After watching the nightly news, I sometimes wondered why there is so much focus on the "bad." With all the negative things happening in the world, it would be easy to think that very few good things are going on at all. At the least, they don't seem to be getting their fair share of press time.

With my New Year goals of "simplify" and "look for the positive" still fresh, I would like to do my tiny part in passing along some good news. This week I will do that by sharing the success of a simple, yet effective, idea of an outdoor community coat rack implemented in a little town a couple hours east of here.

The community coat rack is a free coat giveaway started a few years ago by Mrs. Betty Carlton of Kingston. Kingston, a tiny town that holds a special spot in my heart, is located in Madison County. It is a charming "don't blink or you'll miss it" kind of place located at the intersection of highways 74 and 21 South. It is a thoroughfare for those heading to Boxley Valley for elk viewing or to the Buffalo National River for camping, hiking or canoeing in the warmer months. It is also a popular destination for motorcycle traffic in the spring and fall. Things quiet down some in the winter, although there is still some sort of school or community event most weeks. Folks here like to help each other.

Betty operates her flea market, "Carlton's Collectables," in an old rock building on one corner of the tiny Kingston square. The store front is mostly windows and a narrow concrete porch with a wooden bench that has welcomed anyone that cares to sit a spell for as long as I can remember. There is a larger covered porch area at the end of the building and that is where Betty keeps the outdoor community coat rack. Day and night, open or closed, Betty's coat rack sits in the same spot, readily accessible to anyone passing by. A hand written sign attached to the end of it invites folks to take a coat from the rack if they need one or to leave any extra "good, clean, usable coats or jackets" they are ready to pass along to someone else.

I called Betty and asked her how this idea came about. It started a few years ago when the economy took a nose dive. She wanted to do something to help area families who might be struggling. She knew there were times that parents might forego their own need for warm winter clothing to be sure their children had coats, she said. She and her husband cleaned out their closets and found that they each had nice coats and jackets they no longer needed. Trying to decide what to do with them, Betty said she felt the Lord gave her the idea to share the coats by making them available to whoever could use them through the use of an outdoor coat rack. At first it was just coats from her own closet on the rack, and one by one they were taken by new owners. By that time, Betty realized that others in the area wanted to share their unneeded coats as well.

Children's coats began to show up on the rack, too, and since then, many coats and jackets of all sizes, styles and colors have come and gone. Even though her business is closed through the coldest months of the winter, Betty still comes by and checks the coat rack often. Most of the time, she has no idea who leaves coats or who takes them, but can tell that the inventory changes over time. She also gets comments from time to time from those who have received coats and want to thank her.

In the beginning, Betty never expected the coat rack to be in place this long; but, as long as the idea continues to prove to be good for the community, she will continue.

I will keep looking for positive news and passing it along. Meanwhile, I would love to hear from any of you if you know of a "simply good" idea in our area I can look into and possibly share in this space.

Annette Rowe is a freelance writer from rural Gentry and a speech-language pathologist at Siloam Springs High School. She may be reached by email at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.