There is nothing small about small town living.

For those of us that grew up in Turner Oregon in the 70’s and 80’s, life was nothing short of an epic adventure. Some of us were latch key kids. We watched Saturday morning cartoons and ate an entire

box of sugared cereal out of a yellow Tupperware bowl, which also served as the puke bowl when someone got sick and the popcorn bowl on Friday nights.

We would ride our bikes outside from dawn till dusk, riding home in the shadows of the streets lights. If you were lucky enough to grow up on a family farm, you could probably keep us up all night around a campfire with stories of three wheeler adventures, shooting skunks or coyotes off your properties and the amazing BBQ’s enjoyed by all those who showed up to help get the hay in the barn before it started to rain (or before a fire call beckoned everyone to the station leaving only mothers with their children to get the hay in! But we did it!).

The reality is…. Most of us living in a small town have a stories. so many stories!

We were raised in a time where kids worked! We were fiercely independent and we knew what

hard work was, what it meant to help a neighbor, and how sweet it was to share with one another.

We became farmers, nurses, hard working tradesmen, mothers and fathers. We served in the military and became volunteers for our local police and fire departments. We feed our communities; we are problem solvers.

If you were lucky enough to grow up in a small town, family was bigger than your property line. Everyone knew each other, and if you messed up on one side of town, you could bet that the other side heard about it before you even got home. We grew up on BBQ bean burritos and RC cola from the Turner store, attending The Good News Club and floating the creek.

We might have left, but we came back. We may have lost our way for a little bit, been a little angry at the injustice of the world, but we figured it out. We married, had families and realized that

nothing can compare to a childhood in a small town. So we raised our kids in the church, sent them to our local schools, and took them to float the creek just like we did when we were younger. We shared the stories of our childhood and even threw in some of the stories passed down to us from our parents just for fun.

Now that we are grandparents, it reminds us of the immense responsibility that we have towards our community and the next generation.

Turner is a heritage community, with a love for God and county. We have the

responsible for leaving a legacy of hard work, faith and love to this next generation, and if we don’t take this responsibility seriously we will lose them to the world’s standards.

Let’s bring back family dinners! It’s time to set the phone down and take a breath. Get outside with the family and make some memories. Meet your neighbors! Let’s worship again as a family

and not just for mainstream materialistic holidays. Let’s get back into the garden, bake bread or support those that are doing it for us.

Make friends with a farmer! Support local, It’s time to live the legacy life that was left to us.

Our mission here at The Country Corner and Lazy JM Cattle Co is to provide the best local, quality products and services to our community and surrounding areas. We are honored to be part of this community for the past 35 years.

We would love to “meat” you and look forward to serving you in the future. (pun intended!)

See you at the Corner!