Little Town

My Little Town

I grew up in a little town. Population 3,312(I remember really trivial things!) My little town was the perfect place to grow up. We lived in a lovely older part of town. The homes were built in the early part of the 1900's. Ours was built in 1904. In front of our house is a huge pine tree, it must be over 100 years old. There are old picture's of the town and you can see our tree!

My parent's bought our home in 1967, a year before I was born. They were a young couple with three little children. The other neighbors were some years older. Their children were also a bit older. I remember playing neighborhood games. I was the youngest so I was usually overlooked. I specifically remember playing "Steal the Flag". We would usually play across the street at the Hillman's. They had a perfect sidewalk to make a center line. I was usually on someones team--just because they had to let me play. I was pretty little, under five, so I was not a reliable team member. On occasion, however, I would decide that no one was paying attention to me and I would be able to steal that flag without anyone the wiser-until it was too late. I remember having water fights across the street. We would hook both of our hoses together and the neighbors would as well. We would stand and spray each other from our own sides of the street.(once again, I was really little, my big brother and sister were the ones holding the hoses)

The Snake River runs through our little town. It is only a block away from our home. There is a place called "The Sand Bar". It is on the edge of the river. About 45-50 years ago a recreation area of sorts was built. Right on the waters edge, cement was poured with stairs going down to the water. We live near the Sand Dunes so the city goes every year and gets loads of the softest sand in the world and brings it and fills in the cement walls. There is a lifeguard in the summer and a buoyed off area for the younger children to swim. Up the river is a diving board and docks where the big kids hang out. We would spend hours at the Sand Bar. My Mom would put on a crazy flowered hat(it was the 70's) and bring a book to read. We would play and play. We would get in the water and then roll around in the warm sand. We would bury each other and then do it all over again. We built dams, sand castles with moats and caught minnows in buckets.

Our little town had a true "business district" when I was little. We had a movie theater, a jewelery store, variety store, sporting goods store, a bowling alley, florist, hardware store, two drugstores with soda fountains, clothing stores, fabric stores and others. This was before lumber mills went out of business and before large box stores were created. People shopped in their own little towns.

In our little town people knew who you were. I remember my Dad waving to everyone. He always knew them. My Dad taught at the High School for many years. He also owned a business in town. My Mom had been raised there along with eight siblings. There was a familiarity in our town.

I would ride my bike all over town. I knew many of the people that lived in the homes. There were parks that we played at constantly. The closest parks to us were "The Horsey Park" and the "City Park". Both of these parks had other official names but everyone knew them by these names.

I graduated from High School more than two decades ago. I have been married for 19 years. When I go to visit my Mom I usually end up on a walk, run or bike ride going around town. I notice the old homes that haven't been kept up as nicely. I notice the new paint job, new porch or burnt lawns. I notice the old buildings that have been torn down with a few new ones in their place. I notice empty store fronts. More empty than full. The movie theater has been vacant for more than 20 years. The two down town grocery stores have long since been torn down with new businesses in their place. I notice homes where my friends lived. Some of their parent's still live in them, they look like they should. Other's have moved. Those homes look foreign to me, like someone has switched the props around in a play.

As I continue on I notice that the sunlight is different here than it is where I live now. It seems softer, more gentle. The air even smells different. Perhaps it is the May trees or the wood burning stoves in December. The air is crisper, colder here. The snow is crunchier and the nights darker.

I am acutely aware of the differences when I am in our little town.

I now live in a different little town in a different state. We live outside of town but we are in town almost daily. Today as I was dropping off movies and picking up the Big Boy from baseball I looked around at this little town. It too, used to have a business district-it is now mostly vacant. It has lovely parks, trees, a library and schools. I see people of all ages walking, riding, running, and visiting with their neighbors.

I wonder ---will I ever feel "at home" again?