Today's Tuesday 4 asks questions about where you grew up. Join me if you'd like.
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| An aerial view of my town when I lived there. You can see that the business part of the town was built in a valley but most of the people lived in the hills surrounding the downtown, including me. |
What was your hometown like? Or home state or both! I've talked here about my hometown and state many times. As most of you know, I grew up in a small town in West Virginia. My parents continued to live there until they passed away a few years ago, so I was able to keep up with the town and the people there. I haven't lived there full time since I was 18 years old, but I still get the weekly newspaper. So you might say, that I have a deep connection to where I grew up.
While you might not know everyone, you knew most people, and things were done on a personal level. One story I like to tell is that one summer I went to Girl Scout camp with a friend and after camp, another camper wrote a letter to me using my friend's address because she lost mine. However, the post office delivered it to my house.
It was a town where my parents did most of their business by talking to people when they saw them instead of calling an office, and most local elections were determined by what people thought about the character of the person running rather than what they promised they would do.
My town was a place where you greeted everyone you met on the street. I lived in town and walked to school and most everywhere else. Friday night football games and Sunday church were a big part of the social life for many people including me. (I was a cheerleader, so I was at most of the sporting events by default.)
Did you enjoy where you grew up? Why? I did enjoy where I grew up because of the sense of community. It was also small enough to be able to get involved in many things. More than once, my parents told me that I had to cut back on my activities in both school and the community because they were taking up too much time. I would drop out of a couple things, but somehow a few months later, I'd be right back where I started. Luckily, I was able to keep up my grades and home responsibilities (Mostly. I won't say that I always completed everything on the worklist in the most timely manner but the important stuff got done.)
How much did where you grew up shape you? I was greatly influenced by where I grew up as I think most people are. I learned to value hard work and be genuinely friendly. I learned to appreciate the simpler things in life and the importance of being responsible for yourself. These were values not only present in my family but ones I saw around me.
What were some of the best and worst things about where you grew up? I think I've covered many of the good things, but one of the bad things about my county was the schools were not in great shape. At one point, money was misspent from a school bond issue and people had a long memory of that. No school bond issues passed the whole time I was in school and the top two floors of my high school were condemned. (Note: The pro votes were often over 50%, but they had to pass with 60% of the votes.) I had many classes in termite-infested portable buildings that another county got rid of. But it wasn't as bad as it sounds. They were just fine except in the spring when the bugs swarmed. Then we'd meet outside. However, I had some great teachers along the way and competed quite favorably with others in college who had gone to much more privileged schools.
This is a topic that is hard to cover in just a few paragraphs, but this will have to do for now because the cats are calling me.
Until next time...
Where we grow up does shape us, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a small town in southern central Michigan. And by small, I mean small. Getting a stop light was a major event. Like you, school activities and church attendance were the biggest social activities. There was a bar in town called the Bull Ring, and there was also a pool hall--we kids knew that we would be in sooooo much trouble if we were ever spotted in either establishment!
Overall it was a positive place to grow up but there were definitely cliques and the memories in small towns can be very long and, at times, unforgiving. I was involved in band and choir and always felt like I had a good friend group to hang out with. I have to admit, though, that going to college was wonderful. I felt like I had freedom from people's expectations or their perceptions of me.
Now I live in another small town and I find that many of my experiences of small town living still hold true. I think the advantage and the disadvantage of small town living is that you are known! Sometimes that's great and sometimes I like to hide in a crowd.
Our beer joint/pool hall in town was called the Shamrock and was definitely not the place to be according to my parents. I too was excited to go to college where I knew very few people. I didn't realize that I like to hide in the crowd sometimes too until I was in a place that I could do it. However, I don't know if I felt freedom from getting away from the cliques of high school or the small town. What do you think from your experiences?
DeleteSince moving away from where I grew up, I've lived in the suburbs around large cities. Sometimes it has been in a small town, but a small town outside of a city is much different than one in the middle of nowhere surrounded only by farms and other small towns. I've come to appreciate the conveniences of living in a more populated area, but I still appreciate where I grew up.
Your hometown sounds so interesting! I wonder how someone like me, who came from another part of the world, would have fitted in? Would I have been accepted? I grew up in a suburb of a city; maybe not a big city like Los Angeles or Chicago, but, it as the biggest city and the capital of the country. Later, I moved into the city, itself. They both had their advantages and disadvantages. :)
ReplyDeleteI think you would have fit in just fine. We had many doctors and their families immigrate to our area to work at the state hospital. They could work there while they were getting their license to practice in this country. Many countries were represented, but but India and the Philippines were the most common. Many stayed in the community even after they could get jobs elsewhere and brought their customs to various community events. Their kids were just another kid in school. My sisters and I used to babysit for several of the families. So for a small rural town, we saw more diversity than most.
DeleteThat's good to know. :) I was on my own when I first went to Green Bay, WI, but, there were a few families from India (mostly professors and their families) who sort of adopted me and included me in their community gatherings.
DeleteIt's nice that the professors took you under their wing because you were very far away from home.
DeleteSounds like you had a good childhood in a small town doing lots of things. Almost makes me nostalgic to read your hometown story.
ReplyDeleteThe town (or my childhood) was not perfect, but I didn't see much of that as a child. I think the town served me well and gave me a good backdrop to start my life.
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