Visiting Oskaloosa All Over Again – A Fresh Perspective

Myself and Roy Aguillon at Wood Iron Grille in Oskaloosa.

August 13th, 2022
by Ken Allsup

Oskaloosa, Iowa – It all started with a phone call from a strange number, but the voice on the other end was familiar.

It took a moment, but that familiar voice came from a former William Penn Student I had gotten to know nearly a decade ago, Roy Aguillon.

Aguillon was a politically active student at William Penn, and we often saw each other at many political and campus events.

He gained national attention during a campaign stop by then Presidential Candidate Michele Bachmann to Smokey Row. Aguillon asked Bachmann about illegal immigrants brought into the United States as children by their parents.

Bachmann’s answer sparked a firestorm in the media, as the exchange was shared worldwide.

Aguillon departed Oskaloosa, joining Obama’s team in Miami running up to the presidential election of 2012.

His return to the community is that of a community journalist who was busy talking with various individuals from the area.

His return to town brought back many memories, of course, but also a new appreciation of Oskaloosa.

The artwork the community has been investing in for the past several years was one of the first things that jumped out and a newfound appreciation of the homes. “I didn’t realize how beautiful the houses are. The craftsmanship on some of these homes is impeccable.”

“I’ll tell you another thing that’s beautiful to me, the fresh air,” Augillon commented. “Another thing [is] driving along the road. Beautiful, beautiful flowers. These purple flowers.”

“And it’s cool to see I now can identify a soybean from a corn plant,” Augillon laughs.

Aguillon says he’s in the process of finishing his degree and hopes that William Penn will once again be that fit for him.

San Antonio, Texas, is home to Aguillon now, where he’s a citizen or community journalist who tells people’s stories through La Prensa Texas print and digital publications, but also through his work with ‘The Carpenters Apprentice.”

Aguillon and I had sat down moments earlier when he interviewed me, and I was happy to return the favor. And for the record, I’m certainly glad I’m hosting the interview more often than not because that microphone can be a bit imposing.

“When I was interviewing you, I told you that you inspired me,” Aguillon expressed during the interview.

That inspiration lead to Aguillon jumping into citizen journalism after politics. He wanted to help more stories be told, so he helped others replicate what he was doing so that even more community stores could be shared. “If you can’t replicate yourself, then you’re going to max out.”

“If you watch the mass media from where I come from, it’s all murders, robberies. If it bleeds, it leads. That old-school mentality. That’s not my neighborhood,” Aguillon said. “There is those things. There is that element, but my neighborhood is good families, entrepreneurs, young people who are trying, people who are down on their luck but trying to get up.”

“I know all those stories deserve to be told. My job then was how do I replicate myself,” Aguillon explained.

So he found somebody from each major section of town “who was passionate about their side of town, and I believed had some kind of charisma.”

“I showed them what I knew. I tried my best to give them some kind of infrastructure,” Aguillon explained.

He says that all those shows have kept going, and a couple of them have already spun off into their own “and are now their own centers of gravity.”

Aguillon says that he uses his microphone today as an extension of his philosophy change. “I believed in politics. I had TB, true believers.”

“I believed that sh*t, though. Every word Obama spoke, I thought it was Godly inspired, and divine in its own way.”

Aguillon says he believes in the office of the President and says there is a “special something” in the people who have attained that office. “Some beauty of humanity inside that individual, and also some vast ugliness.”

“What I learned after having worked in politics is there are no innocent ones in this game, and the game of politics is a game. Don’t be a fool,” Aguillon shared. “There’s nobody who’s absolutely bad. There’s nobody who’s absolutely good. Nobody who’s absolutely smart. Nobody was absolutely stupid. It’s a mixture of all of that.”

“I gave up on the idea that the Democrats will be my redemption, or the Republicans will offer me freedom,” Aguillon added.

So for now, he’s [Aguillon] using his microphone to ask those politicians what the candidate, regardless of party, “is doing to advance whatever particular agenda it is that you believe is most important.”

The issues that generate the most interest for Aguillon are anti-gentrification, pro-Latino, and pro-entrepreneur, “and taking care of the people who were there first, as opposed to trying to attract big corporations at the expense of the taxpayer.”

As we finish up with dinner at Wood Iron Grille, I pose the question to Aguillon about what piece of advice he would leave for the Oskaloosa community.

“Be open to new,” Aguillon said. “Learning how to work together with any newcomer to your community is good. Respect goes a long way. A smile and a nice thought go a long way.”

You can see more of Aguillon’s work on his Facebook blog by following the link to – ‘The Carpenters Apprentice‘