Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
When I first arrived in Allendale County as a reporter in July 2023, I was told the typical narrative about Allendale: a rural community ailed by high rates of crime, poverty and corruption. But the longer I’ve worked here, the more I’ve come to recognize these characteristics as part of a stereotype about Allendale, rather than what Allendale actually is.
It’s true that Allendale County and its counterparts in rural America face enormous struggles, particularly with gun violence and poverty. Over the past four decades, Allendale and rural America have been increasingly left behind and abandoned. But if I’ve learned anything since I began my work as a reporter here, Allendale (as well as Barnwell) is a community of great resilience. It’s got great, friendly people who refuse to let the injustices their community faces wear them down. It’s people like that who we need the most during these times of instability.
I grew up in Trumansburg, New York, a small village in Upstate New York where Main Street was the community’s center. But I also grew up spending lots of time in the boroughs of New York City, so I feel that I can accurately compare both rural and urban lifestyles. Although urban areas have great mannerisms, they lack one thing that rural communities like Allendale have: neighborliness.
Neighborliness is the quality of being friendly and helpful to the people who live in your community. In rural South Carolina, it means helping your neighbor clean up their lawn after a hurricane. In rural New York, it means helping your neighbor shovel snow after a blizzard. But really, it means giving without the expectation of receiving. In densely populated cities, the individualization of life can make neighborliness feel irrelevant. But in small towns like Allendale, Fairfax, and Barnwell, neighborliness creates social trust and strengthens communities. It means that when disaster strikes, you take it upon yourself to help other people. There’s a reason why the golden rule appears in almost every major religious text.
I’ve grown to love Allendale for this quality. The number of barriers that Allendale faces are huge, but it's the people of Allendale who make it a fantastic community. I’ll never forget what a resident said to me at my first town council meeting: “Allendale hasn’t fallen apart, it’s just gone dormant.”
For several reasons, I’m heading back to the northeast to start a new job as a reporter in another rural community in New Hampshire. It breaks my heart to leave Allendale without a source for news during a time that it needs it most. But despite the numerous mistakes I’ve made on the job, I believe that my reporting has made a difference.
Since July 2023, I have focused my reporting on the challenges that Allendale faces, and the pain that the community feels, but also what people within the community are doing about it. Everywhere in Allendale are strong people who are true to their convictions, and refuse to accept indignities as a regular occurrence.
I’m grateful for all the great sources in this community who have shared their stories with me, given me tips and taken part in the news gathering process. Rural communities have so many stories that are worth telling, and I want to be part of telling them. In my view, journalism shouldn’t just inform its audience, but move its audience.
Allendale is one of the best communities I’ve had the pleasure of knowing, and I’m certainly a better person because of my experiences with people in Allendale. Although I’m leaving, I respect this community, and I’ll always consider myself a friend of Allendale. I certainly understand why its people call it home.
