'DO-GOODERS': NATIONAL RADIO PROGRAM LOOKS AT TRIALS OF A COUPLE WHO TRIED TO CHANGE THINGS IN A DEPRESSED SOUTHEAST MISSOURI TOWN

CANALOU -- Kenny and Jackie Whorton remember a Canalou far different from the town they are preparing to move away from. Kenny and his family moved to Canalou, a small agricultural town southwest of Sikeston, when he was 12, and as a child Jackie spent many summers visiting her grandmother here.

"It was a beautiful community for children," she says. "I couldn't wait for summer."

When Kenny retired from McDonnell-Douglas in St. Louis five years ago, the Whortons decided to fulfill a lifelong dream by moving back to Canalou (pronounced Canal-loo).

But they found a town that had gone far downhill in the years they were gone. The school closed long ago, and the post office was the only commercial building on Main Street. The last grocery store in town burned down years ago. Many front yards looked more like junkyards. (See related story)

The Whortons committed themselves to help bring Canalou back and build some community spirit. For their trouble, they say, they received telephoned death threats, their windows were broken out and a gunshot ricocheted through their house last November.

The Whortons' struggle to change the way things are in Canalou will be detailed Sunday on the nationally syndicated public radio show "This American Life." The program, titled "Do-gooders," will be broadcast at 9 a.m. Sunday on KRCU-FM 90.9.

The Whortons' story will be paired with a tale about Philip Gouravitch, author of the book "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow You Will be Killed with Your Families," a book about the genocide in Rwanda.

Gouravitch's story is about do-gooders who succeeded in helping people after the genocide occurred. The Whortons' story is about the darker side of trying to do good.

"The more they did the more people just hated their guts," says Ira Glass, the Chicago-based creator and narrator of "This American Life."

Some people, including the mayor of Canalou, think the Whortons might have gone about trying to do good in the wrong way. Jackie tried to organize auxiliaries and baseball leagues. James was elected to the town board and ran against longtime Mayor Charles Joyce last May, losing by nine votes.

Joyce says he hadn't intended to run for re-election last year but changed his mind because 65 people asked him to. He said those people didn't want Kenny Whorton to become mayor.

Jackie Whorton says Mayor Joyce "gives people what they want. They don't have to follow any rules."

The Whortons wanted people to clean up their yards and complained about trash and rats. "In another town they would be cleaned up for fear of lawsuits -- not to mention civic pride," Glass says.

Jackie organized a community Fourth of July party and a Halloween party.

"It's a beautiful fable of people trying to do the right thing and failing at every turn," Glass says.

The Whortons' house is on Madison Street, one of many Canalou streets named for U.S. presidents. Susan Drake lives across the street in a mobile home. The lot next to hers is filled with junk cars.

Drake doesn't think the Whortons went too far. "I thought they were doing a good job," she said. "As you can see, there's not a lot here."

Glass wonders if the Whortons are resented because people have heard that Jackie won $286,000 on a slot machine. Glass's reporters encountered some self-loathing. "People in town say the meanest things about their own town," he said.

"There has gotten to be an attitude that it's really not going to do any good to do anything," Jackie says.

At the same time, they encountered some wonderful people in Canalou. "I know there's a reason why people stay," Glass says.

The Whortons are leaving. They have spent only a few days in Canalou during the past month. They're considering buying a condo in Florida. "We worked like dogs and nothing but heartache," Jackie said. "Ken and I know when to give up."