You know you live in a small town when...

[Winger Ed.]

It didn't make the national news, but our town had a election too.
We got a new mayor- our recently retired, very popular, Police Chief, who won with 156 votes, to the incumbent's 130.

I never met the guy, but looking at his bio- it lists he grew up near here, career Police Officer, blah, blah, blah,
and he's also a 'auto parts specialist'.
Mrs. Winger looked him up on the city web site with pictures...

Today, I was doing some of the 60,000 mile maint. on the '06 F250, and made a parts store run.
We were watching the election coverage for here and Virginia, and when our results were in, Mrs. Winger
asked me if an old fat guy waited on me at the parts store, ,,,,, or if I saw one there,,, other than myself.

I said yeah, friendly old guy, knows his stuff too.
He works part time, off & on. I'd seen and talked to him before.

She then informed me, "He's our new mayor".

[contender1]

Excellent.
Sometimes,,, truly good people do get elected.

A little side note;
Definition of a small town; "It's a place where everybody knows who's check is good, and who's spouse isn't."

[Budzilla 19]

Little town I grew up in, “Longville” , the town signs were, .................. exactly 1,000 feet apart!!!! Hahaha.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

The previous Mayor of Glencoe, owned the local Hardware store.
He had the personality of a used car salesman. I kind of liked the man, but he did like to spend the City's money and I wasn't crazy about that, but I guess that's how small towns become large towns?

[sparky45]

You know you live in a small town when the city's water tower is the tallest structure within the city limits.

[StuBach]

“Of the people, for the people”


Seems I’ve heard that somewhere before… would be nice if more politicians were of the people so maybe they’d be for the people too.

[lightman]

I consider myself living in a small town, population of around 2800. The tallest building in town is the local bank and its 2 stories. But we can drive 30 miles in 3 different directions and be at a Walmart Supercenter or a nice place to eat.

Its been a good place to work and live.

[bedbugbilly]

I grew up in a rural area wheee we had a small town and everybody used to know e veyody else.

I remember being at the local "coffee table" at the restaurant one day with my Dad and there were a bunch of the locals sitting around solving the world's problems when the subject of "small towns" came up. One guy asked . . "How do you know when a town is a "small town". One of the local farmers piped up and simply said . . . "When you mail your cousin a birthday present and your wife get's it the next day." Never forgot that and have often chucked over it

[quilbilly]

You know you are in a small town when the big social event of the week is going to the dump and you know most of the people there.

[Armorer77]

In the late 1970's I rode through a small town , signs on both sides of the post . PO / general store .

[Larry Gibson]

My town was so small after not seeing anyone to talk to for so long I was depressed and looking up said" God please help me". A few moments later a voice boomed out....."I'd like to son but where the hell are you......"

[blackthorn]

I grew up in a rural area wheee we had a small town and everybody used to know e veyody else.

I remember being at the local "coffee table" at the restaurant one day with my Dad and there were a bunch of the locals sitting around solving the world's problems when the subject of "small towns" came up. One guy asked . . "How do you know when a town is a "small town". One of the local farmers piped up and simply said . . . "When you mail your cousin a birthday present and your wife get's it the next day." Never forgot that and have often chucked over it

I found this to be particularly amusing because in 1992 my wife of 32 years decided to move to England to cohabit with her first cousin. Now, this may seem to some like a major catastrophic event but it was the best decision she ever made! That decision has allowed me to meet and marry the best and finest woman in this world---bar none! We have been together since shortly after wife #1 left, releasing me from a very bad bargain made in the idiocy of youth! I did get two great sons, a lovely Granddaughter and a great Grandson out of the first deal, along with three awesome step kids and three step-grand kids. So, all's well that ends well!!!

[MaryB]

When you get a text that a strange car is in town and to watch for it... then get one saying to ignore it, Mr X got a new car today and is bringing it home(yes people knew before he drove it home!).

We have a town text tree, send a text to it and it goes out to everyone. Water alerts mostly, or a call for help..

[sundog]

You know you are in a small town when the big social event of the week is going to the dump and you know most of the people there.

