Thank You For 10 Years

10 Years.

120 months.

3,650 days.

87,600 hours

5,256,000 minutes

315,360,000 seconds

Can you believe it’s been that long since we first opened our doors?

One decade

Crazy, right?

We’ve been hit by tornados and celebrated weddings.

We’ve lost loved ones and gained little ones.

We’ve had friends move away while new ones have made us their home.

We’ve had ups, we’ve had downs, and we’ve had everything in between. And yet, through it all, we’ve survived just like the little engine that could.

How?

Like I’m sure you do, we often get asked why we live in such a small town like Gillespie. There’s no beach. There are no mountains. Jobs are few and far between. There’s little entertainment. Winters can be long, cold, and dark. Although our schools are good, like most things in a small town, they suffer from a lack of funding and resources. From an outsider’s perspective, it doesn’t look like much beyond a few old buildings and cornfields. Surely no one would choose to live here.

But we do.

Why?

What keeps us in a small town?

What keeps two nurses like JO and Jilly Kelly, two people that could work and live anywhere in the U.S, or the handful of young families just like them, establishing more and more roots for their family in little ol’ Gillespie?

What keeps someone like Cathy and Sid Stauffer, two retired teachers, who could enjoy their retirement anywhere in the U.S., or the handful of other retirees just like them,suffering through cold winters in little ol‘ Gillespie?

What made Harold Besserman purchase the bowling alley in a such a small town like Gillespie? What made it worth the risk? Didn’t he hear small towns were dying? Or, what made Adam and Trista Tallman, a young family who I’m sure have more than enough responsibilities, open not just one but two businesses in Gillespie? What made Maurice Sullivan keep Sullivan’s Drugs for over 50 years on main street when he could have sold it for much more years ago before big businesses started stealing his patients?

What makes a guy like John Hicks, who earned a retirement full of peace and relaxation, run for mayor, a thankless job much like the ones found on the city council, school boards, and little league coaching staffs in little ol‘ Gillespie?

What’s driving our little engine that could?

People.

It always has and always will be.

It’s the people and personalities that have given the BenGil community its character, making so many call this little ol‘ town their home.

Imagine BenGil without those personalities. Imagine the stories we wouldn’t be able to tell and laugh about. Imagine the memories we wouldn’t be able to smile about decades later. Imagine how different our lives would be without them.

For instance, how less colorful would my life have been if I didn’t know Charlie Morgan, a man who did more with nothing than most do with everything? Or, what if I couldn’t remember the entire Maple Street school bringing Bob the janitor to tears with the song “You are My Sunshine” on his last day of work? In fact, where would I be today without the 3 years I spent at Maple Street School? I can remember Joel Roemer performing an almost impossible feat of kicking the ball on the roof at recess almost weekly. I can remember the sound of Ms. Olson’s paddle reverberate through the halls. I can still hear Mrs. Norville warning us about leaning back in our chairs, especially if we were next to the old radiators in the back of the classroom. I can also remember the ghost in Mrs. Stewart’s music room, although his name escapes me at the moment.

How about Humphrey the old basset hound walking all over town? Or, how about those half dollars Harry used to flip to kids after a haircut, joking that if they didn’t catch it they couldn’t keep it? Or, how about the fear of God Clifford used to put in me when my grandma took me across the street to get a comic book from Sullivan’s in Benld?

How about the legendary stories of Coach Stewart? The 4-hour practices, the postgame speeches that brought him to tears, and the 4am mornings he’d get up to work on the ball diamond before school. Or, how about Coach Dobrino and the books that could be written about his coaching days at GHS? How many former players are still telling stories about him over a few beers? And how could I forget the time in Algebra 2 in high school when Billy Goat (you also get awesome nicknames in small towns) challenged Mr. McCormick to recite the entire Casey at the Bat poem. It was truly Winston Churchill-esque.

If you take away those people, you take away everything that’s great about the BenGil community. Although that may sound alarming, it’s not because it’s the one thing that money, the internet, or the economic engine that is capitalism can’t touch.

They are rare. They are unique. They are priceless. And most importantly, they are ours.

California can keep its breathtaking beauty and Hollywood lifestyle. Florida can keep its beautiful beaches and Disney World. Colorado can keep its picturesque mountains and postcard-worthy resorts. Vegas can keep its 24 hours of constant entertainment.

As for me, I’ll take a Charlie, Clifford, and Casey at Bat battle.

So, here’s to 10 years of memories, and hopefully another 30 years with my hope that people will talk about Ageless and the good old days like they do about the Coliseum Ballroom and Fazio’s.

Sincerely, thank you for being a part of our Ageless family and giving us 10 years of memories and stories.