My Hometown
Today I am grateful for safe travels, time with family, beautiful weather and a new day ahead.
Yesterday morning I went for a run, leaving from my mom's place a couple miles from town. Town being my hometown of Ossian, Iowa. I ran into town, down streets, and past homes and businesses. I could tell you who lived in a number of the houses, currently or previously. I could point out what had changed on our main street-which also happens to be U.S. Highway 52-and what had stayed the same.
Yesterday morning I went for a run, leaving from my mom's place a couple miles from town. Town being my hometown of Ossian, Iowa. I ran into town, down streets, and past homes and businesses. I could tell you who lived in a number of the houses, currently or previously. I could point out what had changed on our main street-which also happens to be U.S. Highway 52-and what had stayed the same.
Ossian, a community of about 800, is ever-evolving. As I ran past Carey's Park, I paused to take this picture. The log cabin to the back right in the photo and the top of the grain elevator in the back left have been around longer than I have. The picnic shelter and veteran's memorial are newer, as is the digital sign welcoming us all. It seemed a fitting photo of Ossian, past and present.
I am grateful for my hometown. It is surprisingly vibrant and tenacious. I am grateful my family's roots are here and that many family members remain in the area. It gives me a reason to visit regularly.
Much has changed. There is a Casey's convenience store across the street from the park now. In my childhood, it was Carey's Store. We would stop there after church sometimes and spend some of our allowance on candy and pop.
Much has stayed the same. Businesses that have been handed from generation to generation. Church parishes that thrive. Clean streets and tidy homes.
Here is a post about Ossian that I wrote in January of 2014. It includes a couple of videos if anyone from the area wants to take a trip down memory lane.
Pause and consider your hometown. What has changed? What has stayed the same? What are you most grateful for when you think about it? For me, it is familiarity and shared history.
I am grateful for my hometown. It is surprisingly vibrant and tenacious. I am grateful my family's roots are here and that many family members remain in the area. It gives me a reason to visit regularly.
Much has changed. There is a Casey's convenience store across the street from the park now. In my childhood, it was Carey's Store. We would stop there after church sometimes and spend some of our allowance on candy and pop.
Much has stayed the same. Businesses that have been handed from generation to generation. Church parishes that thrive. Clean streets and tidy homes.
Here is a post about Ossian that I wrote in January of 2014. It includes a couple of videos if anyone from the area wants to take a trip down memory lane.
Pause and consider your hometown. What has changed? What has stayed the same? What are you most grateful for when you think about it? For me, it is familiarity and shared history.
Funny... yesterday found a video of someone driving through my hometown (where I still live) in 1960. It was very nostalgic. Video like that in 1960 was rare. Today it is child's play. It brought back lots of memories and it was neat to see what was different in the city and what is still the same.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the ease of capturing video today, but I think we lose some of that nostalgia you reference. People make crazier and crazier videos to get noticed. What about simply noticing what is there and appreciating it, video or not? Thanks Steve!
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