Loving Our Hometowns

“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”

I received so many great shout outs about their hometowns from readers in response to my recent newsletter. So I’m sharing a few more. As anybody knows who has ever lived in a small town or cummunity, there are good things and not so good things about living in a place where everybody knows everybody and their family sometimes back a few generations. Kitty not only lives in one of those kind of towns, but her family got the place started. Here is what she shares about what sounds like a very happy life in a small town.

I live in a rural community that my maternal grandfather started in the early 1920s. He was a farmer. His three sons grew up to be farmers. My mom, his eldest, became a nurse and her two younger sisters became teachers. My parents had a farm and I inherited it from them after they died. We have cattle, blueberry bushes and pecan trees. I love to bake, cook, read, crochet, quilt and paint pictures. I am a retired RN after 40 years. My husband, 71, farms with one of my cousins. We attend our little country church regularly and love the life God has blessed us with. We were high school sweethearts and have been married almost 52 years!!

Always good to read about a happy long lasting marriage. Some of Kitty’s memories echo my life. My husband and I were high school sweethearts and we’ve been attending a little country church all our married years. But she’s got me beat on all the things she loves to do. I bake and cook but just because somebody is hungry. I can’t crochet, quilt or paint pictures, but I do love to read. Thanks for sharing about your family and your life in your grandfather’s community.

Lisa shares a couple of things unique about her hometown. My hometown still had a town square. You can only go one way around it; at one time it was both ways. Burt Reynolds made the movie “White Lightning” there quite a few years ago. 

“The Flam-Flam Man” was filmed on our Main Street years ago. People still talk about how exciting that was. A movie crew coming to town brings a bunch of excitement with them.

Deborah lives in a truly small town. Our little town always had a population over a thousand even when I was a kid, but being small is why Deborah loves it. “I live in a village called Nicktown. I am not sure how many people live here. My guess would be between 600-700 people. Not much goes on here; that is why I like it so much.”

Deborah’s description of her town makes me think of Jocie in my Hollyhill books. She was always saying nothing ever happened in Hollyhill, but she wasn’t as happy with that as Deborah. 🙂 But now we hear from the other side where sometimes everybody knowing everybody just meant you couldn’t get by with anything when you were a kid. At least that was true for Nancy. Here’s what she says.

“My hometown is a small little burg named Brazil, Indiana. It was a small enough place that I couldn’t get away with anything. My mother was the office nurse for one of the town’s beloved doctors. My father was an electrical engineer who focused on problems with local homes and appliances. To my teenage disgust, they knew absolutely everyone in town. The local grapevine not only knew all, but also told all.”

Another thing that reminds me of Jocie in those Hollyhill books. She definitely couldn’t get away with anything without someone telling her dad.  But then, a small town or community can often have a big heart. Sonja shared this wonderful story about her hometown.

“We came to America from Germany when I was three years old.  We were sponsored by the Methodist Church of a small Minnesota town, Elmore, in Fairbault county.  During those days you needed a sponsor to come to America. We had no family here and no job so it was a big adventure. The ladies’ society of the church was so kind, finding us a home to rent, an older model car, my dad had no idea how to drive, and a job for him. They threw us a house warming party giving us all sorts of items for our home, because we came to America as Refugees with only clothing and a few personal items. They filled our fridge with food and then when a horrible influenza epidemic came, my parents and I all became very sick. They left food and drinks everyday on our doorstep. We were well taken care of and loved these people so much. We lived here for eight years and moved when I finished 6th grade. Since then I have gone to several school and town reunions with my friends that I made in that very little town. The town is very small and has lost lots of its population now, but we have our own Facebook page and stay in touch after all these years.  I love my hometown!”

What a wonderful story, Sonja.  Thank you for sharing it with us.

Reading these stories and more like them from people sharing something they remember about their hometowns convinced me that I’m not the only person with deep roots where I grew up. The stories, especially Sonja’s, also reminds us of how many people do have kind hearts and are ready to help others whether they live in a small town or a big city.

Do you think people are more apt to help their neighbors in a small community? And has social media made us aware of needs we might have never known about otherwise?