The teams for the
senior water boil were spread out across the pavement, each pair crouched over
a can of soapy water and a pile of sticks. Soon, one was gathering up shavings
and putting a match to them while the other hacked up kindling to keep the
flames growing under the can.
The water boil is
part of the 4H Woodsmen competition and the one I witnessed happened at the
recent Cumberland County rally held in Pugwash. While the Woodsmen event doesn’t
appeal to every member, it certainly is as much fun for the spectators as for
the participants.
It got
particularly exciting when Becky caught fire.
To build the fire
under the can to a tiny but roaring inferno, the pairs stoked the flames by taking
a turn at blowing on them. Blow, roll away for a breath, blow, roll away for a
breath. It’s the rolling back to the fire that poses the greatest risk for
eyebrows and clothing.
Becky was wearing
a sweatshirt over her coveralls and at some point when she rolled away for a
breath, her sweater was on fire. People were hollering at her, someone was
trying to pat her out, but Becky either didn’t hear or didn’t care; her focus was
on keeping that fire going.
I’d planned to
write more about this and what I’m learning as a journalist spending a year
with a 4H club but the provincial budget came out and the “rural” part of Nova
Scotia was wiped off the board and suddenly, Blazing Becky and her Sweater of
Fire became a touchstone for my response to a decision announced in this
budget.
The Department of
Economic and Rural Development and Tourism has been axed and replaced by the
Department of Business.
What I know about
business has to do with marketing and promotion, and with building
relationships; my strengths are ideas, not financing and bookkeeping. But I’m
also a writer and I know the power of words. If “rural” is no longer in the
title, it no longer exists.
We’re fighting
school and hospital closures, and the creative and innovative thinkers wanted
by the Department of Business know the power of small and local and
community-based, but the government is stuck in its belief that bigger is better.
Wouldn’t three small departments covering three very specific areas do a better
job of addressing the diverse needs of this province than one monster
department trying to be all things for all people? Someone always loses out in
that scenario and after last week’s budget, it’s rural Nova Scotia.
Rural Nova Scotia is
bleeding people, services are in decline, and businesses are closing as a result
of government policy and now that we no longer have even a share in a
department, it’s clear the government has slammed the door on rural people and how
they live in their rural communities.
As I watch the
young people who make up 4H participate in speeches and Woodsmen, in cake
decorating and judging, I realize that part of the problem is the dominance of
urban needs and perspectives. Decision-makers living in the city can’t accommodate
rural interests and values because they don’t know what they are.
Rural values are
about growing what you need, replacing what you use, not wasting time or
materials, supporting local businesses, working together as a community, and honouring
those who tilled the way. They aren’t so much about the skill of lighting a fire
as they are about the hard work and perseverance to keep it going in spite of a
cold March wind. They aren’t so much about coming to a boil first as they are making
sure you finish the event.
It’s time for a
Department of Rural Life, where rural values are not just understood but
promoted. And I want it run by someone like Becky who knows how to catch fire
but not get burned.
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