Oh, yeah! The Sunday rat shoot.

[Shawlerbrook]

Our small town doesn’t have a stop light or Post Office and Mrs. shawlerbrook won as Town Supervisor yesterday with 143 votes.

[Winger Ed.]

Today I had to make a run to the horse Doctor to get some pills for willie, our 17 yr. old little tatter tot.

I went through a neighboring community of about 900 that's 7-8 miles from here.
They don't have a traffic light, but in 'downtown', there was a big flock of buzzards chowing down on a recent road kill---- it was a deer.

[Geezer in NH]

You know you live in a small town when the city's water tower is the tallest structure within the city limits.or don't have a water tower as there is no water system in town. Everyone has their own well.

[MrWolf]

My mailing address is the small town with a population of around 500. I am not even in the same county, maybe 5 miles from there and the boundary goes another 10 miles or so past me. Folks see my address and ask why would you live there? Have to explain in next county as it is a known drug area.

[RogerDat]

If your drivers license lists you PO box as the address. Ex father in law had that where he lived in north Florida.

If the local monster truck that is some young mans pride and joy gets dwarfed by the farm equipment using the main four intersection in the center of town. Good thing size don't matter because that fellows truck roof didn't make it to the top of the tires on the tank trailer going through next to it.

If a good neighbor is defined as one who only burns their garbage when the wind is blowing toward the woods and not toward your house.

If there is exactly zero chance of going through the nearest Walmart without your wife meeting someone she hasn't seen in "forever" so you spend at least 15 minutes catching up with a 50% chance that someone they both know and haven't seen in ages will come along and join in.

Yep those are all the clean ones I can recall.

[Winger Ed.]

Good thing size don't matter because that fellows truck roof didn't make it to the top of the tires on the tank trailer going through next to it.
.

Rules of the road around here is very clear about when coming to a intersection where a stop sign is on all corners---
and two or more people pull up to it at the same time----- whoever has the biggest tires goes first.

[hoodat]

Our water tower -- and flag pole, are the tallest structures by far. Within a 1/2 mile radius, you can farm taters and alfalfa, buy groceries, fill your tank, go to church, hunt ducks, deer, quail and coyotes. We claim a population of 7 or 8 hundred. Two cops keep the peace, and it's pretty tough for them-- to stay awake. It's about as close as you can get to living in Mayberry. jd

And we have a kind of sideways outlook on things. :razz:

[pworley1]

Our town has about 300 residents. We have an elementary school, a bank, a drug store, a cafe, a service station, 5 churches, and no traffic light. Most of the families have been here for several generations. We are one of the new families, we have only been here 5 generations so far.

[BunkTheory]

You know its a small town when they have to hold the family reunion on election days so as to make sure everyone shows up

[10x]

A newspaper only survives in a small town despite the fact that every one knows what every one else is doing. They only read the paper to find out who got caught.

[JoeJames]

I consider myself living in a small town, population of around 2800. The tallest building in town is the local bank and its 2 stories. But we can drive 30 miles in 3 different directions and be at a Walmart Supercenter or a nice place to eat.

Its been a good place to work and live.

Here the tallest occupied building is the courthouse which was built in 1895. It has three stories. Grain elevators are the tallest structures. You know Fall is here when you hear the rice dryer going.

[bedbugbilly]

I came back to this thread with my morning coffee to eat the posts. Maybe it's "nostalgia" but I actually woke up last night and had trouble going back to sleep and was thinking about "small towns".

Where I grew up - it has grown so much that I hardly know anyone anymore. I wold see people and have to ask my wife - who is not a "native" but she taught school for over thirty years in the local district - I wold have to ask her who they were as she had their kids.

Yea . . in small towns people know everyone else's business and at times it can be irritating . . . but in the town I grew up near . . . people cared about each other. It was when there was no "entitlement" programs, no welfare, no food stamps or any of those things. Some folks may not have had a whole lot of money but they had their pride and if they had to, they worked two jobs. I knew many who farmed small farms and worked in shops as well.

