbotton, Georgia. Because of the importance of educating and empowering rural communities across the country, the organizations research and results will be far reaching.
Talbot Center for Rural Studies Headquarters In the spring of 2013, The Talbot Center for Rural Studies will move into its new home, The Blank House in Talbotton, Georgia. While it is technically a new organization, the Board Members, staff and partners have been working on rural issues for decades. The purpose of The Talbot Center for Rural Studies is to improve the quality of life of residents of rural
communities through education, training and research. Through three main programs, The Talbot Center fulfills its mission. The Talented 10th – Based on the writing of African American activist, historian and educator W.E.B. Du Bois, The Talented Tenth or The T-Cubed program provides leadership, cultural awareness and career
You know, rural Americans are a special people. Their labor puts food on our table and fuel in our gas tanks. Their service in our military sets a powerful example of leadership, honor and sacrifice. Their spirit of community inspires us all. Tom Vilsack
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development training young residents of rural communities. The Citizen Corps – The Citizen Corps teaches residents of rural communities the power of being engaged citizens. Studies show that when citizens take an interest in the political outcomes of local elections, they become more impassioned to be engaged in the everyday Apple Seed – The Apple Seed Program helps teach citizens of rural communities healthy nutrition habits.
March 1, 2013
Belles of the South Farm Freshness in Northeast Florida Sisters Mara Webb and Jenny Kelly always valued fresh meats and truly organic produce. But their passion for sharing it with others began when they became mothers and thus responsible for the healthy diet of their little loves. The Jacksonville raised sisters were tired of pre-packaged foods quickly spoiling or even worse “not spoiling when it should because of all the preservatives in chemicals.” Their deep love of family, friends and fresh food gave birth to Cowford Belles with a few simple clicks from their website cowfordbelles.com. City slickers and rural residents of Northeast Florida can have the wholesome freshness of rural produce delivered to their front door. The baskets for delivery include everything from locally produced cheeses honeys and coffees to locally raised pork poultry and beef. Cowford Belles is truly a business for the modern age. Farm fresh foods are always the preferred choice, but unless you own a farm or are near a farmers market the options are limited. Even the most well intentioned grocery store chains tend to rely
The Talented Tenth We are looking for a few good young men and women to join our inaugural class of The Talented Tenth. To learn more about this inspiring and elite mentoring program, contact Dorothy Bass at 706-573-8183.
on chemicals and preservatives to maintain a profitable shelf life. “This service combines the modern technology of social media and the Internet with the personal touch and quality produce of yesterday,” said media expert Southerlyn Reisig. “It seems uniquely designed for the high demands today’s families who want quality produce, but are to time strapped to actually make it happen.” Cowford Belles has a heart for not only improving the healthy lifestyles of residents of Northeast Florida, but the sisters also recognize the importance of being a good corporate citizen and neighbor. Cowford Belles are supporters of Seamark Ranch, a nurturing Christian home and family system that gives children from families in crisis the tools they need for a brighter future. Through a family home model, a specialized residential school and the lessons of life on a working farm community, Seamark Ranch provides the ideal setting for love, stabilization, healing, education and empowerment.
I think the extent to which I have any balance at all, any mental balance, is because of being a farm kid and being raised in those isolated rural areas. James Earl Jones
Your Clear Voice in a Crowded Market
Your Clear Voice in a Crowded Market
Would you like to share your organization’s successes by producing a magazine like RuralLiving? Contact Amani Council, at acouncil@basspublicaffairs.com to learn how Bass Public Affairs can write, edit and design an electronic publication for you. Amani Council
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Oglethorpe Power, one of the nation’s largest power supply cooperatives provides electricity to more than 4.1 million Georgia Citizens. The Talbot Center for Rural Studies applauds Oglethorpe Power’s commitment to corporate responsibility. We have seen first hand their dedication to empowering the rural communities that they serve. They have provided expert council and resources to help promote wellness and literacy in partnership with the Talbot County Family Connection. Other examples of their record of being a good corporate citizen include their work to preserve the Dixon Memorial State Forest by planting seedlings to replace trees killed in a devastating forest fire. In addition, they teamed up with Georgia Transmission, Georgia System Operations, Georgia EMC, and many others to landscape a local middle school, build picnic tables for an outdoor classroom, and clean up an adjacent creek and trails as a Hands On Atlanta/ Rivers Alive Day project.
Talbot County Family Connection Board Member Annie Bell Pinkston, Oglethorpe Power Community Liason Diane McClearen, Talobt County Family Connection Administrative Assistance Ms. Emily Ford. 08