A familiar name is buzzing around the Ozarks Farm & Neighbor world and I must say it seems I have some pretty big shoes to fill if I’m going to live up to the “Lynzee/Lindsay” name. I’ve experienced every emotion known to man in my first few days here but mostly I am just flat out excited to be joining the OFN world. I already feel right at home here – maybe because everyone has welcomed me with arms wide open or perhaps it’s due to the cattle across the road that I can see from my desk – either way I think I’m going to like it here.
I am a small town Ozarks girl who grew up just 30 miles west of our OFN Lebanon office in the one-horse town of Tunas, Mo. For Tunas being such a small town I sure do have a lot of memories from growing up on our 120-acre beef cattle farm. I can remember spending hot summer days digging for night crawlers with my sisters, riding four-wheelers in the snow, getting my first horse, going to church on Sunday mornings with the family, learning to ride a bike and falling into a mud puddle wearing my favorite fur coat, and of course getting a few stitches along the way (my mom says I am accident prone). It is the perfect place for my country-minded family.
My “childish” memories don’t stop there, they continued well into my college days (those are the memories I won’t share). As college started I found myself in a new and much bigger town, Springfield, Mo., full of opportunities and new friends, who at times became my family. I adapted quick to the “city life” and the “college life” – turns out neither are so bad or scary, plus daily naps helped relieve the stress of it all.
Surprisingly enough college was not that much different from high school, or at least Karls Hall, the agricultural building, wasn’t anyway. The agricultural department was small enough that classes weren’t too big, your professors knew you by name and everyone knew everyone. Unfortunately, those days couldn’t last forever. Despite everything else my main focus was on school and in 2008 I graduated from Missouri State University with a degree in agricultural communications.
People would often ask me, “What in the world are you going to do with that degree?” I would smile and say, “Talk to cows. It’s called cow-ology, haven’t you heard of it?” With all jokes aside I think I have found the perfect job that is tailored to fit my degree, now I just hope all that money I spent on tuition prepared me for the challenges ahead. I am anxious to become a part of this family and maybe even learn a few things while I am here. My goal is that my country roots, kind heart and open mind will speak through my columns and the stories throughout each issue.
Best wishes,