In the town i grew up near, there was a blind woman who lived in a small house. She was older and literally had nothing other than her house - yet she never wanted for anything because the "community" took care of her. The local Standard Oil distributor - a friend of my Dads, kept her fuel oil tank full yet no one every knew it. The owner of the local small grocery kept her supplied with food. My folks owned a lumberyard and I can remember that her house roof was bad and my Dad noticed it as he drove right by her house everyday he went to work. My Dad talked to a contractor he did business with and on a weekend, the contractor had rounded up a number of men and they tore the old roof off, repaired, put up new roof sheathing and re-roofed it. My folks furnished the materials at no charge with the understanding that nobody was to anybody who furnished the materials. I was with my Dad one night when he met the contractor and several other men at the lumberyard and they loaded up what they needed.

Back in those days, Doctors stlll made house calls and the old Doctor who went to my grandparent's house to take care of them, also took care of the woman. If she needed care beyond what he cold give her, he arranged for it through other Doctors or Specialists that he knew and as far as I know, the woman never received a bill. The small town knew her circumstances and as a result - the "political machine" of the town kept her assessments low and her property taxes a a minimum - and the tax bills were taken care of by several Fraternal Organizations in the area.

Farmers helped the farmers out. If a crop was ready to harvest and a farmer had a tractor or picker broken down, his neighbors showed up and made sure the crop got harvested. If sickness struck a farmer . . . the neighbors made sure the chores got done and the cows got milked.

We all can joke and get a chuckle about our "small towns" and most who grew up or live jn one can certainly relate . . . but all I can say is "Thank God for small towns"! I look at what is going on in this country today and it's a shame that the lessons that they have to teach about neighbors caring for neighbors, people willing to help others regardless of if they agree with some of their thinkings, the sounds of church bells on Sunday morning where neighbors gather to thank God for the blessings they have, not what they don't have - and the list goes on and on - yea . . ."small towns" are the backbone of this country as far as i'm concerned and people could learn some valuable lessons from them about the important things in life if they would only stop their greed long enough to actually listen and learn.

OP - I'm glad you made this post as it has brought back a lot of good memories and I, for one, have greatly enjoyed what everyone has shared - I hope more will post.

[popper]

Yrs ago I was stationed near a small 'town', Dam neck Va. Town sign was mounted on a telephone pole, no building in sight.

[wv109323]

My father was born in a town that had no car road to it. The only way to get in or out was the train- a steam locomotive. You could park your car and walk about 2 miles.

[MaryB]

Under 300 people in my town, post office is one of their prefab buildings they drop on a slab... new water tower, the old one was rusted out and leaking. They kept i for fire fighting though, they can fill it from the town well(no longer used for drinking water, that comes in via pipeline) in 10 minutes and the rural tank trucks can fill fast from it.

New grain elevator, went with a massive steel bin. The old wood building had a wall blow out from rot and was in danger of collapse. Kid who salvaged all the timbers said it had a million nails in it! He is cutting 1x6's from the old timbers, outer pieces getting used as reclaimed wood for accent walls, inner pieces are old growth pine that is way harder than modern lumber.

Add in the bank and equipment repair place and that rounds out the town! No stop lights! Train runs through about once a week in spring and fall and maybe once a month in summer. VERY rare they make a winter run. Tracks are 15mph top speed and in bad shape...

[Lloyd Smale]

small town of about 500. We have two bars and an Indian casino but no post office. Towns name is Christmas michigan and i live on jingle bell lane. When i first moved here we had a post office that was in a party store and everyone came from miles around christmas time to get there mail post marked Christmas. Bars would never make it if it werent for tourists in the summer and snowmobilers in the winter.

[gpidaho]

A small town about thirty miles west of my house, Adrian Oregon, Has a school, a store and a bar-restaurant along with a few agriculture buildings and an Outhouse on an otherwise empty lot and a sign that says "City Hall" Gp

[SeabeeMan]

There are only 2 stoplights in the ENTIRE COUNTY, both located in Spooner, WI and within sight of each other. Graduating classes in the school I teach at range between upper teens and mid 20's.

