It hangs high on the wall in my den - or man cave. A single-shot, bolt-action, 22-caliber rifle last made in the mid-1930s. It hasn’t been fired since my college days back in the 1960s, yet still maintains a place of honor in my home.
My mother’s dad, my grandpa, gave it to me when I turned 13. It was my first gun. He spent hours with me, teaching me gun safety and how to shoot.
Growing up as a country kid, I made many trips around the section as I walked the fence rows or wandered through a pasture. I shot way more pads off a prickly pear cactus, plunking holes in beer cans or making cow chips fly than I did shooting critters.
Nearly every boy in my small high school had a rifle or shotgun in their vehicle that sat parked, unlocked, in the school parking lot back then.
When I got my school permit, I was no different. My little .22 came with me. Snakes and skunks were at their own peril on that five-mile gravel road that I drove to and from school.
And to this day, I think of grandpa every time I look up at that gun.
This past year, I tweaked my will a bit to include some personal items which I would like certain people to receive upon my passing.
My grandson, Alex, will get that rifle. It is not the antique value of a gun no longer in production, but rather whose hands have held the gun that I want him to appreciate. It is my hope that long into the future, Alex will pass that same gun along to one of his children and tell the stories behind the gun.
From person to person, from generation to generation, the gift of that .22 links the past to the present and ultimately to the future. And there are many ways to express that continuity.
This past month, a bench was placed outside the Red Willow County Courthouse and county safety center in memory of longtime county sheriff, Gene Mahon. If you are watchful, you will find many such benches with plaques honoring those who have made an impact on our community. These types of gifts add value to our community and help us remember those who have gone before us.
The McCook Community Foundation Fund operates much the same: adding value to the community while honoring members of our community.
MCFF accepts donations in memory of departed community members or in honor of those still living. The dollars generated in interest are used to support programs and projects in our community which ultimately makes the community stronger.
The original gift is not used; just the interest so the gift goes on forever. Through these gifts, both large and small, those being honored are forever remembered. They stay alive in spirit and stay impactful for generations. The donations are tangible proof that they have made a positive difference.
MCFF also works to add continuity in our community through two main avenues. The first is restricted endowments, where dollars generated from interest must go to specific designated purposes. The other is unrestricted endowments, where the fund advisory committee has been given the responsibility and trust to allocate funds for projects and programs they believe will help the community long-term.
Just this past year, the McCook Arts Council, McCook Community College, Fox Theater, Humanities Nebraska, Community Hospital Health Foundation, City of McCook, YMCA, McCook Economic Development Corp. and McCook Public Schools were all on the receiving end of more than $160,000 from unrestricted grant dollars.
With your gifts to the foundation - whether large or small, in wills or estate planning - grants to worthwhile projects in McCook will continue to grow not only next year but for years to come.
That little .22, when it was new or now as an antique, does not hold much monetary value. But that family heirloom, like a donation to MCFF, is a gift that has created a living legacy. Thanks grandpa for thinking of me. I loved you then and I love you now.
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Dennis Berry is a member of the McCook Community Foundation Fund’s Advisory Committee, along with numerous other organizations which are working to make McCook and all our communities even better places to call home.
