Tell me about your home town

Chasey_Lane

Salt Life
Waldorf, MD. :buddies: I moved to St Mary's County in my mid twenties and I've lived in Lexington Park for 7 years. I like it here but I'd much rather move west... it's my favorite part of the USA. :dye:
 

pelers

Active Member
Small town in central WA state, population at the time was 5,314. Very pedestrian friendly, sidewalks everywhere except the back residential streets. We had a candy store where you could walk in with $0.50 and come out with a bag of candy. No big box stores, all local business. We didn't even get a McDonald's until I was nearly through high school. Espresso stand on every street corner (NO STARBUCKS!)

Blazing hot in the summer. Would get up in the morning and spend all day riding my bike around, meeting up with friends and hanging out at the park. Spend a few hours each summer day at the community pool and then ride my bike until it got dark.

Lots of snow for sledding in the winter with plenty of good hills to go down. We usually used the rows in the apple orchards as race tracks.

Funny how I absolutely hated growing up there, but now I look back and remember it so fondly. No way in hell I'd let my kids stay out here (Lex Pk) riding their bikes without checking in all day.
 

Dupontster

Would THIS face lie?
Tell me about your hometown!

Scotland, MD

Most of you have no idea where it is
and we like it that way.
20687

The end of the County

Another Scotlander here! Grew up in the tobacco fields in the summer time and stripping houses in the winter time. Mom worked at the Scotland Post Office. Buzzy's was the place we would stop on the way home from church on Saturday night to drop off the empty Pepsi bottles and pick up some new ones. If we were lucky, we would stop at CDs for ice cream - get there near closing and the owner would give us what he cleaned out of the machines. We always laughed when at least once a month during the summer, we would spot a little black kid running away from camp, Camp Brown, and headed back home to DC on foot because he was homesick. The creek was our back yard, and our excitement was a trip to the Hub for a new pair of corduroy Levis. The dinner bell was our clue that it was time to come home - no cell phone or text. And there was always a minibike, go-cart or motorcycle on the farm that would scratch us up and keep us in check! Times in Scotland really haven't changed as drastically as other places - tobacco replaced by corn, the post office is closed, no more return of Pepsi bottles, and the black kids at the camp have been replaced by minorities....

My Uncle was the President, Mayor, Administrator, and whatever else of Scotland...
 
The top 20 places to live got me homesick. I'm from the best city in America, even though it's not on the "official list".

Lincoln, NE - pop. 262,341

Smack dab in the middle of the US, Lincoln boasts a major university and several smaller ones, a pretty darn good college football program, and several incredible performing arts venues. There are numerous opportunities for entertainment and restaurants for every taste.

Lincoln has a proper downtown, with offices, shopping, bars and restaurants, and apartments all within walking distance. In fact, that's what we used to do when I was a teen - go downtown and hang out. You feel safe at night roaming the downtown streets because there are always a bunch of other people doing the same - going to movies, dinner, or just walking around.

In the summer, they close off a section of downtown to traffic for a weekend and have a huge street party with bands, crafts and food. Throughout the year there are a bunch of other festivals, including a BBQ cookoff and (I kid you not) a Zombiefest.

Lincoln is a city, with city amenities, but has small town charm and friendliness. It's laid out in neighborhoods - Capitol Beach, University Place, Belmont, etc - each of which have their own unique personality and mini-downtown commercial area.

It has four television stations with real reporters and new anchors, plus a zillion radio stations.

There is also a municipal airport right in the city that I usually fly into when I go back, and a larger airport 50 miles away in Omaha.

So! There's Lincoln. Tell me about your home town!

Yep me too....remember Mel Mains from channel 10? The best pizza in the world comes from Vals, Runza is to die for, and Zesto Ice Cream....heaven!!!!
 

SEABREEZE 1957

My 401K is now a 201K
Va. Beach in the 60's & 70's. I loved it.
Dad was stationed at NAS Oceana. I'm a Navy brat & veteran; born in Jacksonville, FL, but left when I was 2. Moved here in 2000.
 

buddscreek

Active Member
Buddscreek, Md pop: Oliver's & Amish.
like most smib's grew up in the "bacca" fields and on the water.
don't think i will ever leave.
 

HeavyChevy75

Podunk FL
I grew up in Douglas, MA.

Population in the 2000: 7,045
Population now: 8000 fulltime

There were no traffic lights in the town. Only recently did they put one up by the high school due to accidents.

Most of the town is taken up by a state park so it is pretty small.

