‘Sticking Together’
Reporter honors farmer’s legacy by capturing community movement
I make it a habit to check state and local news online each and everyday. I get most of my story ideas this way. The articles that catch my eye the most are published by nationally syndicated media outlets because they oftentimes give me an opportunity to make fun of the dogmatic principles that paint South Dakota as a flyover state where bigotry and racism reigns.
Today I was pleasantly surprised when I read the kind words of an ABC journalist named Caitlin Oprysko. She wrote a story that made me proud to be South Dakotan, instead of embarrassed. In less than 250 words this writer was able to capture an inspirational moment in time where neighbors joined with one another to mourn the loss of their dear friend and honor his passing the only way they could.
Oprysko starts out by saying a man that was a mere 52 years old had suddenly died after suffering a heart attack on Halloween. His name was David Klinghagen and he was well-known in his Lennox community for his dedication to keeping the family farm up and running, something he had done well since his father’s passing 18 years ago.
There is never a good time to lose a loved one, but his sister Nancy DeNeui, Klinghagen’s implied that this was pretty much the worst time for something like this to happen because it was harvest season.
The community grieved his loss — but took action to save the future of his family, exactly what David would have wanted.
In one morning upwards of 30 farmers towed their equipment down the gravel roads to the Klinghagen farm and harvested the entire crop.
It was a week’s worth of work.
“It was such a relief, just to have their kind hearts come take care of it for the family,” Nancy said, noting how unbelievable the gesture was. “It was so supportive.”
This story says a lot about who the majority of us are as people in South Dakota. If you are an outsider and have little experience of what it is like to live here—it’s actually really nice. Like any other state we have a few bad apples, but today I reconciled with the fact that when you truly need someone to have your back—loyalty has its benefits.
