Growing Up in a Small Town

You know everyone in the 4th of July Parade.

You can name everyone in your high school graduation class.

You know what 4-H is and can name all four H's.

You used to "drag main street".

Whey you said the "F" word, your parents knew about it within an hour.

You scheduled parties around the schedule of different police officers, because you knew who would bust you and who wouldn't.

You went to parties at a pasture, barn, gravel pit, or in the middle of a dirt road. On Monday, you could tell who was at the party because of the scratches on the legs from running through the woods when the party got busted.

You would never buy cigarettes because every store clerk knew how old you were. Even if you were old enough, they'd still tell your parents.

When you did find somebody old enough and brave enough to buy cigarettes, you still had to drive on country roads to smoke them.

You knew which ditch held the beer your buyer dropped off.

It was cool to date somebody from the neighboring town.

The whole school went to the same party after graduation.

You gave directions by people, not street names.

You had no choice but to date your friends' ex's.

Your car was always filthy because of the dirt roads and no one bought dark-colored vehicles.

Everyone considered a nearby town to be "trashy" or "snooty", but it was actually exactly like your town.

You referred to anyone with a house newer than 1970 as the "rich folks."

You thought people in the "city" dressed funny, until you picked up the trend two years later.

Anyone you wanted could be found at the gas station.

You saw at least one friend a week driving his tractor through town.

You had friends who occasionally drove a grain truck to school.

The gym teacher suggested you should build your strength by "bucking bales this summer."

All directions included "the stop light" as a reference.

You decide to walk somewhere for exercise and five people stop to ask if you need a ride.

Your teachers often called you by your older sibling's names.

Your teachers mentioned when they had your parents in class.

The closest mall was a long drive.

You thought nothing of seeing an old man riding through town on a riding lawn mower.

You've peed in a cornfield.

Most people went by a nickname.

- Al Lowe

Piggott High School's wonderful biology teacher in the 60's used to say: "We don't want industry to come to Piggott. It will change our way of life."

She also used to say: "Don't worry about making a C on this test. We need street sweepers and ditch diggers."

And if she was particularly groused at your behavior in class, she would say: "You will be excommunicated, decapitated and boiled in oil."

She was loved for her total dedication to her profession and for her quirkiness. And she was very sincere about not wanting to change her way of life in a small town.

The following is an interesting website that concerns itself with this issue and more: Small Towns:

Rural Rebound
Rural Renaissance
Urban Expatriates
Booming Boondocks

Most rural areas in the United States are now growing at the fastest rate in more than 20 years. Rural population gains between 1990 and 2000 have been both extremely widespread and substantial. Fueled by an influx of migrants from urban areas and fewer people leaving, rural gains since 1990 are near record levels. They reflect a sharp reversal of the trend of the 1980s, when most rural (nonmetropolitan) areas lost population. This is only the second period or widespread nonmetropolitan growth in 80 years.

Nonmetropolitan areas - those without an urban center of 50,000 or more - gained 5.2 million additional residents (10.3 percent) between April 1990 and April 2000. In contrast, such areas grew by only 1.3 million during the 1980s. Almost 74 percent of the 2303 rural counties are now growing, compared to only 45 percent during the 1980s.

- Kenneth M. Jackson, Calvin L. Beale, "The Rural Rebound Recent Nonmetropolitan Demographic Trends in the United States.