Grocery store is 20-25 minutes away. Movie Theater 40 minutes away. Mall 40 minutes away.

I used to ride my horse through the center of town and no one would be shocked.

4-h was a big thing for a social life.

The old railroad tracks were great for 4 wheeling, biking, horse back riding, etc. They are part of the state park system now also.

It was/is a quiet boring town.
 

BernieP

Resident PIA
I'd retire back there, but too much snow for me and too cold.

The weather is definitely not a plus, but from a tax perspective it's one of the friendlier states for retirees -state income tax isn't very big and they give you a break on pensions (and exclude SS).

Problem is that while real estate prices here have flatlined, property values in our "hometown" have continued to grow.
 

Pete

Repete
Wrens, GA - pop. 2,184

Nestled about 10 miles east-south east of the rolling hills and scenic beauty of the Piedmont region in east central Georgia, Wrens is neither picturesque nor beautiful. Wrens boasts an elementary school built in the 1950’s surrounded by portable classrooms and hopelessly outdated the middle school was instituted from the high school facility when a new high school was built. The new high school boasts a state of the art, fully staffed daycare center to care for the multitude infants born to students because of Wrens exceptionally high rate of teenage pregnancy. The only thing that could be confused with an arts venue is the “Squares Building” which is a hall that hosts bi annual “dances” attended by the aristocracy of the town and their friends. The events are BYOB because curiously Jefferson County for years was a dry county and alcohol sales were prohibited. I say curious because if you lived in Wrens the only escape from complete boredom and abject misery was getting good and #### faced daily. The only other form of entertainment was to hang out at the Park and Ride on the north end of town on US Route 1 and every 30 minutes or so drive to the south side of town to the Dairy Queen parking lot, a trip of about 9 minutes.

Wrens has a proper downtown, unremarkable strip of one and two story buildings built in the nondescript 1960’s architectural style, sharp corners, brick fascia, square/rectangular with no distinguishing features what so ever. In architectural circles what is called an “eyesore”. The only office is the doctors office which was bought by a Korean physician in 1980 when the 100 year old resident doctor passed away. There are no bars because drinking is sinning and the good Baptists will not allow one within the city. Everyone must drive out to the “private clubs” (Read: No blacks, spics, Jews, A-Rabs, or extreme rednecks) in the surrounding area to get drunk or like the town elders do get falling down drunk at home. Everything, and I mean everything in town is within walking distance however, despite its small town charm it is unwise to travel on foot at night. There hasn’t been a murder in Wrens in 85 years but this author believes it is because people are too lazy to kill their opponent. It is much easier to stand across the street and heckle them.
Wrens is a city, with virtually no amenities what so ever aside from the US Post Office the Yankees made them put in after the big war. It's laid out in neighborhoods – North side of Main Street- the most affluent, North end which is middle class, South side which is a bizarre mixture of residential and industrial, “The Bottoms” which is literally a 3rd world slum of tar paper shacks and old houses on pillars of crumbling bricks, and Pine Valley, which does have pines but nothing even close to a valley, a massive Section 8 housing complex built in the 1970’s, destroyed by the residents neglect within 3 years and still inhabited by those who escaped “The Bottoms”. Like Lincoln these neighborhoods all have their unique personality.

It has one television station WCES Channel 20 which is Georgia Public Television, the Jefferson Reporter with a robust social section brimming with social announcements IE: Mrs. Emmy Lee Usry visited Mrs. Margret Sue Palmer Sunday afternoon for finger sandwiches and tea. The climate is a mixture of stifling heat wrapped in astounding humidity in the summer and bitter cold and barren winters. Snow rarely even falls to cover the blight. The bright side is there are few mosquito's, in their place are gnats, tiny swarming fly-like insects that do not bite but they swarm, land and crawl into the eyes, nostrils and ears. Other insects prevalent include roaches and other prehistoric looking biting insects such as deer flies, horse flies and dung beetles.
So there it is, Wrens Georgia!
 
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pilot

Member
I grew up in what we called the "Twin Cities" of Southwest Michigan--Benton Harbor and St. Joseph (or, as we called it, "St. Joe"). It was one of those resort communities that people fanticize about moving to with rolling hills, fruit farms, wineries, panoramic views of Lake Michigan and numerous smaller inland lakes, miles of empty beaches with extremely high sand dunes (the world's highest freshwater sand dunes are along the coast of Lake Michigan), and an old-time amusement park on one of the beaches. The amusement park had a carousel with hand-carved horses that was a work of art. Recently a local organization restored and re-opened the carousel.

