Dana Milbank writes at WaPo about Tracy Henke, the genius behind the Homeland Security allocation.
Henke seems rattled. Arriving for her speech yesterday to a DHS-backed group called the Citizen Corps, she was a bit out of breath and hurried to the stage, saying “I’m up again.” She immediately brought up the controversial grant announcement and appealed to her audience for some love. …
… In this time of torment over big-city terrorism funding, Henke opted to recall her small-town upbringing. “People come to Washington and they forget where they came from and they think all knowledge, all information, all good ideas generate in the marble buildings of Washington, D.C.,” she argued. “Guess what? Not true. Not true at all. I’m very fortunate, I come from a very small town in Missouri.” She said she keeps a sign in her desk that says “Remember where you came from.”
Henke has. St. Louis, not far from her hometown of Moscow Mills, gets a 31 percent boost in counterterrorism money under the new formula.
Well, guess what? I’m from a very small town in Missouri, too. And although Park Hills (which was named Flat River when I lived there) is not quite as small as Moscow Mills, Moscow Mills is about thirty miles closer to St. Louis, which means Park Hills is more rural. Moscow Mills has a higher median income ($37,067) and house value ($78,800) than Park Hills — $25,277 and $53,900, respectively. Thus, being from Park Hills/Flat River carries a higher hick value.
I can say with some authority that, although there’s nothing wrong with being from a small town in Missouri, it’s not exactly something to brag about, either. Unless you’re competing in a “worse redneck” contest, of course. It doesn’t confer any special virtue, and if you move away you can never answer the question “where are you from?” without tossing in a geography lesson.
And while I do not for a minute think that all knowledge, all information, and all good ideas come out of marble buildings in Washington, DC, if any knowledge, information, or good ideas ever came out of Moscow Mills, I’d like to know about it. Park Hills/Flat River was always better at generating curiosities than knowledge. I heard tell they’ve had some ideas over in Potosi, but the folks that had ’em’s in jail now.
Ms. Henke remembers where she is from. Judging by the photos, there’s not much there to remember, so remembering shouldn’t tax her brain much. I suggest she put more effort into noticing where she is now.
Well., by looking at the population breakdown of Potosi, it seems like a good place for a young dandy to scout ’em up a bride.
Isn’t potosi an inflamation of the inner eyelid?
it seems like a good place for a young dandy to scout ‘em up a bride
Only if he doesn’t mind ’em a little inbred.
I think Potosi may be a Spanish name, There’s a Potosi, Bolivia, and Potosi was founded while in Spanish territory.
Funny post, maha! Small towns do have some wise people. It’s just that there are fewer of them to draw on! I’ve lived in small towns in Wyoming and California and each one had a different, interesting personality. When I think of midwestern towns, though, I can only think of Sinclair Lewis’ Babbit.
I read just now that potosi is a Spanish word for “lead” as in metals.
Henke’s trumpeting of small town virtue bespeaks someone who’s newly arrived in the big bad city, which is fine, were she not in such a such a high position of responsibility. A little frightening, but not surprising either.
It’s great that she can remember where she came from. However, I highly doubt terrorists give a good gosh darn.
Potosi is spanish for lead? Heh, interesting … Maha, am I remembering wrong in thinking there’s a Leadville somewhere around there? I know there’s a Leadwood, and a Steelville, but Mapquest shows no hits for Leadville … perhaps I’m just mixing those two up?
The dominant industry in the area, for the rest of y’all, just in case ya hadn’t caught on yet, was Lead Mining … and I use the word “was” advisedly…
-me
Oh, yeah, there’s Leadville and also Leadwood, as well as Steelville and Ironton. A bunch of the Thomas family is buried in a place called Gravelton. The Ozarks is a great place for rocks. Some of these little hamlets are too small and pathetic to register on MapQuest, I guess.
[On edit] Ian — I should have said that a bunch of your Great-Grandma Dora Senter Thomas’s people are buried at Gravelton. They’re mostly Senters, not Thomases.
I’m surprised to hear that Missouri was a Spanish Territory. I would have gotten that wrong on a history test..I would have guessed a French Territory. But then again, I thought Bush was trustworthy.
When you make lousy decisions at work ,go out and talk about your hometown, marble buildings, anything but your lousy performance at your job, because in Bushworld personal responsibility should never get too personal ie nailed to your forehead. You know with Tony Snow and the new treasury guy from Goldman and Sachs, they are trying to coopt members of the ‘clubs’ that might grumble about their pathetic performance and by putting a buddy up in front, hope to avoid CRITICISM in public oh my. It is all just more lousy transparent PR from a group of know nothing incompetents and we have 2 and a half more years of this.
I’m surprised to hear that Missouri was a Spanish Territory. I would have gotten that wrong on a history test..I would have guessed a French Territory.
It was French and then Spanish and then French again. It was French for part of the eighteenth century, then in 1768 it became Spanish, and then Napoleon took over Spain and claimed the Spanish territories in the New World, which is how come Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon.
However, even when it was Spanish territory Spaniards wouldn’t move there. South America was much more interesting to them, I guess. Since about the only people interested in moving to Missouri in the late 18th century were Anglo settlers moving west from the new United States, the King of Spain eventually broke down and granted them lands in his territory. So places like Potosi and New Madrid were given Spanish names but were established and settled by Anglos.
One of the first settlers in Potosi was Moses Austin, who was an ineresting guy. He’s still there, actually. They’ve got him buried under a bunch of cement so Texans won’t steal him.
Great article, Maha.
I love your term, “hick value”.
Tracy Henke – I would love to see a picture of her.
After looking at the photos of Moscow Mills, I can understand why she wanted to get the heck out of Dodge.
I wonder how she knows or is related to in order to get this position. I would love to see her resume.
I love your term, “hick valueâ€.
Outside the Ozarks I can out-hick just about anybody when I put my mind to it.
I have come to understand that ‘W’ has a very simple philosophy that informs everything this administration does or does not do. “Reward your friends, punish your enemies.” If you consider the past five years in this context it all makes perfect sense. Including this recent bit of insanity.
Maybe Henke got “hicks” and “terrorists” confused. Or else I have no idea how remembering where you came from relates to anti-terrorism funding. (Note to self: Stop being surprised.)
I bet they got terriors in Moscow Mills.
I spent lots of time in Flat River in the 50s and 60s. My grandparents lived on Haney St., and I would spend holidays and parts of summers with them. So I have lots of good memories of skipping stones into Flat River Creek, crossing the swinging bridge, attending church suppers and socials, and climbing the chat pile. I have nothing political to say. I am culturally very different from the people of Flat River, but we still loved each other.