Small Town News

The back forty

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The economic slowdown has affected nearly everyone. Even the waste disposal business has seen some cutbacks.

I've read that New York City exports millions of tons of trash, and Pennsylvania imports more than 9 million tons. Much of our municipal trash is transported across state lines, and waste disposal has been a boon for many rural areas.

Still, some folks want their trash kept closer to home. A Sierra Club executive said, "Transporting all of this garbage so far away means the people who generate it don't have to deal with its consequences."

I can remember when trash disposal was an everyday event, and most folks got rid of their own. We just loaded up our truck and headed out to the dump.

Every community had a dump in those days. Just an acre or two where folks could arrive and throw out anything they didn't want.

Or we could trade. We'd throw away some old cans or newspapers and pick up a set of handle bars for our bike. Or an old handbag for our sister.

Some folks of my generation can remember the days when shooting rats at the dump was a popular Saturday night entertain-ment. When I hear kids today say they're bored, I'll always regret the closing of the dumps.

A dump wasn't a big thing in those days: Just an acre or two where folks could come and throw out anything they didn't want.

The dump was a source of pride. When folks came to visit, we'd take them by the school and the bowling alley, and then we'd take them out to see the dump.

'You got any rats here?" they'd ask.

"Sure. We shot six last week.*' we'd tell them.

As far as I can remember there really wasn't much shooting on those trashland safaris. Most of our time was spent shining the flashlight around and jumping sideways when we heard noises.

Anyone who hasn't heard the story about a rat running up a kid's pant leg has never been to a rat shoot. That fable was told at least once each hour.

Suddenly a bed spring would "Twang!" And everyone was three feet in the air, grabbing their pant legs.

We had to treat some of the kids like Barney Fife. They got only one bullet -- and then only after they'd seen a rat.

Nobody had a bulldozer to bury the trash, and I really can't tell you whatever happened to it. The township covered everything with dirt when the dump was closed, but the rats did their best to keep the place tidy. When communities started sending their trash to the big sanitary landfills -- with liners and bulldozers and all, the rat shooting was lost forever. Most folks think it's better that way, but I'm not so sure.

I went to Montana to shoot Prairie Dogs last summer, and there's just no way they can compete with the rats.



Copyright 2009 The Carlisle Citizen, Carlisle, Iowa. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2009 The Carlisle Citizen Carlisle, Iowa. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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