Best Places to Raise Farm Kids: Hamilton County, Nebraska

It's the day before homecoming at the high school, and Hampton, Neb. (population 439), is bustling. The marching band struts in the street, and the eight-man football team grunts on the practice field. And parents do what parents do in every small town—make sure their teenagers get the floats built and balloons blown up so they can do chores when they get home.

"What we are really doing is making memories for the kids," says Nadine Bankson, mother of 16-year-old Tyler and 12-year-old Travis.

Welcome to Hamilton County, where small-town memories grow, and people work together to get things done.

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This is corn and soybean country an hour west of Lincoln in the flat and fertile Platte River valley. Irrigation makes sure the crops grow here, and the folks of Hamilton County do their best to make sure the bounty they produce stays here.

The 100-year-old Aurora Cooperative, which has facilities throughout central Nebraska and northern Kansas, is a prime example of local residents working together to make Hamilton County hum. It was instrumental in siting an ethanol plant on the edge of Aurora to turn corn into 50 million gallons of fuel a year. A new plant being built next to it will raise the complex's capacity more than five times.

If agriculture is the lifeblood of Hamilton County, then Aurora is its heart. For a community of only 4,200, Aurora has a lot going for it. It has an impressive hospital and medical facilities, a world-class science center that draws visitors from across the state, a local history museum and a state-of-the-art library.

About 30 years ago the Nebraska Vocational Agriculture Foundation (FFA) chose Hamilton County for its home and built a leadership center on Aurora's eastern edge.

FFA has a huge presence in Hamilton County schools. In Hampton High School, for instance, 50 of the 60-member student body are FFA members, says adviser Joel Miller: "It's a real strong part of our culture," Miller says.

So is 4-H. Ask 4-H program manager Kae Russell about 4-H and she will bend your ear with enthusiasm. "Year in and year out, we have a lot of families participate," she says. "And that is important for a rural county like ours."

If nothing else, 4-H and FFA teach the value of working together. In Hamilton County, that is part of the culture.

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