By Adam Stewart
I drove down to Plevna on the Fourth of July for an update on recovery and rebuilding efforts after a tornado hit the town in May. While I was there, a local pulled up by Plevna Community Bible Church to get progress photos of the parsonage, which is being rebuilt.
I spent the next hour or so with Gary Lindahl as he showed me the progress in and near the town. I lucked out meeting Gary, because he has been documenting the aftermath, response, and recovery since the morning after the tornado, with photos, videos, and information on his Facebook page.
Gary’s photos and accounts are and have been valuable as a news source in Plevna, and they may become valuable historical accounts in the future. I certainly hope the Reno County Museum can find a way to work with Gary and preserve the work he has done.
Then on Monday I went to Rice Park for a story about Hutch Run Club. The club started last June when Kara Whitaker (now Kara Perrone) decided to invite anyone and everyone to run together once a week, and people took her up on it.
It has taken off, with more than 50 people regularly meeting to run or walk. It has thrived even after Kara moved as Ashley Delgado, Morgan Starkweather, and Brett Vieyra have taken on organizing roles.
At first glance, citizen journalism and group workouts may not have a lot in common. But I’m not writing to highlight what they’re doing; I’m writing to highlight how they are doing it. They didn’t wait for someone else to do it. They are doing it themselves.
The acronym DIY (Do It Yourself) brings to mind home repairs and improvements and landscaping projects, but the same concept applies here. There is a lot that people can do for their community that doesn’t require the involvement of professionals or a big budget. Not everything has to go through official channels. A person or small group with a vision and a willingness to try is enough to accomplish a lot.
This isn’t a trailblazing idea. It overlaps with concepts of tactical urbanism and lighter, quicker, cheaper: taking free or inexpensive steps that aren’t a huge commitment to demonstrate or experiment with things that may be good for the community. If something totally falls flat, it’s easy enough to move on from. If something thrives with a small or nonexistent budget, like Hutch Run Club, you can keep doing it that way. And if something shows value but needs serious support, you now have information to make the case for that support.
We have plenty of older examples of successful community DIY, too. In 2020, Kylee Baldetti and Shaelee Mendenhall’s Spread the Love Hutch campaign painted heart designs all over town and was a real hit. Several neighborhoods have loosely organized but very strong trick-or-treating traditions at Halloween. The Rambler neighborhood has its Christmas light tradition.
Luminaries in Hyde Park are an example of a community DIY that grew to the point it needed to work through official channels, simply to close the streets to keep pedestrians safe during the event. Neighborhood folks still prepare and distribute the necessary supplies.