Welcome to Common Ground

....my first column on Substack as part of the Iowa Writers' Collaborative

The first time I left Iowa I was headed to Kirkland College in rural upstate New York. When I flew out a my interview the fall of my senior year, my dad said, “When you get there you look those people in the eye and you tell them the land in Cannan Township north of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa is the richest farmland in the world.” To myself I thought, “I’m not doing that.” But I did, not only in my interview, but many times since. I realized my dad was telling me to be proud of where I’m from, that I never had to take a backseat to anyone. By the time I went to college I’d seen the skyscrapers of New York, the mountains of Wyoming and the oilwells of Texas. But I’d grown up surrounded by rich, loamy Iowa soil.

Here’s the dirt

Many years later, during the Obama Administration, I traveled with my husband Tom, Secretary of Agriculture, to Japan. We were there with Iowans, including a delegation of farmers, to celebrate Iowa’s 50-year Sister State relationship with Yamanashi, Japan. In a meeting with farmers and soil scientists, there was a huge map on the wall showing the soils of the world. The best soil was marked in red and there were only a few red spots on the map. Iowa was completely red. I smiled knowing my dad wasn’t just making it up.

I’m a storyteller by nature. It’s in my DNA. After Sunday dinner I used to listen to the grown-ups tell stories about the people who lived on South Prairie south of Milton, Iowa where my dad grew up. My Missouri Granddad on my mom’s side was a barber. He could tell stories that would make Mark Twin proud.

As soon as I learned to spell, I started tapping the keys of the typewriters at my dad’s office. I was editor of my high school newspaper. During the years I taught middle school language arts and journalism, I also freelanced for the Mt. Pleasant News as a feature writer and photographer. Over time I earned my Journalism Master’s Degree at the University of Iowa. For one of my classes I developed a column called Main Street that I wrote for the News for six years before Tom was elected governor.

I met Iowa Boy, Chuck Offenburger when he was covering Mt. Pleasant for the Des Moines Register and as First Lady riding RAGBRAI. He knew my work for the Mt. Pleasant News, and we became friends. After he left the Register, he asked if I’d like to be a guest writer on his website where he published his own online columns at Offenburger.com. Writing my column, By The Way, gave me a chance to reflect on the 500 plus Iowa towns and cities I visited and the thousands of people I’d met as First Lady while advocating for literacy and public libraries in Iowa and across the country.

I’ve written reflective, educational pieces in several jobs I’ve had since but stopped writing during the pandemic when I could no longer travel, meet people or hear their stories.

A few years ago, I spoke with Chuck who mentioned he had joined The Iowa Writer’s Collaborative and was writing a Substack column as part of this group initiated by Julie Gammack, another long-time friend. Chuck suggested I join them. I deferred. I have always told stories that try to find common ground. I wasn’t sure I wanted to open myself to the meanness that has so changed our culture, even in the small places I love.

I did subscribe to Chuck’s column and celebrated his marriage to another friend, Mary Riche. Then I signed up for Dan Hunter’s column and Bob Leonard’s.

After Jimmy Carter’s State Funeral January 17, we flew home to become full-time Iowans again. The next week I called Chuck and said I thought I was ready to join the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative.

What’s a story worth?

What changed my mind? Our daughter-in-law, Kate, who lives next door in our neighborhood near Booneville, gave us a unique Christmas present. It’s called Storyworth. Each week Tom and I each got an on-line prompt, a question about our lives. Her goal was for us to share our stories with our grandchildren. We were both diligent and by the following Christmas we each had a small bound book with our stories and a book for each family. It got my writing juices flowing.

I started opening up to people and wondering about issues the way I used to when I produced a column every week. I charged up my laptop and produced a rough draft of a story about USAID where I worked for four years. I wrote a story about Jimmy Carter’s Funeral. I’d forgotten what hard work it is. I panicked. What else will I write about? So, I started a list:

I want to talk about the soil, the land and the people who depend on it.

Christie Vilsack, March 20, The Des Moines Botanical Garden explaining how to make a seed grow.

I’m a Master Gardener. I want to talk about gardens and even more important the people who live to get their hands dirty.

I set a goal this year to meet at least one new person a week and write a short description of each. 50 people. I want to introduce you to a few of them.

I want to catch up with some of my former students and find out what they’re up to.

I want to talk about food as a community builder and protector of culture.

I want to talk about trees.

I want to talk about sports.

I want to talk about books, literacy and libraries

I want to talk about teachers.

I want to talk about the word public and what it means.

I want to talk about Iowa’s iconic and “not so iconic” people, places and things.

I want to hear from you, but if you want to complain you probably want to do it somewhere else. I don’t do “whiners” (At least that’s what I tell the four and five- year- olds in my life.) I’m looking for new ideas and perspectives.

I’m a proud Democrat but I don’t want to use this column to talk about partisan politics. I’ll save that for zooms, coffee shops, the grocery store and street corners.

Let’s get started…

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I am delighted to join the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out the other members of this collaborative.