HAMPTON, Iowa -The 1980s farm crisis brought abrupt and radical change to Franklin County, said Bev Peters, recently retired Franklin County Extension education director as she reflected on her 38-year career.
During the 1980s she trained peer listeners and developed programs to help families deal with loss and grief. She promoted the Iowa Concern Hotline, which started in 1985, and worked with the schools to help them understand how stress affected rural children. She worked with the area mental health center to get counselors into communities.
"It was a very traumatic time," she said. "I dealt with the human end of it."
Peters has been especially impressed with young people and their efforts to improve the community. Extension, the school and the Chamber of Commerce sponsored a youth leadership program, and the first group decided that they wanted to reopen the closed Hampton movie theater.
"That's how the Windsor Theater got started 11 years ago," Peters said. "They got a committee together and got it done. We've accomplished many things in Hampton that way."
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Peters teaches Extension's Real Colors program, which associates personalities with colors and helps people understand each other's strengths and how they can best work together.
"People learn that they are a better person when they are working with others," Peters said.
Franklin County has been a pilot site for many programs, the largest being PROSPER, or promoting school-community-university, partnerships to enhance resilience. The research project, which started eight years ago, involves seven intervention sites in Iowa and Pennsylvania and seven control sites.
As a part of the project, Extension and the Hampton-Dumont Schools work intensively with parents and children on ways to prevent risky behavior as youth grow into their teen years.
Research shows onset of drug and alcohol use is delayed in families who participate in PROSPER. The children are also more involved in their schools and communicate better with their parents.
"The data shows that this program works," Peters said.
Franklin County has also been a pilot site for a welfare research project, Food Preservation Aide, Family Nutrition Program and Youth Fire Service.
Peters said that Franklin County residents have always been willing to work together to make the county a better place.
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"People here have been wonderful to work with, I have had the best staff, the County Extension Council has always been supportive," Peter said.
The Franklin County Extension Council has hired Peters for two to three days each week. She will work with PROSPER, continue networking, do some office administration and develop county programming.
She will finish out her term on the Hampton Chamber of Commerce board, serve on a church committee, a school committee and remain active with Kiwanis Club.
"Otherwise I'm kind of taking a year off to see how my life settles out," Peters said. "I know I'll enjoy not working so many nights and weekends."
Peters looks forward to caring for her infant grandson, Cole, several days a week. Her daughter, Jill Burkley, is a psychologist working in Clear Lake, Mason City and Hampton.
"Cole and I will take naps, read books and I'll just hold him," she said with a grin.
Peters' son Scott is a physical therapist in Kansas City. She and her husband, Gary, like visiting Midwest wineries and often plan their trips to cattle shows to include a winery stop. She hopes to visit more.
