2 Timothy 4:6-8
“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will award to me on that day… and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
SERMON: “A Small Town Man”
In 1985, a popular singer by the name of John Mellencamp penned the following words to a song, a song called “Small Town”. These words sum up so much of what I believe Dale’s philosophy on life was and I would like to share them with you.
Small Town
- John Cougar Mellencamp
’Well I was born in a small town
And I live in a small town
Prob’ly die in a small town
Oh, those small communities
All my friends are so small town
My parents live in the same small town
My job is so small town
Provides little opportunity
Educated in a small town
Taught the fear of Jesus in a small town
Used to daydream in that small town
Another boring romantic that’s me
But I’ve seen it all in a small town
Had myself a ball in a small town
Married a small town girl
And she’s small town just like me
No I cannot forget where it is that I come from
I cannot forget the people who love me
Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town
And people let me be just what I want to be
Got nothing against a big town
Still hayseed enough to say
Look who’s in the big town?
But my bed is in a small town
Oh, and that’s good enough for me
Well I was born in a small town
And I can breathe in a small town
Gonna die in this small town
And that’s prob’ly where they’ll bury me’
Dale was everything that this song’s author claims to be. Dale was a champion of the small town and small town life in general. Dale knew and loved the values that small town life had to offer. Dale loved this community. He was born here, educated here, married here, raised a family here. He worked, prayed, worshipped, loved, laughed and now, has died here. And as the song goes, he will be buried here. And that’s the way he would have wanted it. Dale championed everything that small towns embodied; the homespun values, the simple things like having a cup of coffee in the local café, visiting your neighbors in the post office while getting the mail, and setting your schedule by the noon and 6:00 whistles. Dale would have loved the old joke that goes; “You know you’re in a small town when you make a phone call, get a wrong number and wind up talking for half an hour anyway. Like Dale, I too enjoy small town life. I enjoy the freedoms and values we have here. I enjoy not worrying about having to lock my home every time I leave. I love the fact that our children can get on their bikes or skateboards and ride around town without fear of being kidnapped, shot or molested because I know that everyone in town knows them and will keep an eye on them. I enjoy the fact that I can leave my car in the driveway with the keys in it. But then, I guess if someone really wants a GEO Metro with 236,000 miles on it, they can have it. I, like most of the residents of this small town called Fonda, enjoy the things that made this community so special to Dale. Dale loved the things Fonda was, is and could still be; things like the 4th of July Celebration with the children’s games and fireworks, the Memorial Day services, baseball tournaments, the potluck dinners and ice-cream socials, the centennial and quasquicentennial celebrations, and Labor Day. Dale loved the local sports and was a big booster for the Fonda Flyers and, after consolidation, the Newell-Fonda Mustangs. Every time the Mustangs would go to State in basketball, the team would pull into Fonda on the way to Des Moines and stop right in front of the Times office and Dale would come out and take their picture for posterity. He loved those teams! All of them!
Dale wore his passion for Fonda on his sleeve, which sometimes got him into hot water. Dale was not afraid to let his opinion be known about where he stood on the issues affecting Fonda. And, as editor of the Fonda Times and later the BV Journal, he had the perfect forum to express his views. Whether you liked his views or not, you always knew where Dale stood on an issue. He was not a phony. He was always ready to go out on a limb for what he believed in even if it meant being unpopular. This is a small town trait and one, which I believe is admirable, noble, and sorely lacking in so many people. And Dale took a lot of heat for his views which is why I chose the scripture reading from James 1:12
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that god has promised to those who love Him.
But Dale was also a humble man who loved simple things. He didn’t need or want much; just his family, fishing and the Times Office. Dale made other people feel special too. He was always interested in what they were doing and loved to carry on a conversation with anyone. No one was a stranger to Dale. Dale’s philosophy was; live well, laugh often and love much.
Dale also passed along his values and loves to his children;
to Laurie - a love of music
to Tracy - a love of sports and photography
and to Jody - a love of journalism
We, as parents, always hope and pray that we will pass along some of our values to our children. This Dale has done well. His children have grown and left home to pursue their own careers but they take with them the small town values and homespun virtues that their father instilled in them. Laurie, Tracy and Jody, no matter where you go in life, no matter where you live, no matter what you do, you too will be always "small town" like your dad and he will be very proud of you and would want you to pass those things he cherished on to your children.
One of the things I remember about Dale was his sense of humor. He was one of the funniest men I knew. He loved to joke and he loved to laugh. For years Dale served on the church board as a Deacon. Then one year Dale was elected as a trustee. Now, the trustees were entrusted with the job of church maintenance and upkeep. We told Dale that he would need to be sure the lawn was mowed and the sidewalks shoveled. Dale said he would be more than willing to keep the lawn mowed during the winter and the sidewalks clear of ice and snow in the summer if someone would be willing to do it the other months. Dale liked to pull a few spoofs in the paper - like the time he ran an obituary for his cat, Frosty, who had passed away. This generated a lot of good-natured ribbing and quite a few sympathy cards. I would like to read a portion of the editorial Dale wrote a week after Frosty’s obituary appeared in the paper. This will give you a clue to Dale’s sense of humor. (read editorial)
The past few months have been difficult for Dale as his health was declining and he had so much difficulty breathing. This did not stop him from going on about his work. I would always see his car in front of the Times office. He did it not because he had to but because he loved to. It was his life. He had such a zest for living and a will to live. And he loved his work and he loved this small town.
As the words to the song I read earlier so aptly put it;
’Well I was born in a small town
And I can breathe in a small town
Gonna die in this small town
And that’s prob’ly where they’ll bury me’
Dale can breathe now. And he’ll be happy now, because he’s in his small town forever.
The Apostle Paul summed up Dale’s epitaph in today’s Epistle lesson; “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will award to me on that day.” Amen.
