South Side of Town

All of my life I have hated going to town. When we were in the city, we didn’t call it “going to town” rather, town was everywhere, all around. It was simple enough to run into a store, whatever kind it might be, on whatever day at whatever time. It usually only took 2-10 minutes to get almost anywhere and I could be done shopping and on my way home within an hour. The whole experience of “going to town” was business only.

I mean, when you go into the grocery or whatever, the clerks are busy. They don’t have time nor do they care to converse much with their patrons. Rather it is a “get in, get done, and get out” kind of thing. Yeah, the clerk may have a smile on their face and may make a little small talk but, you know that they will not remember you 5 minutes from now let alone a week from now. You are a number, a bank account, a dollar. Sometimes you’d stumble into a small business where the owner was the one behind the counter and you could tell that they were glad you were there but most often, this is not the case. I never enjoyed having to “go to town”

“Going to town” is different now. Out here in the country it takes time to get to town. The closest town is about 12 miles away but it takes us nearly 40 minutes to get there. It is very small. The welcome sign says 231 people live there and we only go there for convenience Items, fuel, or cigarettes OR, to stop at one of the several thrift stores. There is one gas station, 3 restaurants (a diner, Subway, and a pizza place), one tobacco store, a dollar store, a small auto parts store, a couple of mechanics, a barber, and two small doctor’s offices. There isn’t much else except a couple of churches. It’s the kind of place that, unless you live there, you only pass thru. We end up going there less then once a month.

The other town that we visit regularly (roughly once every 10 days or so), is around 25 miles away however, it is an hour of travel time for us. Travel here takes so long because we live so remote. Even though it’s only 25 miles, it takes us 20 minutes to travel up our two mile driveway to the main road and another 30 to get into city limits. Going to town is not as simple as it used to be but, that’s ok by me.

I only tell you all about town because I think it is such a special little town. When you come in from the north you first drive thru the “Big Box” district. Most of the businesses on that end of town are chain stores like Wally-world or Aldi or Home Depot. Headed south, you pass thru the center of town (not the Town Center). There is a large cross-roads there. You begin to notice the Big Boxes change over to Mom and Pop’s and other locally owned businesses. You begin to see banks and “the mall” (coming from NWI, this mall is not a mall rather, a “S-mall” but,i digress). Depending on which road you chose at the “Crossroads” you may go south east toward the factory district or south west toward thru the “Auto Repair” district into “Old Town”. My favorite part of town is “Old town”.

Old town is almost exactly as I would imagine. Of course there is city hall and the county courthouse on the square but there are also numerous little specialty shops. There is a shoe store and a craft store and a book store. There are a couple of clothing boutiques and numerous “junk” shops but, my favorite part of town is just past the square.

My favorite part of town might be called “the packing district”, maybe… This area is the oldest stores. There is a feed store where we purchase feed, medicine, and bedding for our animals. There is also meat processor and an old hardware type store. There is a hunting store and a small engine repair shop. Around the corner is a barber who also sells guns. Down the street is a small deli/bakery, a couple of art studios, and a couple shops that are home goods kind of places (i.e. tile/flooring, cabinetry, hand made furniture, etc.) All of these stores are privately owned businesses. There is not a single Big Box on this end of town.

I absolutely love going to the south side of town. When you go into any of these stores from “Old Town” south, you will always find friendly faces. These people smile when you walk in and always have a few minutes for conversation. They are always friendly and there to help.

When shopping on the south end of town, I always feel like I’m going to visit friends. These store clerks and business owners care about their patrons. They remember you when you walk in and they are always ready with help or advise. If they don’t have what you’re looking for then they most certainly know who does. I love doing my shopping on the south side of town.