Township Roads©

Civilization
By Wayne Pike

I did a quick geological survey in my plat book. According to my less-than-precise calculations, I determined that there are almost a thousand miles of unpaved township road in this county. By my estimate, that is about five miles of township road for every mile of paved road. Township roads deserve a little more attention.

I grew up on a farm along a township road and I know most people would trade for a paved road in an instant if given the choice. The dust and the mud can be tedious. However, I try to see the good side. For example, I enjoy walking our dog and myself along township roads even though walking for exercise where everyone knows you can be a struggle. Before I got the dog to walk with me, the neighbors would often stop to offer me a ride. Some of them still do, just to be funny.

"Get in. Have a cigarette. Let’s go home and have a beer," they say, then drive away chuckling.

Most have gotten the idea by now that the dog needs the exercise and they would not want to spoil her fun. My neighbors most likely won’t be concerned about my health until I’m in the hospital, but everyone tries to help a happy dog.

The other day as I drove along a township road I was thinking about the value of our farmland, buildings, and livestock. It occurred to me that, in strictly dollar values, everything I could see on both sides of the road, as far as I could see, was not worth what one square block of downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul is worth. Yet, without the farmland, farm buildings, and most of all, farm people, all that concrete and steel in the city is pretty much worthless.

Kids often get right to the point. A few years ago, we drove through the Twin Cities on the way to a business conference northwest of there. One of our sons, eleven years old at the time, sat in the back watching the traffic and city go by. After almost an hour of Twin City traffic, we were finally in the thinning suburbs when he spotted an old silo next to an abandoned barn and rundown house. His eyes grew wide and he yelled, "Civilization!" Even in the midst of billions of dollars worth of human artifacts and millions of people he recognized an icon of agriculture as civilization. "Now here is a kid," I thought, "who can see the forest for the trees." I agreed with him wholeheartedly. We cheered when we finally saw the first cornfield north of the Cities.

That is what my stories are about - the people, the land, and some memories of the unique civilization found along our township roads.

If you would like to read more of my stories, please go to the Township Roads© Sampler  page.

Updated November 01, 2005