[Misery-Whip]

In small towns are full of kind guestures, if ya break down they stop and help ya get goin again or get ya where you need to go. They dont try and run ya over.

there is always that person who can horse trade a home baked pie for a trumpet, or a batch of fresh cookies for a good used dryer for their neighbor.

Or bring you a cord of firewood when the see your stack is low, and you been sick. And its paid back by another kind act to them or another community member.

[memtb]

This happened quite a few years ago.....but, is still pretty amazing.

I moved to a small (about 2500 to 3000 people) town in Wyoming and within about 3 years married a home town girl. Around Christmas, a cousin of mine sent us a package....only our first names, the town name, and zip code. No last names, no street address......we received the package! memtb

[Lloyd Smale]

There are only 2 stoplights in the ENTIRE COUNTY, both located in Spooner, WI and within sight of each other. Graduating classes in the school I teach at range between upper teens and mid 20's.

we have one that was put in 3 years ago

[mexicanjoe]

in the little town I lived in where I met the future Mrs., folks were always happy to help out in any way they could. Feller got hurt and couldnt work, food was prepared and brought by, somebody had a raffle: funds for the family; kids got picked up and taken to school.... lots of good stuff happening. We missed church one day due to the Mrs having a head cold. Several of the ladies in church dropped by with hot meals. " Keep the casserole dish, I have others at home " was heard more than once. I was a deputy sheriff at the time, and I had to ask a feller to leave the convenience store; and he bowed up to me.... The entire high school football team was there buying refreshments. When they heard the feller, they all gathered around him as a group and STARED at him..... He got the message real quick!
What was funny was catching some of the rowdier kids driving and drinking beer. Several pleaded to be taken to jail as opposed to us calling mom and dad..... Ahhh the good old days?

[jonp]

I lost a race for Board Of Govenors by one vote. 7-6. This was 5 towns combined. My town had 4 residents. If Butch had shown up i might have won

[higgins]

The Post Office is closed for lunch, and you seldom have to wait to step up to the counter.; I've often been the only customer there. The clerks are friendly and willing to small talk. The only downside I've personally experienced is they never have enough cash on hand to cash a MO over about 20-30 dollars unless you happen to get there after they've sold a large MO or two, but that's no big deal since I can cash it at the bank in a couple or three days.

[ulav8r]

Went to the building supply this morning and bought 10 2x4's. I sat in the truck and let the workers load them. Watching in the mirror, I saw them sot through 25 or 30 to pick out better ones. I had not asked for anything special.

[jsizemore]

If your drivers license lists you PO box as the address. Ex father in law had that where he lived in north Florida.


That was probably 2 Egg, Fl.

[Thumbcocker]

In the Midwest if you live in a small town in the summer you make sure to lock your vehicles up at night. If you don't your front seat will fill up with zucchini.

[MaryB]

The dreaded zucchini bandits! Someone left a box full on my front steps. I hate the stuff so put it on the neighbors front steps LOL

[jonp]

This happened quite a few years ago.....but, is still pretty amazing.

I moved to a small (about 2500 to 3000 people) town in Wyoming and within about 3 years married a home town girl. Around Christmas, a cousin of mine sent us a package....only our first names, the town name, and zip code. No last names, no street address......we received the package! memtb

Reminds me of a story my grandfather told me. A guy he served with in Europe during WW2 sent him a letter and it was addressed only to his nickname "Kie". Postmaster asked someone who knew him to take it over. No address just the nickname and town as that was all his buddy remembered and there was only one "Kie".

The dreaded zucchini bandits!

Local bank always has a basket out front with zucchini and a free sign

If your drivers license lists you PO box as the address.

P.O. Box 12. Girlfriend did the mail delivery and had P.O. Box 1 The mailboxes were in the general store and if it was after hours like a Sunday as I normally got in I'd just knock on the back kitchen door and the store owners would let me in. I'd go out front and get my mail.

[Nazgul]

Moved to our town of about 800 30 years ago. Wife was in the Air Force and we moved here, her home town, when she got out. Shortly after arriving here she had her gall bladder go bad. Drove her to the hospital at 3:30 am, stopped because she was getting sick on the edge of a cornfield on a moonless night. Got her cleaned up and too the hospital. Next morning someone says "Was that you near so and so's place last night?". Can't stop to throw up in a cornfield on a moonless night at 3 in the morning without people knowing it.

