I'm not sure if my neighbors appreciated it, but the aroma of butter, cinnamon, and sugar radiated from my apartment this past week. I'm not sure if it was the previous weekend out-and-about in Detroit, the beautiful Summer days, or simple nostalgia, but I've been missing Indiana. I baked several dozen snickerdoodles last week. If you don't know what a snickerdoodle is, you haven't lived in Indiana. Basically, it's a medium density butter cookie rolled in cinnamon and sugar. And, if you grew up in Indiana, you learned that snickerdoodles were the favorite cookie of the Hoosier Poet--James Whitcomb Riley. Riley is most well known for his poem "Little Orphen Annie," which I have recited in full from memory and posted on the Urban Cattleman Facebook Page. Oh, and the real Little Orphen Annie, she was from Liberty, which is where I'm from.
For me, Indiana will always be home. Even in that brief recitation of a poem, I can hear the mixing of dialects in my speech. Recently, Amanda and I were having a conversation with some friends here about her inability to understand the speech of some of my friends and relatives when we go to Liberty for a visit. I've often made the case that I had to re-learn enunciation and elocution when I began to prepare for college. I didn't talk so good back then. Language is only a piece of that story though.
Liberty, IN is a place removed. Even in my childhood, the town square had a hardware store, furniture store, sewing shop, a couple small clothing stores, a restaurant, a lounge, a bank, insurance offices, and auctioneer's offices. Just off the square you could find law offices, a local grocery store, an art gallery, a collectibles shop, another bank, a post office, churches, and a small newspaper office. All of this was anchored by the Gothic Style courthouse and green lawn shadowed by 75 year old trees and dotted with war memorials and historical relics. Much of this is gone, but much of it remains as well. Other businesses have moved into the community. The grocery store and bank have changed locations but are still near the town center. It's always seemed as if Liberty was immune to the rural decay visible in so much of the country.
This continuation of a small town is partly accidental and partly intentional. Liberty isn't close to anything of importance geographically. It's at least 15 miles from any interstate highway. There is a tourist draw to the reservoir to the south during the summer, but otherwise it is undisturbed by the outside world. There is one factory to the east of town that represents the only industry in the county. The bulk of ground is used for farming. Still, the town sits within commutable distance to Cincinnati, OH, and many other medium sized cities that provide work opportunities for those in Liberty. However, it's the attitude of the people here that stands out as an exception. People here choose, by and large, to do business in the community. And, they also reinvest in the community.
This reinvestment is what I miss when I say I miss Indiana. I miss neighbors bringing pie and cookies to people who move in down the street (Though, I think they do it partially out of being nosy.). I miss community parades and Founder's Day festivals celebrating the small town's history. I miss kids walking home from school, and graduating seniors peppering them with water balloons on the last day of classes before summer. But, my Indiana isn't stuck in the past either. My Indiana is a place that continues to honor tradition, while trying to move forward into the modern world. Let me explain.
My parents, who didn't have cable television until I was in college, who live 3 miles outside of town, have high speed broadcast internet available to them. Just this week construction began on an English style pub and brewery in what has previously been a gas station and a upholstery shop. The town is changing, and many of the shops on the square are now empty, but I choose to be optimistic about the new investment in the community.
Towns are meant to be living and vibrant, and that's why Liberty (unlike so many other small towns in this country) continues to do well. Liberty chooses to move forward through self improvement, not outside aide. It still has it's problems. Meth, theft, and other criminal problems exist as they do in many rural areas today. The childhood poverty rate is high, much like the rest of rural America. The tax burden placed on property owners is unduly high, given that there are so few that own so much of the ground and there is no industry or commerce to offset that burden. Yet, most see what they have as something valuable. It's a safe place for children to ride their bikes around town. It's a place where people volunteer and donate money to help community members in need. It's a place where people care enough to not stay out of your business.
It's certainly not for everyone. My wife, being from suburban Chicago could never live there. Privacy is essentially nonexistent, and people will remember what your Daddy did when he was 25 and think you must be just like him. And, I'd imagine I'm a little nostalgic for family as I sit alone in my Detroit apartment on a rainy day in June. I just miss my Indiana sometimes.
I started this post by talking about baking cookies. I sent some to work with Amanda, and her coworkers enjoyed them. However, I think I might take the next batch down the hall. I've found people in city apartment buildings don't usually do this, and, if I'm honest, I'm a little nosy about their lives and how they keep house. Mostly though, I just want a community. We have a large group of friends, but it's not the same as knowing the person living three doors down. I miss getting a phone call saying my dog is at the neighbors. I miss people dropping by on their way home from work to say hello. I miss people caring about something other than their daily lives, and working to improve the common good. I miss being able to accept a cookie from a stranger.
