My Small Town

Small towns are truly the best. I don’t know that I always thought that, but it’s true. I guess subconsciously, I’ve been gravitating toward them all my life. Downsizing all along the way.

Both of my parents’ families were from small towns in West Virginia. So, visits there were comfortable incursions into the heartland of America, the small town. When I was ready to buy a house in the DC metro area, My wife and I started on the far end of commutable distance to our jobs and worked our way in.

With a lot of driving and research, we ended up in Lovettsville, Virginia. It was everything we hoped for in a small town. Formed in the early 1800’s, Lovettsville is an idyllic rural small town, the northernmost municipality in the Commonwealth.

The population of my hometown is a little over 2000. There are no traffic lights and one gas station, the only Bavarian themed 7-11 in North America outside of Disney World. There is no mall, no movie theater and no supermarket. There are chickens, though.

The town square is straight out of Norman Rockville. An iconic clocktower visible from most of town. A flag pole on the South end is anchored by paver stones engraved with the names of those having served in the US military. The town gathers there 3 times a year, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and for a 911 remembrance and it is standing room only.

The sense of community and support makes up for any lack of shopping or entertainment hubs my small town might lack. I can always count on running into a friendly face at Velocity Wings or Lovettsville Style and Shave. Everyone asks how my family is doing or if I finished my new coop.

Friends, relatives and neighbors are always pleasant and willing to lend a hand. The subdivision townhouse community we moved from was nice, but we only knew 3 or 4 neighbors by name. We knew every Lovettsville neighbor by name before we even moved in. Its that kind of place.

And when times got tough, I knew I could always count on my small town to pick me up. My nearby friends are always willing to be my confidants, my shoulders to cry on, and bottomless sources of a rare commodity, a sincere smile.

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a huge Hallmark movie fan. Those movies are mostly set in small rural towns. In almost every one I’ve seen, I have seen Lovettsville in some form or fashion.

Whether the rows of homes in the subdivisions with children playing in the street or the stately older homes on Loudoun Street or East Broadway. The sense of community is palpable.

 

I used to think small towns were boring and living there would only keep me from living my dreams. But I know now that without the love and support of my small town, I would not have had the foundation I needed to start closing in on those dreams.

As the seasons change, I look forward to the indicators, Mayfest, Summer Movies On The Green, Oktoberfest, and Wintertainmentfest. All run by townspeople for their neighbors and families.

I am so grateful for my hometown and the people I know and love here. The thing I will look forward to most is when my sons and their families visit, immersing them and our grandchildren in this culture and hoping that it impresses them enough to migrate to this or another small town. These are the true heart of merica.

NEXT WEEK: Lovettsville Library, Not Your Parents Library, Maybe Better!