While growing up on the farm, my father always stressed the importance of neatness in the way things were done. He didn’t make a lot of money in dairy farming, but he also never spared spending when it came to keeping the barn painted, maintaining the farm equipment, or mowing the lawn.

To him spartan living did not mean slovenly living. It was important to keep things cleaned up, and to do the best with what you had.

That has always stuck with me, and I give a “lot of points” to people and organizations who keep things neat and clean.

In that vein, for example, I was pleased recently to notice that the water tower at the Jamestown

Airport had been painted. I had noted a couple of years ago that it looked faded and rusty. So “kudos” go to the Town of Ellicott for getting it painted!

It may sound “nit-picking,” but, in my view, when you are trying to move things ahead at the airport–the visual impact of something as obvious as a water tower can make a difference.

In like manner, on the negative side, I always worry when I see an unpainted house or an unmowed lawn. There may be extenuating circumstances, but often it means that a property may be in decline…and that is not good.

This is a generalization, but, in my view, based upon traveling a bit overseas–I have found the Germans too be especially tidy in the way that they live. There is no garbage on side of the road, no houses in need of paint, no abandoned refrigerators in the backyard. One reason that German engineering and business have been so successful over the years is that they keep things neat and clean.

It doesn’t mean that we can’t do it in the United States. Some recent foreign visitors to New York City have remarked to me on how clean the City now is, and how impressed they were when they visited. They expected, perhaps based upon past reputation, that the opposite would be true.

I think that this time of year may be the best time to write about such a subject since everything around here is now pretty much hidden by green. A more revealing time is during March and April after the snow is gone and before the trees bloom.

On the plus side, it really perks me up when I see that great care and nurturing are visible. For example, on Sixth Street in Jamestown, just before you pass over the Sixth Street bridge heading west, is a two-story, old, well-kept house. But, what makes it spectacular this time of year is that the lawn, porch and virtually whole front yard is covered with planted flowers. You can’t miss it.

Maybe the owner works in the floral industry. I don’t know. But, the message being given is clear: “I love this house.” “I love flowers,” and–“Please, enjoy the day!”

Keeping things spruced up is a good thing, and something we should laud and appreciate. Neatness and taking proper care of things matters.

Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.