Back when I was a child growing up in my small town, there seemed to be more life within its boundaries. There were more businesses, more families, more kids; you name it, there was more. That's not to say those conditions no longer exist, but it's far less vibrant than what it once was. I can recall back to the days when I rode the school bus to and from school. I mean my town practically had a bus route all its own! Now they merely drive through, dropping off/picking up kids here and there. One stop in particular on one of the local streets, I remember there being easily ten or more kids there. I'd be surprised if there's two or three there now. Yes, it's a far cry from what it used to be. But honestly, it's a sign of the times.
On the business front, several prominent businesses shut down over the years within the village boundaries. The village used to be home to two separate sawmill operations. One of them shut down in the early 1990's for reasons unknown to the general public. One can speculate that they ran into financial difficulties. Another rumor that I heard was their employees were older and within "retirement" range. They had no one to pass the torch onto, so to speak, so they shut down. Whatever the case, that stretch of property remains run-down and vacant. The majority of the buildings on the property have fallen into disrepair and need to be leveled. The land has been up for sale for quite some time; but I honestly wonder who would buy it? The site needs extensive clean-up, as there is plenty of rotting wood on that property as well. And what could be put on that piece of land? I'm sure someone has the potential to really fix that area of town up. But it would take someone with money and a grand vision. Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later.
The other sawmill operation burned down in the early 1990's. I remember waking up one morning and driving to school. One of the first things I heard was that the sawmill had burned down. I honestly had no idea, and I lived probably a quarter-mile from the sawmill that burned! Needless to say, that sawmill was never rebuilt. That land also remains vacant except for one small building. It, too, is for sale and probably requires less amount of clean-up than the other former sawmill property. But who's to say this property won't sit for awhile just like the other sawmill property down the road.
Other businesses like an auto shop and an oil and gas distributor have shut down over the years, leaving some people needing to find work elsewhere. And I can tell you one thing, they surely couldn't find it in my small hometown. I would say that during the 1980's, the peak of the town's population was probably around 350 or so. You had families with three or more kids living in each home and that really drove up population. Nowadays, couples are having less kids or some people are occupying homes by themselves. You have less people living within the village, partly because there are no good paying jobs within the village limits. Most people that live there have to drive more than 20 miles to find good jobs, and even those are hard to come by these days. The Co-op store which has been in operation for many years has had its own struggles recently. There's no longer a gas station within the village like there had been for years. And there's less vehicular and pedestrian traffic within town. Most people are driving through, rather than stopping.
Needless to say, with our changing times, small towns are dealing with their own struggles in staying afloat in this economy. With less jobs and people facing an increasing cost of living, many people are having to move away to find work. And the sad part is for those that grew up within and around the small town where I lived, there's only a select few that still remain. Even I don't live there anymore; albeit I only moved 25 miles away so I still frequently visit the area. But there's hardly anything left there to hang onto. Yes, there are plenty of great memories, but the present and future of the area does not look promising. We need more jobs, for one thing. But I just don't see that happening for quite awhile. I don't see the town completely dying out, but it may never again be as vibrant as it was during the '80's.
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