Small Town Livin’

Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’
Eighteen out of the twenty-two years of my life have been spent living in a small town. My first home was in a small town called Woodslee, which if you Wikipedia it, will tell you it’s actually a village. We spent our childhood days playing baseball in the lot next to my house, riding bikes with the neighborhood kids, and going to the local Jim’s Esso to stock up on penny candies and ice cream sandwiches. Eight years later, our family made a huge move to the slightly larger town of Belle River, population roughly 5000 and one street light.

It was when I moved to the city of London, and perhaps even more predominant when I recently moved to Toronto, that I really began to notice how vastly different the two worlds, and their occupants, are. Things that I thought were completely the norm, turned out to be unheard of in the city (such as strangers waving and saying hi without being creepy).  After conversing with my friends about growing up in a small town, I decided to compile a list of humourous small town occurrences that you probably wouldn’t see in the city:

1. Me, my oldest sister, and my brother all worked in the same local grocery store.
2. The Chinese restaurant in our town is owned and operated by the only Chinese family that lives in our town.
3. My eighteenth birthday party was spent illegally drinking in a bush. We gathered around a fire, drank cheap coolers and Malibu rum, and left trails of TP by every pee-tree.
4. Our mayor also owns the only sports bar in the town. He also opened a coffee shop. And he goes by the name of Big Al.
5. Virtually every one in my town is French. It is rare to hear if someone is Italian (two families that I know), Black (only one black family in my high school), Chinese (see #2), or basically any other nationality other than French Canadian.
6. Pier-jumping is a common summer activity, especially between lunch and fourth-period.
7. The highlight of our summer is attending each neighboring town’s summer festivals – they are each named after a food (ie. Strawberry fest, Corn fest), have a beauty pageant, and a beer tent filled with plastic cups and country music (special guest is always the local Shania Twain impersonator).
8. My father calls me up with the latest local gossip before I can even get it on Facebook.
9. I have heard that my town has the largest beer sales per capita in Canada.
10. The Dairy Freeze is the best place to go for ice cream. They also serve burgers and hot dogs and deliver the food right to your car like they did in the 50s.
11. The average age to get married and have kids is roughly 22 (I’m already seeing wedding pictures of people younger than me).
12. The best hang out on a Friday night is the Jr.C hockey games. Literally everyone from our town fills up the arena.
13. When you can sing the full lyrics to more Journey songs than ‘don’t stop believing’
    

These are just a few things I’ve noticed about growing up in a small town. And although it may make us seem culturally ignorant, or hickish, looking back I wouldn’t want to grow up any other way. There’s something innocent and quaint about small-town living that you just can’t find in the city.

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