That kind of thing isn’t supposed to happen in a small town.

That’s why some folks choose to live in a small town &045; to avoid such happenings.

The Farmers State Bank located in Freeborn was robbed. A man armed with an assault rifle did the job.

That’s definitely not supposed to happen in a town of 300 people.

&uot;A nice, quiet town,&uot; is the way many people have described Freeborn.

Small towns are supposed to have people like Jan Beach.

People like Jan Beach are the reason that a lot of us to choose to live in small towns.

Jan has worked at the bank for 32 years.

The robber came into the bank after firing his gun twice outside the bank. He told the bank employees that he wanted all of the money in the bank and fired his weapon into the ceiling.

The robber was wearing a ski mask marked with swastikas, and a bulletproof vest. This was a criminal with villainous intent.

He told Jan to get the money for him.

She didn’t know what to expect from the robber. Thoughts of being shot or taken hostage ran through her mind.

She could see his gun, but she couldn’t see his intent. There was a fear of the unknown. There was a fear of the known.

Jan asked the robber if he had brought a bag.

He hadn’t thought of that.

Without asking if he wanted paper or plastic, Jan pulled a garbage bag from the waste basket.

The robber hurried her on her way with a nudge of the gun.

The robber said, &uot;Move it!&uot; and fired another round into the ceiling.

While Jan was getting the money, a loan officer was forced to lie on the floor of the lobby of the bank. A customer was curled up under the counter near the robber.

The robber was yelling and cursing about the U.S. government and what they owed him. He complained about &uot;the bunch of Nazis in the White House.&uot;

Then he looked at Jan as if it were her fault.

She told him that it wasn’t her fault.

She had emptied three teller drawers of money and put them into the plastic bag along with the facial tissues and other garbage already residing there.

The robber complained about the denominations of the bills, thinking they were all ones and fives.

He asked for the money in the vault, but Jan told him that a time lock prevented her from getting to it.

The robber mentioned something about tracers being with the money, swore profusely and left the building.

Jan’s coolness and calmness in dealing with a life-threatening situation had made sure that no one in the bank was injured. She dealt with frightening circumstances with bravery and resolve.

As soon as the robber had left the scene, the bank’s alarm was set off and 911 was dialed.

The alarm company called the bank to see if it was a false alarm, but no one in the bank was able to answer the phone as they were busy dealing with customers and getting their wits together.

The alarm company called Jan’s house and talked to her husband, Jim.

Jim called the bank to inquire about the alarm. That is when he learned about the robbery.

By the time the employees were able to exit the bank, there were three worried husbands waiting outside for them.

The employees were all right &045; physically.

Professionals were called in to talk to them about the impact the incident would have on their lives.

Jan says she doesn’t sleep as well as she used to. She has had nightmares. She has felt both sadness and anger.

The robber was apprehended, but not until after he engaged in a shootout with courageous deputies. One squad car sustained 34 bullet holes.

Things like a bank robbery are not supposed to happen in a small town like Freeborn.

Local folks breathed a collective sigh of relief when they learned that no bank employees were injured.

We love our small towns.

We want them to continue to be the kind of place that people want to move to and never want to move away from.

As long as we have people like Jan Beach &045; this will be the case.

We may have lost a bit of our innocence, but thank goodness we keep our good people. People like Jan Beach.

You don’t need to look to the famous to find your heroes.

There are heroes right in your hometown.

(Hartland resident Al Batt’s columns appear Wednesdays and Sundays in the Albert Lea Tribune.)