Grew up in a small town along the Ohio River Valley. 5,000 people in its heyday of the late 1970s. Coal and Steel were the industries. Steel is gone, a couple of the mines are coming back a bit and fracking for gas (no jokes here please) is going strong in the area

Today it maybe has 2,500 residents.

I left to go to college and earn a living as did may from my generation. I still go back several times a year (parents still in the house they bought in 1949). I now live in the Columbus metro area in a suburb that at least provides a few of the same benefits of my small town and I liked NightHiker's observations. I'm surprised that a surprisingly large number of the people that attend my place of worship are also from "The Valley"

We have a whole town reunion every year. HS football team went undefeated this year. It the kind of community with a lot of pride (but not the arrogang kind).... more of a humble gratitude for shared accomplishment and a work ethich I seldom see anymore. If things ever get "bad" here, my family and I are prepared to return there. I'm fortunate that my small town is the kind of place where 99% of the people will stand up and support each other and everyone know who the other 1% are to be avoided. Keeping in touch gives me that confidence.

The one thing about small towns is that a significant percentage of the population ends up being related either by blood or marriage (please no "inbred" jokes here) and that builds strong bonds.

I think the John "Cougar" Mellencamp song says it pretty well for me.



buckeye