Posted by Wynn Ponder

Hazel Young started it. She remembered Marci Penner’s efforts a few years ago, when the Lizard Lips Grill, north of Toronto, Kansas, was in danger of closing. Marci had mobilized the good people of the Kansas Explorers Club, urging them to stop by and spend $5 at the convenience store to help it stay open. Helen told Marci that a similar situation was unfolding in Dexter, Kansas …

Bruce and Patty Hafenstein had re-opened a convenience store and deli on Highway K15 just a couple of years earlier. They weren’t doing it to get rich, but with a little luck, they figured there was a living to be made, and it was a needed resource for the town.

Then oil prices exploded, making it difficult to muster enough money to fill the station’s storage tanks. People were buying less gasoline.

High fuel prices or not, Dexter citizens needed a place to get gas and groceries, so the Hafensteins worked hard, sometimes 16 hours a day, and Bruce joked that Patty tended to get a little feisty after the long shifts … hence the store’s name, “Crabby Patty’s.”

Gas prices dropped, but then America sank into recession. The story of Crabby Patty’s appeared to be nearing its end.

That’s when Hazel, a member of the Dexter Economic Development Association—and one of those rare people who manages to be simultaneously fearless and sweet—called Marci. Once again, Marci roused the troops, and it was the beginning of a new twist in the tale. Now people are driving to Crabby Patty’s to spend a few dollars in the store, and many who can’t make the trip are sending donations … a dollar, five, ten.

As of this blog post, the story of Crabby Patty’s is still being written. And it’s not just the story of one business in one community; it’s the saga of Small Town, USA. It’s our story, as a nation.

It’s your story, if you choose to play a role. You can make a huge difference for a small town by stopping by Crabby Patty’s for a bite to eat, a dash of friendly conversation and a shot of fuel along one of rural Kansas’ prettiest drives.

Will it have a happy ending? From what I could make of Patty, Bruce and the entire town of Dexter, Kansas, no one will be giving up anytime soon.

Visit Crabby Patty’s on highway K-15 on the east side of Dexter.

Crabby Patty’s Webisode