We all know the economy continues to slide and schools are struggling just to survive. In the small community of Albia, the courthouse remains closed on Mondays due to the lack of state funds.

However, a group of middle school students led by Jill Crall sponsored fundraising events like "Kiss the Critter", etc. that raised enough money to purchase each junior high student The Day I Hit a Home Run at Principal Park. The students enjoyed the reading presentation and left me feeling humbled by their efforts to help their fellow students share in the gift of my book.

Albia is nearing its sesquicentennial, so I thought I'd take some needed time off and explore the center square. I stumbled across Merle Illingworth's Jewelers and Merle gave me a brief history of the town. He said that Albia means "High Plains" and that Albia is the only town with that name in the Rand McNally. In 1968, a committee was formed called the Albia Area Improvement Association with OJ Dewea serving as its president. Robert Bates who was a noted interior decorator for several Hollywood movie stars returned to Albia and left what was reported as nearly one million dollars to be used by the community to assist in restoration/community projects. Sonny Williams, owner of the Willaims Clothing Company and a prominent force in getting a factory to locate near Albia that re-builds locomotives, was also key in the 1968 restoration project.

Mr. Illingworth was proud of the fact that his store was located where the log structured courthouse was originally built. Inspired by the telling tale, I decided to walk the bustling streets where many of the shop owners were assisting customers with their Valentine's Day flowers/candies. The Albia Theatre was playing "Mall Cop", which left me saddened because a movie like that didn't seem to fit in such a quaint town.

I came across one of the store-front reading markers and was struck by the horrific event that happened in 1904. Edward Dougherty, furniture and undertaking store owner who'd established his business in 1873, lost his life while trying to put out the fire that happened on April 4, 1904. The great fire destroyed many of buildings and yet the town came together as a community to re-build its epic center.

Albia will leave a lasting impression within me. After my speech, a blinding snowstorm had already left an inch of ice/snow on my car windows. Mr. Schwarte, middle school principal, asked if I needed any help to clear the snow from my windows. Of course, I said, "No." I had a few things to retrieve from the building and when I returned to my car my windows were scraped clean.

When we hear things like "America's best years are behind her" that "the government needs a trillion dollars to revitalize our economy" I want you to think about Albia and a community that begs to differ by its strong alliance to remain a viable force. This is what I call a town filled with ordinary heroes that will find a way to support itself.