Resident Interviews

The greening of Greensburg will succeed because of its residents. These interviews will give readers an opportunity to see why people are choosing this way of life for their community and the kinds of things people see for its future. 

GreenTown’s Coordinator of Educational Services, Catherine Hart, interviewed Greensburg resident:

Anita Hohl 11/18/07

By way of introduction, Anita is married to Ricky, and is mom to two children. She homeschools her son, is passionate about simple living and conserving resources, and is a very articulate spokeswoman for green living.

CH: Thank you, Anita, for taking the time to let GreenTown readers know about you and your passion for green living. I wanted to interview you because you are so committed to and passionate about caring for the Earth and its resources, and I think people can learn a lot from you.  Anita, can you talk about the early influences that helped shape how you live your life today? Were there people in your life who practiced green principles? Did certain authors or songs affect how you look at the world?

AH: My Grandparents were my earliest influences. My Grandpa was a farmer; my Grandmother had been a school teacher. Their lives were the model for my anti-consumerism... "use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" was never verbally stated, but that is how they lived their lives. I learned my love of home cooking, gardening, canning, and crafts from my Grandmother, too, as well as my love for nature itself.

Television shows, like Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons, and Grizzly Adams influenced me as a child to long for a simple life.

Later, I started listening to music, and politics, and listening to music about political issues... and became aware that, although we live in the best country in the world, our government doesn't always make the best decisions. Too many of us blindly accept what our leaders do and [we] go on, without trying to change things and make them better. I try to be very aware, now, how governmental decisions, whether they are local, state, or national, impact our environment. So many mistakes can destroy things that cannot be replaced.

Now, I have so many friends around the world who influence me and teach me on a daily basis through the Internet. I am always reading, trying to learn more about simple, green living.

CH: It sounds like your values are really a tribute to your grandparents. Did they live nearby when you were growing up? Did you grow up in this area? What is special about living in Kansas for you and your family?

AH: For most of my childhood, my Grandparents lived right across the street. My uncle has the farm now, but until their deaths my Grandparents still helped out as much as they could. I loved being with them, whether it was taking lunch to the men in the field, picking rye from the wheat fields or anything else. I remember when I could walk into a wheat field and the wheat was taller than I was. My family has been in Kiowa County for at least 6 generations. We've been here awhile.

Kansas is special to me, for one reason, because of its history. Kansas was built by extremely strong, and strong-willed, people. They braved a lot of hardships to settle here, on the open prairie, and they tamed it and made it theirs. Their blood still runs in Kansans veins, I think. We are a strong, moral people, and we don't let anything get us down for long. We pick up and go on and live life more, and more aware than most.

Another reason is the land. So many people have told me they thought Kansas was flat and boring, until I show them pictures that I have taken right here in Kiowa County . There is nothing like being able to stand in one spot, turn completely around, and see absolutely nothing but grass and sky. I tried living in northeast Kansas for a while, but all the trees made me claustrophobic. I love the open land.

I don't ever want to live anywhere else.

CH: What is your vision for the rebuilding of Greensburg ? If you could imagine that it's five years down the road, what do you see as you walk around town (or tool around on your scooter) in the year 2012?

AH: Well, first of all I see a lot of other people walking, or on scooters and bicycles. I see car pooling, and I see a delivery service, so that someone can take small lists, for a fee for gas money, out of town and pick up several people's items at once, reducing the number of vehicles making the trip.

I see people using their yards to raise edibles, instead of useless, water-wasting, chemically treated turf grass.

I see a huge farmer's market, open year 'round, selling all locally grown items: fruits and vegetables, pasture raised beef, free range chicken, eggs, cheeses, honey, baked goods... Even crafts, and household items.

I see alternate power sources in most every home, from small solar panels just powering a few appliances, to fully off the grid homes.

I see more community-wide get-togethers... picnics, music concerts, plays...

I see people really coming together as a community. I see people trimming down their to-do lists and simplifying their lives, realizing there really are no "have-tos" in life, everything we do is a choice. People choosing only what is absolutely best for their lives.

I see, from everything that everyone in this town has been through together, people respecting each other, no matter what their name is, or what their income is.

I also see people from the outside, making a bee-line to Greensburg because we all made it such a wonderful place to be!

CH: I want to follow up on what you said about "people choosing only what is absolutely best for their lives". What thoughts do you have about how to help people make that happen in their own lives, especially if this green living thing is totally new for them?

AH: First, people need to stop. Really stop - stop the activity, stop thinking about what they have to do in 5 minutes, 5 hours, 5 days... just relax. Take a few deep breaths. Sit on the front porch and feel the air, see the sky. Think about priorities.

