‘Iowa Nice’ – still a thing

Rick Wimer

I was so very grateful, I pulled out one of my emergency $100 bills and offered it to them. Again, without hesitation, they turned me down, refusing to except anything for their kindness.”

From the time I drove into Iowa when I moved here almost two years ago this coming August, I continually am reminded what the phrase “Iowa Nice” stands for. Then, as I was passing through Omaha, I found myself having to unavoidably drive through some significant road debris on the I-680 bypass that subsequently led to having a flat tire about 10 miles west of Missouri Vally.

Here we are, a SUV full of clothes and everything we could pack into it on our way to Storm Lake to meet with our Realtor, Joe Aube, to close on a house we had purchased here. And there I sat next to the highway, pondering what I was going to do. After calling my insurance company and finding out that I was at least two hours away from a tow truck coming to our aid, I pulled off onto an exit about a mile down the road where I spotted a road construction company crew doing some repairs on the roadway.

Mind you, I hadn’t changed a flat tire in a decade and was in no condition to do it then. I didn’t even know where the jack was. We had just driven all the way from Barstow, Calif., starting very early that morning in order to get to Joe early that same evening. I decided I would approach the road crew and see if they would help me.

The crew chief of the company that was from Ida Grove did not hesitate a moment. He and one of his co-workers walked down to my vehicle and within 45 minutes, unloaded enough of our stuff to be able to access the temporary spare and the jack, change the tire and load our stuff back into our SUV.

I was so very grateful, I pulled out one of my emergency $100 bills and offered it to them. Again, without hesitation, they turned me down, refusing to except anything for their kindness. Additionally, they gave me directions to a tire shop just off the freeway in Missouri Valley, so I could get my tire repaired, replace the temporary and be on my way.

At the tire shop, once I explained my predicament and that I had this appointment in Storm Lake, they immediately pulled my vehicle in and fixed my tire and exchanged it with the temporary and sent me on my way.

What a warm Iowa Nice welcome we were given that day, and I got to my appointment with Joe, closed it and moved into my new home the following day. Yea us!

Nice guys with chainsaws

Now flash forward to today, Saturday, July 12. About a week or so ago, a large branch of one of my trees broke and was hanging down into my back yard. I had made arrangements to have it removed. However, I’m down in the basement a couple of days ago and I hear the sound of a very nearby chain saw.

I had noticed earlier that my neighbor Bill also had some branches down in his back yard from the storm that came through the previous night and surmised that he was out there cleaning his up. As I came up out of the basement, the sound of the chainsaw appeared to be coming from my back yard.

I went to the back of the house and out of a window were three gentlemen, one cutting my branch into pieces, the other two toting them to the front of my house loading them onto a small flatbed trailer. I went outside and queried the guy with the chain saw as to who he was with.

He replied my name is Mike, that’s Matt and another Mike, and Matt’s wife Anna, and another gal, Barbara, who were picking up small twigs and branches. We are all neighbors. We were helping big Mike take out a whole tree in his front yard and once it was done, we decided to tour the whole neighborhood to find others.

A ‘warm fuzzy feeling all over my body’

First of all, I was engulfed with a warm fuzzy feeling all over my body. I have had some recent health issues that have slowed me down a bit and their act of being “Iowa Nice” and good neighbors warmed my heart. I approached each of them, shook their hand and thanked them. I also told them, which has been a lifelong practice, “within the next seven days I will find someone I can help and pay your act of kindness forward.” As of this writing, one down, four to go.

These two instances of “Iowa Nice” are just two of several I have experienced since I’ve returned home to Storm Lake. Additionally, having grown up here, the list of mentors I experienced in my youth all speak to the same issue.  

For example, Zola Gaffney, who in my youth would meet with me at JC Penney in the fall of the school year, and buy me a pair of overshoes or a winter jacket and mittens. I discovered after my return she was a Mr. Goodfellow member, who are still doing the same thing for kids each year.

I also find kindness, helpfulness and courtesy doing business in every retail store or restaurant that I happen to use here. It’s great to be home again in the land of “Iowa Nice!”

Rick Wimer writes from Storm Lake.