Editor’s Note: Diane Smith of Sutton has joined the Clay County News staff this week as a feature writer, photographer, and news writer.
Life has a funny way of circling back.
When I lived in Sutton as a teenager from 1985 to 1988, I never imagined that decades later I would find my way back here…or that I’d be writing stories for the same local newspaper that I read back then.
But life has a way of taking you on a few adventures first.
Right before my senior year of high school I moved to Kearney, where I finished school and graduated before heading west to Oregon to start the next chapter of my life. Even so, I still proudly consider myself part of the Sutton Class of ’89, and always will.
Like most people, my path wasn’t exactly a straight line. One opportunity led to another, and eventually, life brought me to California to take care of my mom.
That chapter ended up changing everything for me.
While I was there I started my first food business, originally preparing healthy meals for my mom as we navigated her cancer diagnosis. As I was cooking for her, I realized there were a lot of other people who could use that kind of help too, and what began as something very personal slowly grew into a small business preparing meals for others.
Around that same time I began making charcuterie boards for wine clubs, which eventually led to being asked to serve as a private chef for a winery, preparing multi-course wine pairing dinners for their members.
That’s really where my love of food and hospitality took root. I discovered that cooking wasn’t just something I enjoyed doing, it was a way to connect with people. I’ve always believed that some of the best conversations, friendships, and memories happen around a table.
In 2020, when my husband retired, our whole family took a leap and moved to Mexico — Craig, our son Jamie, my mom, and me. It was one of those ideas that sounded a little crazy when we first said it out loud, but it turned into one of the most incredible, and also the most challenging, chapters of our lives.
During our time there, I owned and operated three different restaurants, each one teaching me something new about resilience, community, and what it really takes to build something from the ground up.
Running restaurants anywhere takes a lot of hard work, and Mexico was no exception. Living there also opened my eyes even more to the reality of food insecurity. It was important to me that the work I was doing in the kitchen also found ways to help people who were struggling to put food on the table. That experience strengthened something I had already discovered years earlier: food can be one of the simplest and most powerful ways to care for a community.
Eventually, life pointed us back to Nebraska.
After my mom passed away, Craig and I started thinking about what we wanted the next chapter of our lives to look like. We kept coming back to the same things: small towns, good people, and the kind of community where neighbors look out for each other.
And if I’m being completely honest, this is also where my best friends are. At a certain point in life you realize how important those friendships really are, and I missed mine. Turns out a girl needs her friends… especially the ones who will meet you for lunch, talk you through life, and still laugh at your stories.
So we came back.
These days, Craig and I live here with our son Jamie, who many of you probably know from Brown’s. One of the things we love most about being here is the rhythm of small-town life. You run into people you know at the store, cheer on the local kids whether it’s on the court, the field, the stage, or wherever their talents take them, and quickly realize there are a lot of great stories right here in our own backyard.
I also run a small local food project called Simply Joyful, where I make meals and food for the community. Simply Joyful helps fund and keep stocked The Little Free Pantry, which provides food and basic necessities to anyone in the community who might need them. It’s a simple idea, neighbors helping neighbors, but it’s one that means a lot to me.
When I’m not cooking or writing, you’ll probably find me spending time with family and friends, experimenting in the kitchen, or chasing after our two rescue dogs, Daisy and George, who make sure life is never too quiet.
What excites me most about writing for the Clay County News is getting to meet people and share their stories.
Every community has people doing interesting, inspiring, and sometimes unexpected things, and those are the stories that help connect us.
I’m especially looking forward to telling the kinds of stories that matter to the community and shine a light on the issues and people that shape life here.
I’ve always believed every person has a story, sometimes they just need someone willing to sit down and listen.
So if you see me around town, don’t be surprised if I introduce myself and start asking questions. And if you have an idea for a story, please stop me and tell me about it. Some of the best stories start with a simple conversation.
Because sometimes the best stories are the ones happening quietly, right here at home…and I can’t wait to help tell them.
Diane Smith has joined the Clay County News team as a feature writer and photographer.
