As someone who grew up on a farm nestled amongst the rolling hills of Kentucky, I can tell you, there was nothing like it. The simple things make life special. The smell of fresh-cut hay or the sweet fragrance of honeysuckle on a spring day was relaxing. Watching black Angus grazing on the plush green hillside was calming, while a newborn filly sowing its wild oats was thrilling. Finally, there is the lilting Kentucky accent when spoken by family and friends. These are some of the things we Kentuckians appreciate about our state.
In an ever-changing world, we thought things would always be like that in rural Kentucky because it was organic, harmonious, and oh so charming. If the outside world ever tried to infringe upon our piece of paradise with hideous wind turbines or monstrous Amazon warehouses, we would just say, “thanks, but no thanks.” We would not allow anything to taint that which we had grown to admire and love.
That is what makes Delsia Bare and her 83-year-old mother, Ida Huddleston, from Maysville, Kentucky, so special. Their family has lived on two parcels of land totaling 1200 acres for over two hundred years. Tombstones on the property of previous owners date back to the 1600s.
Delsia and Ida’s story has been making headlines beyond the Bluegrass State and they were recently featured in a front-page article of The Wall Street Journal. They were featured, not because of their rich family history, but because they did the unthinkable. They turned down the almighty dollar, lots of dollars.
It all began when an unnamed artificial intelligence company offered to buy 463 acres of Delsia’s land and 71 acres from her mother’s nearby property. If they accepted the offer, the company, which they later found out was Meta, would pay them nearly ten times what the land is worth on the open market. All told, they would be receiving over $26 million.
They did some research and discovered the land would be used for a 2.2 gigawatt hyperscale data center. “I never thought I’d be in a battle with a data center,” Delsia told The Wall Street Journal. “I thought I was about as far out in the boondocks as you could get.”
While the money would give them financial security for the rest of their life the decision for Delsia and her mother was easy and direct.
“You can go kick rocks, but don’t come back,” she told them. When a Kentuckian tells you to “kick rocks,” it means “stop being a nuisance” or more precisely, “get lost.” One can only imagine the surprise of the unnamed individuals at the categorical rejection of their offer.
When I read these words, I could hear the pleasant Kentucky accent as I relished their straightforward, no-nonsense way of being and expressing themselves. Once Kentuckians make up their minds, they are not going to change, especially when it comes to their property. Nothing can replace the peacefulness of a morning contemplating the hillside. Delsia affirmed that if she had the $26 million dollars, “I would still want to sit here in my chair, and have my coffee where I always do.”
Their story continues to spread, and the two ladies have done numerous interviews. During one sit-down with “Morning in America,” Delsia was asked if her answer would be different if someone offered them the same amount to use the land for agricultural purposes.
“It doesn’t really matter,” she responded, “it doesn’t matter who comes forward; you can’t replace two hundred years of history. There is not enough cash to do that.”
It is a breath of fresh air to see someone who cares so much about tradition, property—and the value of her family’s legacy—she will not trade it for monetary gain.
Some still might find this difficult to understand. Delsia has diabetes and is partially blind while her mother walks with a cane. Anyone else might take the money and run. Delsia and her mother realize something other don’t understand. There are some things in life worth more than money. We need to cherish them because they are so much a part of who we are.
Photo Credit: © Alexey Stiop– stock.adobe.com