In a small, rural community, you can hold a position of influence and service without ever running for office

Another death of an informal leader in a small community in Clinton County, Kentucky, population 10,000, prompted a local attorney (and brother of The Rural Blog's editor and publisher) to write this essay for the weekly Clinton County News.

By David Cross

Sometimes people achieve a position in life based solely on who they really are. Not because they’ve asked anybody, or not because they made a conscious effort to be in that position, but just because they were the one that people trusted and went to for help.

Larry Hurst was 77.

Larry Hurst died last week. Larry lived all of his adult life in the Cave Springs community, where he was once just known as “Anthel Riddle’s son-in-law.” By the time he died, he had long stood tall, on his own.

Larry was born at Browns Crossroads, and as a young man married Edalene Riddle, the first of Anthel and Wilma Riddle’s four girls, in 1964. They had three children of their own. Larry farmed for a living. He milked cows for over 40 years, but when the milk business started playing out, he converted to a beef cattle operation, as every dairyman in Clinton County has had to do.

But Larry wasn’t known for being a farmer. He was known as an “All A” guy. By “All A” we mean advice, assistance and accommodation.

Larry has given more advice to young (and not so young) men in Clinton County than most preachers – and some of the things he advised them on, they weren’t too comfortable talking to the preacher about anyway. He was an encourager, and if you were his friend, he would stand by you and try to get you through whatever problem you had.

If you needed to borrow a piece of farm equipment in that country, you called Larry Hurst. No charge. If you were down and needed help getting a crop in, you didn’t have to call. Larry was there. Again, no charge. If you were stuck and needed pulled out of a ditch (physically or otherwise) Larry was there. Again, no charge. Many times Larry would forget about his own work to help a neighbor in need.

He and Edalene helped more people in that part of the county than any two people in their neighborhood. That’s just the way they were. They were members of the Cave Springs Baptist Church - but they were church people seven days a week, not just on Sunday. Larry was one of those fellows that every community needs – a “go-to” person who people could get that advice, assistance and accommodation from.

Mike Owens (Mikki Simmons photo)

We lost another notable one of those men, Mike Owens, a few months back. Mike lived in the Irwin community, but his influence and advice exceeded anybody else we know in that entire part of the county. It’s not just that they gave advice when asked–their advice was sound. When people such as this pass, they are, at least for a time, irreplaceable.

We can go back in time and think of a handful other men who filled that role in their community over the years, all now gone – Roscoe York of Cartwright. Howard Maupin in Guinn Valley. Eugene Groce on Speck Ridge. There were others, of course, and we can think of a couple of outstanding men in the county today who would certainly fit in that exceptional category.

Clinton County in Kentucky (Google map, adapted)

These fellows all had one thing in common – none ever held public office. Eugene was the only one to try it one time, lost, and returned to the farm. They were all good to people because that’s just what you’re supposed to do.

These men were the folk that didn’t ask for anything in return when you needed something from them (This would not apply to money – some of them would occasionally make loans in the community, as was the common custom, and they did expect to be paid back). All they wanted you to do was make good decisions and do the right thing.

The position that Larry Hurst and Mike Owens held in their community wasn’t anything that you ran for. But to have that status in the eyes of your neighbors is a better position than any elected office ever can be.