In the summer we'd hang out at the beach, go for dune buggy rides, and fish in the numerous small lakes, in fall we'd pick apples and enjoy the foliage, in winter there was cross-country skiing and snow-mobiling, and in spring there was the "Blossom Festival" when all the fruit trees would blossom. It was truly the land of four seasons.

We even had our own local religious cult called the House of David. The men all had really long beards, and they had a baseball team that was famous throughtout the country in the first half of the 20th Century. You can still see pictures of them with their baseball uniforms and long beards. By the time I was growing up in the 60's and 70's, the cult was largely defunct, but they still had a small amusement park that featured go-cart rides, pony rides, homemade ice cream, and a miniature train. It was a kid's fantasy!

Of course, as a kid, I took all of this for granted, as did most of my peers.

The area is very rurual and always has been, but in recent years wealthy Chicagoans have been moving in and buying summer homes along the beach. The locals call them "FIPs": "F-- Illinois People".

Sometimes I miss it but I've long since learned that there are many beautiful places throughout the world.
 
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Merlin99

Visualize whirled peas
PREMO Member
Waterford Mi.

Within 5 miles of my house is where Ted Nugent, Bob Seger and Kid Rock lived. Aside from that it's biggest claim to fame is Oakland-Pontiac airport which is where GM, Chrysler and Ford used to keep their fleets of corporate jets.
 

RoseRed

American Beauty
PREMO Member
Wrens, GA - pop. 2,184

Nestled about 10 miles east-south east of the rolling hills and scenic beauty of the Piedmont region in east central Georgia, Wrens is neither picturesque nor beautiful. Wrens boasts an elementary school built in the 1950’s surrounded by portable classrooms and hopelessly outdated the middle school was instituted from the high school facility when a new high school was built. The new high school boasts a state of the art, fully staffed daycare center to care for the multitude infants born to students because of Wrens exceptionally high rate of teenage pregnancy. The only thing that could be confused with an arts venue is the “Squares Building” which is a hall that hosts bi annual “dances” attended by the aristocracy of the town and their friends. The events are BYOB because curiously Jefferson County for years was a dry county and alcohol sales were prohibited. I say curious because if you lived in Wrens the only escape from complete boredom and abject misery was getting good and #### faced daily. The only other form of entertainment was to hang out at the Park and Ride on the north end of town on US Route 1 and every 30 minutes or so drive to the south side of town to the Dairy Queen parking lot, a trip of about 9 minutes.

Wrens has a proper downtown, unremarkable strip of one and two story buildings built in the nondescript 1960’s architectural style, sharp corners, brick fascia, square/rectangular with no distinguishing features what so ever. In architectural circles what is called an “eyesore”. The only office is the doctors office which was bought by a Korean physician in 1980 when the 100 year old resident doctor passed away. There are no bars because drinking is sinning and the good Baptists will not allow one within the city. Everyone must drive out to the “private clubs” (Read: No blacks, spics, Jews, A-Rabs, or extreme rednecks) in the surrounding area to get drunk or like the town elders do get falling down drunk at home. Everything, and I mean everything in town is within walking distance however, despite its small town charm it is unwise to travel on foot at night. There hasn’t been a murder in Wrens in 85 years but this author believes it is because people are too lazy to kill their opponent. It is much easier to stand across the street and heckle them.
Wrens is a city, with virtually no amenities what so ever aside from the US Post Office the Yankees made them put in after the big war. It's laid out in neighborhoods – North side of Main Street- the most affluent, North end which is middle class, South side which is a bizarre mixture of residential and industrial, “The Bottoms” which is literally a 3rd world slum of tar paper shacks and old houses on pillars of crumbling bricks, and Pine Valley, which does have pines but nothing even close to a valley, a massive Section 8 housing complex built in the 1970’s, destroyed by the residents neglect within 3 years and still inhabited by those who escaped “The Bottoms”. Like Lincoln these neighborhoods all have their unique personality.

It has one television station WCES Channel 20 which is Georgia Public Television, the Jefferson Reporter with a robust social section brimming with social announcements IE: Mrs. Emmy Lee Usry visited Mrs. Margret Sue Palmer Sunday afternoon for finger sandwiches and tea.
So there it is, Wrens Georgia!

You do have a way with words. :lmao:
 

Lilypad

Well-Known Member
Annapolis, Md...also known as a "drinking town with a sailing problem."
Grew up on the water, walked everywhere and knew all my neighbors; had a wonderful childhood in what once was a great town.
 
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