Carpenter, a Great Place to Live
Friday, April 3, 2009

If you’ve ever read any of those articles in magazines that tout the best places in the country to live, you have probably heard of the major cities, and maybe a stray smaller town thrown in. I would like to point out that the author of said article has evidently never stopped in our fair village of Carpenter…otherwise, they would have undoubtedly chosen this as one of the top spots to settle down and raise a family!

Now, you may be a bit curious as to why I would say that. Well, let’s see…I’ll start by describing our quaint little town for those of you who have never had the pleasure of visiting us. Carpenter is the true definition of a small town. When asked about the population, a resident would respond, “Oh, about 10 or 12.” Hmmm…thinks the other person…10 or 12 thousand is a quaint little town alright. No…literally, there are about 10 or 12 people living in the entire town!

Carpenter consists of one square block. Current residents are the Bredes (pronounced Brady) with Dick, Sherry, Brad and Troy (grown adults who still live at home with their parents)…the next house is Mary Opsahl, then down the block are the Mertins and then the Jenkins. 11 people by my count. You’ll find a Methodist church on said street, too.

Some of the highlights of our main street are: (1) The gas station (The Carpenter Country Store) is run by a gal named Fawn who may or may not be around when you need gas. She also fixes tires, changes oil, sells crop insurance, sells beer and other snacks, vet supplies (and is also a lay minister in her spare time!) or any other number of things and is probably busy in the back. No problem…we just go in, start the pumps ourselves, write up our own tickets and leave. Or I may reach into her cooler and grab a bottle of pop and walk out the door…Fawn knows I’ll tell her about it when I fill up for gas later on. I fill up with gas everyday when I finish delivering mail and when gas prices were going up and up last summer, Fawn would wait for me to fill up before raising her prices…What a gal! And best of all, nobody would think to drive off without paying! Can you say that about any gas station in the city? I doubt it.

(2) Where else would someone like Sherry Brede run the café for years and years for next to no pay? She has a bunch of men come in everyday for coffee, then has to prepare for 60s plus meals which are reduced price meals for sr. citizens. People come from all over to eat a nutritious meal for a mere $2.75. She works until 6:00 PM six days a week, running the whole show all by herself!

(3) Can you imagine living in New York City and calling the local post office to tell the postmaster to have Joe bring home some dog food after he picks up his mail? Things like this happen all the time. I know that lots of Ryan’s friends have been to Carpenter for his Carpenter bash and can attest to its size. But for those city dwellers out there who can’t quite conceive of a community that small, I thought I’d give a glimpse of what small town life is like.

It’s true that we don’t have all the amenities of the big city…no malls, no theaters, no nightclubs or bars. There aren’t any police here…we don’t even have a mayor. By now you are probably wondering why anyone in his right mind would ever want to live in such a place? Well, small town life does have its advantages. Remember when I said there were no police? Probably because there’s little, if any, crime! It would be really hard for a criminal to come into a community like this and commit a crime since a strange vehicle going by is cause for major excitement! People would remember seeing a car that didn’t belong, especially if it was some foreign job. Everyone knows what everyone else drives and if someone got a new vehicle, it wouldn’t a secret for long! Most people have a dog to protect their farm, so a criminal isn’t going to sneak onto someone’s property unannounced!

Another perk is, no traffic... I drive 18 miles to work and lots of mornings, I don’t meet another vehicle the whole way! I’ll bet the big city folks would love to experience that one time! I can drive 160 miles around my mail route and barely meet 2 or 3 vehicles. No stoplights to slow me down, no switching lanes, etc…its clear sailing. Add to that, the fact that I could have car trouble or a flat tire and someone is going to stop to help. And I don’t have to worry that they are dangerous felons. I know everybody on my entire route, and they are all good, honest, harmless people. (Except for one or two and you know who you are!) How many people in Chicago or New York City could say the same thing?

There are some things that could only happen in a small town. Years ago when my kids were in grade school, chicken pox was going around. One day when Dick and I were both outside, the school secretary tried to call to let us know that Jordan had come down with chicken pox. This was before cell phones and answering machines, so failing to get an answer, she called the gas station in Carpenter and told Mike, the manager, and he got in his pickup and drove out to our farm to relay the message!

Sometimes, people will call the post office to ask crazy questions, like “What’s Sherry’s special at the café today?” or “Tell Jim to bring some dog food home when he stops for the mail…” things like that that you would never hear in a city. At the post office I can be sorting mail and come across a letter addressed only to Grandma Glanzer Carpenter, SD 57322 Now, in a big city post office that letter would be returned for lack of sufficient address, but we make an effort to find the right “Grandma Glanzer”. You have to understand that certain names are very common here such as, Glanzer, Hofer, Waldner, Madsen, and so on, so a bit of detective work is necessary. The return address may help; we may recognize a grandchild’s name, or maybe the postmark will be a clue. Then, if we still can’t figure it out, we can give it to the most likely Grandma Glanzer and if it wasn’t meant for her, you can be sure that person will return it to us and know who it does go to. Now that’s service!

One day in the heat of a summer’s day, I found a collie loping along the road. Since I know all of the dogs on my route, I immediately recognized this one as “Jimmy”. Poor Jimmy was far from home and appeared to be nearly parched from the heat and lack of water, so I had him hop in with me and I drove him the several miles to his home. The next day the flag was up on the mailbox at this farm. Inside was a thank you note from Jimmy…he appreciated the ride and offered to go along again some day!

Now, farm land prices may be going sky high, but you may be surprised to hear that Dick and I purchased several lots right in the heart of downtown Carpenter for the outrageous price of $300. Yes, that is correct…$300…and the taxes on it are like $15/year. We do have to pitch in on the street lights, however, which sets us back a hefty $16.90 per year.

Wide open spaces, friendly faces, no pollution, no crime…who could ask for more? I suppose I’ve blown it now…everyone who reads this is going to be flocking to Carpenter, SD to get in on this rare commodity. Just in case, we have some land right along the scenic route we’ll sell for the incredible price of $5000 per lot. Hey…times are tough! What do you expect?