Some might think of the Midwestern past as the epicenter for the "pulling yourself up by the bootstraps" mentality, where "salt of the earth" folks just worked hard until they made it. In reality, work ethic and community were inextricably linked; people learned not to pull themselves up on their own, but to pull their own weight along with other members of their communities. The Midwest of the past included many communities where people looked out for each other and picked each other up when they fell down. In this episode, we take a look into the lives of three Midwesterners. Their stories, together, offer us insight into how the values of work ethic and community support that many older Midwesterners learned in their childhoods have stuck with them, guiding their future endeavors and shaping what it means to be a Midwesterner.