In my 30-plus year tenure in the Platte Valley, I have found we have two industries that keep this little piece of heaven on the map, one is agriculture and the other is tourism.

While agriculture has remained intact and mostly untouched in the area, tourism does not share the same foothold.

There are a gamut of reasons for living in this small burg, including, the river, the mountains, the wave you get from every car that passes and for many, the peace and quiet of a small town environment.

I personally returned to Saratoga because of my love of agriculture, but as the weeks turned into years, I began to realize this is where I wanted my children to grow up and myself to grow old.

The different “communities” of the area help to create its atmosphere, from cowboy poetry and rodeos to the arts and music, there really is something for everyone.

Visitors come here to slow down, to become one with nature, to get away from the glare of stoplights and street signs and instead catch a glimpse of a full moon glaring off the Platte River.
Of course, if a resident of the Platte Valley does not own a business that benefits from tourism, then striving to improve the out-of-town traffic to the area is a moot point in their mind.

Now my family owns a fencing business and runs cows, so this is not a sales pitch for our business, and at times tourism is not friendly toward either of those income sources. However, I am not so closed-minded that I do not realize that my favorite restaurant or curios shop in town both rely heavily on the constant flow of these Valley guests.

Thus I come to the point of this rambling, sometimes we, of the Platte Valley, have to step out of our comfort zone to allow guests an “experience of a lifetime”. Instead of fighting with our fellow townspeople, who are here 365 days of the year, let us find a solution that will benefit the area where tourism is concerned.

It takes a concerted effort to provide the culture and events that tourists have come to expect from the “Good Times Valley”; not just from the organizers, but from elected officials, business owners and last, but not least, town residents.

We need to create a welcoming environment for family reunions, arts and crafts shows, lake parties, rodeos and music and film festivals. Yes, you might be saying to yourself, “Isn’t this why we built the community center?” and to an extent you’re right, but on the other hand, many visitors come to experience these events in the great outdoors and not in the confines of a brick building.

Let’s become part of the solution, not remain part of the problem!

Mind you, I do not condone stepping outside of the law to achieve this goal, but I also do not condone extra laws and regulations being created to dampen an otherwise safe and compliant gathering.

We cannot bury our heads in the sand and hope that the status quo of the area will bring home high school graduates to raise their families here, or even encourage the regular summer visitor’s return the following year. We have to manage the change that is inevitable for our beloved Platte Valley with intelligence and a willing hand, not a strong arm and a closed mind.