SEEDS OF FREEDOM By David Cabela

"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh ; rather, serve one another humbly in love."
-Galatians 5:13-

In order to understand the Cabela’s story, we need to know at least a little bit about the man who started it and about where he came from.

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, America redirected its path away from the Great Depression to a revitalized spirit which jumpstarted the economy and forced a seemingly dying lion to charge from its cave. The good people of our country—the heroes—felt it their duty to rise up and show the world just what we could accomplish. Most able-bodied young men signed up for the armed forces, sacrificing their lives to defend a freedom the rest of the world had rarely dreamed possible. Women—strong, eager, and more than capable, reignited industries the faltering economy had suppressed to a mere spark. Children, forced by circumstance, matured beyond their ages almost overnight. The country came together, doing what was necessary, like few times in history. They chose to reclaim the country’s greatness because it was the right thing to do. It was the American thing to do.

Rural plains communities like Chappell, Nebraska were no different. Still reeling from the effects of the Dust Bowl, farmers, ranchers, merchants, and church congregations rallied to rebuild the town. They learned soil conservation, toiled alongside one another, and prayed for each other. When things started to turn, they needed new equipment and fresh supplies. If they were going to provide the country with wheat and corn and beef, they needed to be prepared.

Merchants like A.C. Cabela saw this need and tried to fill it. Using a simple set of guidelines centered in integrity and profit, he knew that if he offered quality products at fair prices and treated people the way he wanted to be treated, they would chose his small establishment to purchase their hardware. He sold on credit, asking little more than a handshake and a customer’s word as a guarantee of payment. If a local farmer or rancher were having a rough season, he found ways to get them what they needed—bartering was a practice his son, Dick, witnessed many times between the wise men of the community. And like most young boys, Dick mimicked the adults as best he could.

One fall afternoon a neighborhood boy rode his bike all over town telling every kid about a litter of puppies his dog had just given birth to. Young Dick’s eyes must have given him away because the young boy offered to sell him one.

“I don’t have any money,” Dick said.
“What do ya got?” the boy asked.
Dick could count his possessions on his fingers. He had a couple of baseballs, some toys he had to pass down to his younger siblings, and his fishing tackle—a few bobbers, some old hooks, a spool of line, and a bag of five new hooks. 
“You like fishing?” Dick asked the boy.
The boy shrugged. “I don’t have a pole or nothing like that.”
“You don’t need a pole,” Dick said. “All you need is some strong thread, some hooks, and some worms.”
“I can get all the worms I need in the backyard and my mom’s got a whole bag of thread.”
“What about hooks?” Dick asked.
The boy shook his head.
“I’ll give you some hooks that have caught me all kinds of fish down at the pond for one of those puppies.”

The boy had five puppies he needed to sell—five hooks seemed a good price for one. Dick raced home. He flipped open his tackle box, set the new bag of hooks to the side and pulled out his pile of old hooks. These hooks had caught more than their share of bluegill and sunfish and he briefly thought about trading the new hooks, but they were unproven and the boy might back out of the deal. On the way to make the trade, he almost convinced himself they were too valuable to exchange for a puppy, but he’d read White Fang and Call of the Wild. When he imagined his new dog racing down the street or fighting coyotes, the choice was easy. For weeks after, both boys bragged to their friends about the trade, each of them believing he had come away with the better end of the deal.

This well-negotiated barter, learned from studying the men of the town in his father’s shop, lifted Dick’s chin as he walked home with his new puppy cradled in his arms. Once outside his house, he paused, realizing he had forgotten one important detail before making the deal. He never asked permission. What if his parents would not let him keep the puppy? What if they made him take it back? Would the boy even give him back the hooks? But it was his puppy. He paid for it, fair and square. They could not take it from him. That would not be fair.

“You gave up five fishing hooks for that mutt?” his dad said. “You know these things don’t take care of themselves and they are not cheap. You have to feed it, give it baths, clean up after it—and it’s not staying in the house. You can build it a doghouse in back. If it turns out you’re not holding up your end, we’ll give him to someone with enough responsibility to care for it. I hope you’re ready.”
Dick kept his dog and even saw his father playing with it a time or two. His parents even took care of it when they sent him to Sidney, Nebraska to attend Saint Patrick’s Parochial High School where he met the girl he would spend the rest of his life with—Mary Kerns.

The seeds we plant—knowingly or unknowingly, in good faith or for selfish reasons—have the potential to impact the world for generations. Our founders planted the seeds of freedom in America that would eventually unlock a unique explosion of opportunity and innovation that reverberates worldwide. Dick Cabela’s father planted the seeds of entrepreneurship that inspired a boy to eventually create a company employing thousands and outfitting millions for their outdoor adventures.  Regardless of our state in life, we can spread positive seeds—even small ones like an innocent barter between two neighborhood boys can have lasting effects. These interactions, these seeds, may one day impact the lives of those we may never meet in this life. We should plant them with thoughtfully.