I'm a big fan of lists, and journaling. People should make a list, of every "obligation", meeting, activity that takes time in their lives, for several weeks, and make a journal entry about how they feel before and after each activity. Which of these things do they honestly dread doing? How much time away from the family does each thing take? Which of these things will matter 50 years from now? Which one is a personal priority for their families, and which of these things is “keeping up with the Joneses”, or what they think they "ought" to do? How much of the activity in their lives is generated by how it "looks" to other people? How influential are other people in their lives? Does it really matter what your neighbor thinks?

So many times, people rush through their days, following their to-do lists blindly, and never once stop to think about how they feel, about why they are doing what they are doing. Will having a brand new car now, instead of a 5-year old one, really matter in the long run? Does working longer hours to make enough money to have marble countertops in the kitchen really show more love for their families than laminate counters?

They need to make a list of the top 3 or 4 priorities in their lives. Those are the things that come first... Other things are just 'things'. Stuff is just stuff.

Respect is a strange thing. A person can only get true respect if they give it away. Respecting others takes humility, and self-esteem. Respecting others can make our own lives so much richer. Respect is what it will take to bring this town together as a community, break down the walls of the invisible 'caste' system.

“Green” is intimidating to so many people. Green doesn't have to mean spending thousands on high tech equipment. Green also means small things like: recycling; reusing; compact fluorescent bulbs; buying used when you can; low-flow showerheads and shorter showers; composting food waste for your own garden, a neighbor's garden, or a community garden; buying and eating local, and in season; lowering the thermostat in the winter, raising it in the summer; turning off lights when not needed; turning off the tap when brushing your teeth; growing edible plants instead of grass and ornamental plants in their yard, or at least using native plants; even just using a clothesline. Every little bit not only saves the environment, it saves money in the long run. How about playing a board game or going for a bike ride with their kids instead of all sitting zoned out in front of the television, or in separate rooms doing separate things with half a dozen lights on? That is green, too.

CH: A lot of what you wrote is about the "personal green", like how these ideas get played out in our relationships and everyday life. Green is so much more than solar panels and wind turbines, isn't it?

AH: I think the personal aspect of it is what a lot of people don't get...

CH: Let's say your Fairy Godmother has waved her magic wand and put you in charge of the green initiative. What changes would you make in the ways things are being done?

AH: First of all, I would have her wave that wand to make people "get it": Too many people think, "Aw, that's just a bunch of liberal mumbo jumbo!" or "I can't afford all those fancy building techniques solar panels, and geothermal what-cha-ma-call-its!"

I would like to see more "regular" people from the outside coming in, maybe giving talks about how they initiated "green" into their lives... Maybe there is a city or town that has begun a community garden, or a community farmer's market. Maybe it's a gardener using organic growing techniques, or someone who has really been successful at composting. Maybe it’s a housewife that reduced her family’s spending by buying used, or changing her family's eating habits so that they now eat locally. With a little research on line, I have now found sources for vegetables, meat, eggs, and some dairy products within 100 miles of Greensburg . If more people did that, it would save on transportation costs and pollution!

Maybe it is someone like the woman I recently read about in Sacramento, California, who, when faced with a city ordinance that said she had to get rid of her front yard garden full of beautiful edible plants, fought the city and won. The average lawn takes 88 gallons of water per day... a "nothing but grass" ordinance makes no sense at all in light of the green movement!

Everyday people, sharing information and experience with other everyday people. It used to happen in communities with no organization needed... Now, we need to work to get that back.

The problem of communication has been brought up before. I think that most people don't know what's going on with the Green Movement, or GreenTown in particular. More information needs to get out to the people. Unfortunately, not everyone reads the paper, and there needs to be more in there anyway! There are a lot of exciting things happening that a lot of people don't know about, or don't know enough about to know how exciting it really is!

Especially with lower income people, more emphasis needs to be placed on money saved, and smaller things that can be done in building and renovating. Too many of us think it's only for the rich people!

I would like to see something that would bring more of our community together, people talking together, and keeping in touch. Even though most of us live in "FEMAville", it seems that there isn't much communication between the people. Everyone is still just tracing their own steps everyday, work, home, school... Not paying enough attention to their neighbors! Even waving more as we go down the street, or saying hello more often... Connection. We need that if Greensburg is going to survive.

CH: Anita, to quote the proverb that says "Turnabout is fair play," I'd like to ask you if you have any questions for us at GreenTown. Or if you have suggestions as to what we might do differently, or more of, or perhaps not at all.

AH: Just remember to not always think on a big scale. When dealing with Greensburg residents, think smaller in reference to projects, and suggestions. Some of this can be overwhelming to someone who knows nothing about living green. Help residents who can't afford the bigger things to start small. Let them know it IS a personal thing, and help them understand how it really does relate to them, no matter what their income.

What exactly is the main goal of GreenTown, if you had to pick just one? Attracting money and attention to Greensburg , or helping residents? How do you want the general public to interact with GreenTown? What do you offer them?

CH: Great questions. Lots of food for thought - thank you for that. I appreciate your perspective on things, and hope we can call upon you to get your feedback on programming and services as we develop new options for residents.