The old saying is simple, "Good fences make good neighbors." But today, when fences serve to keep others out instead of keeping us in, I think we need to amend the adage. "Good fences make good neighbors, but open doors make good neighborhoods." This week, I encourage you to open your door to a neighbor, or better yet, go knock on his. You might just find a community waiting for you.
For me, Indiana will always be home. Even in that brief recitation of a poem, I can hear the mixing of dialects in my speech. Recently, Amanda and I were having a conversation with some friends here about her inability to understand the speech of some of my friends and relatives when we go to Liberty for a visit. I've often made the case that I had to re-learn enunciation and elocution when I began to prepare for college. I didn't talk so good back then. Language is only a piece of that story though.
Liberty, IN is a place removed. Even in my childhood, the town square had a hardware store, furniture store, sewing shop, a couple small clothing stores, a restaurant, a lounge, a bank, insurance offices, and auctioneer's offices. Just off the square you could find law offices, a local grocery store, an art gallery, a collectibles shop, another bank, a post office, churches, and a small newspaper office. All of this was anchored by the Gothic Style courthouse and green lawn shadowed by 75 year old trees and dotted with war memorials and historical relics. Much of this is gone, but much of it remains as well. Other businesses have moved into the community. The grocery store and bank have changed locations but are still near the town center. It's always seemed as if Liberty was immune to the rural decay visible in so much of the country.
This continuation of a small town is partly accidental and partly intentional. Liberty isn't close to anything of importance geographically. It's at least 15 miles from any interstate highway. There is a tourist draw to the reservoir to the south during the summer, but otherwise it is undisturbed by the outside world. There is one factory to the east of town that represents the only industry in the county. The bulk of ground is used for farming. Still, the town sits within commutable distance to Cincinnati, OH, and many other medium sized cities that provide work opportunities for those in Liberty. However, it's the attitude of the people here that stands out as an exception. People here choose, by and large, to do business in the community. And, they also reinvest in the community.
This reinvestment is what I miss when I say I miss Indiana. I miss neighbors bringing pie and cookies to people who move in down the street (Though, I think they do it partially out of being nosy.). I miss community parades and Founder's Day festivals celebrating the small town's history. I miss kids walking home from school, and graduating seniors peppering them with water balloons on the last day of classes before summer. But, my Indiana isn't stuck in the past either. My Indiana is a place that continues to honor tradition, while trying to move forward into the modern world. Let me explain.
My parents, who didn't have cable television until I was in college, who live 3 miles outside of town, have high speed broadcast internet available to them. Just this week construction began on an English style pub and brewery in what has previously been a gas station and a upholstery shop. The town is changing, and many of the shops on the square are now empty, but I choose to be optimistic about the new investment in the community.
Towns are meant to be living and vibrant, and that's why Liberty (unlike so many other small towns in this country) continues to do well. Liberty chooses to move forward through self improvement, not outside aide. It still has it's problems. Meth, theft, and other criminal problems exist as they do in many rural areas today. The childhood poverty rate is high, much like the rest of rural America. The tax burden placed on property owners is unduly high, given that there are so few that own so much of the ground and there is no industry or commerce to offset that burden. Yet, most see what they have as something valuable. It's a safe place for children to ride their bikes around town. It's a place where people volunteer and donate money to help community members in need. It's a place where people care enough to not stay out of your business.
It's certainly not for everyone. My wife, being from suburban Chicago could never live there. Privacy is essentially nonexistent, and people will remember what your Daddy did when he was 25 and think you must be just like him. And, I'd imagine I'm a little nostalgic for family as I sit alone in my Detroit apartment on a rainy day in June. I just miss my Indiana sometimes.
I started this post by talking about baking cookies. I sent some to work with Amanda, and her coworkers enjoyed them. However, I think I might take the next batch down the hall. I've found people in city apartment buildings don't usually do this, and, if I'm honest, I'm a little nosy about their lives and how they keep house. Mostly though, I just want a community. We have a large group of friends, but it's not the same as knowing the person living three doors down. I miss getting a phone call saying my dog is at the neighbors. I miss people dropping by on their way home from work to say hello. I miss people caring about something other than their daily lives, and working to improve the common good. I miss being able to accept a cookie from a stranger.
The old saying is simple, "Good fences make good neighbors." But today, when fences serve to keep others out instead of keeping us in, I think we need to amend the adage. "Good fences make good neighbors, but open doors make good neighborhoods." This week, I encourage you to open your door to a neighbor, or better yet, go knock on his. You might just find a community waiting for you.