Korlene and Garlin Schmidt moved from Bismarck to Kintyre when their second daughter was born. They now have four daughters, ages 11 to 17, and Kintyre boasts a population of 20 or 21 people. “No,” Korlene says, “I wouldn’t live any other place [than Kintyre]. I love it. I just don’t think there is enough appreciation given to these little towns. Everything has to be so big and elaborate. You can lose the sense as what can be appreciated here in a little town, but I actually like it better this way, without all that hustle and bustle.
“From little on, we taught our children not to say, ‘I’m sorry,’ and then walk away. Because when you say ‘I’m sorry,’ that relieves your guilt, but it doesn’t do anything for the other person. So our children grew up where they have to ask the other person to be forgiven for what they did, and then they have to give their sister a hug and go on.
“Once in a while they get into each other’s hair, but it is nothing that cannot be resolved right away on the spot. They are well-adjusted good girls. I don’t have any complaints.
“But they grew up knowing Mom will use the spatula if she has to. The kids know, it is one swat, they get the lesson. Every swat after one is for your frustration. Oh, yeah. If you can’t straighten out the tree before it gets too big, you might as well forget it when they are teenagers.”
Faith is a 100 percent part of the Schmidt’s family and a 100 percent influence on the girls. “I can be out for a walk or out hanging up clothes and talking to Jesus,” Korlene says. “I just think we should live our life and have a relationship with Him on a daily basis.”