Daughters and granddaughters HS class graduation was 26 kids.

One flashing red light, one part time Marshall.

Don

[kodiak1]

The town I grew up in was so small we didn't have a mayor. The old Veteran that run the post office was called the mayor! He was also called a nosey old fart by some!!

[M-Tecs]

You know you are in a small town when the big social event of the week is going to the dump and you know most of the people there.

One of the most depressing day in my life was when the town got large enough to justify a landfill. The town dump had awesome rat shooting.

[Idaho45guy]

In the town i grew up near, there was a blind woman who lived in a small house. She was older and literally had nothing other than her house - yet she never wanted for anything because the "community" took care of her. The local Standard Oil distributor - a friend of my Dads, kept her fuel oil tank full yet no one every knew it. The owner of the local small grocery kept her supplied with food. My folks owned a lumberyard and I can remember that her house roof was bad and my Dad noticed it as he drove right by her house everyday he went to work. My Dad talked to a contractor he did business with and on a weekend, the contractor had rounded up a number of men and they tore the old roof off, repaired, put up new roof sheathing and re-roofed it. My folks furnished the materials at no charge with the understanding that nobody was to anybody who furnished the materials. I was with my Dad one night when he met the contractor and several other men at the lumberyard and they loaded up what they needed.

Back in those days, Doctors stlll made house calls and the old Doctor who went to my grandparent's house to take care of them, also took care of the woman. If she needed care beyond what he cold give her, he arranged for it through other Doctors or Specialists that he knew and as far as I know, the woman never received a bill. The small town knew her circumstances and as a result - the "political machine" of the town kept her assessments low and her property taxes a a minimum - and the tax bills were taken care of by several Fraternal Organizations in the area.

Farmers helped the farmers out. If a crop was ready to harvest and a farmer had a tractor or picker broken down, his neighbors showed up and made sure the crop got harvested. If sickness struck a farmer . . . the neighbors made sure the chores got done and the cows got milked.

We all can joke and get a chuckle about our "small towns" and most who grew up or live jn one can certainly relate . . . but all I can say is "Thank God for small towns"! I look at what is going on in this country today and it's a shame that the lessons that they have to teach about neighbors caring for neighbors, people willing to help others regardless of if they agree with some of their thinkings, the sounds of church bells on Sunday morning where neighbors gather to thank God for the blessings they have, not what they don't have - and the list goes on and on - yea . . ."small towns" are the backbone of this country as far as i'm concerned and people could learn some valuable lessons from them about the important things in life if they would only stop their greed long enough to actually listen and learn.

OP - I'm glad you made this post as it has brought back a lot of good memories and I, for one, have greatly enjoyed what everyone has shared - I hope more will post.

Great story! Thanks for sharing it.

[Idaho45guy]

I live in a town of 1200 or so. No traffic lights, one bar/cafe. I live about 15 miles away from a "large" town of 35,000 where I work. The nearest "city" is Spokane, WA, about 65 miles North.

I love living in a small town for the most part. Amazon brings me whatever I can't find in the nearby larger town, and the crime rate is so low that it barely registers.

[butchbrandt]

I had an old buddy who lived in a tiny town. He told me... "I've lived here over 50 years. We have one stop sign, but I never have stopped at it."

[jonp]

One of the most depressing day in my life was when the town got large enough to justify a landfill. The town dump had awesome rat shooting.

Not to mention all that barely used stuff that you could take home with you.

[GL49]

My wife and I drove through a little town in Montana one Sunday morning about 8:30 am, there were two older guys in their Sunday best practicing with their fly rods in the road. They were in the middle of what was "downtown", each one of them had one lane on the two lane road. They politely moved into one lane, smiled and waved as we passed, kept on practicing after we went by. They stayed in the middle of the road for about another 15 minutes while my wife and I watched and ordered breakfast at the local cafe. The Sunday breakfast/dinner menu was on the chalkboard behind the counter, we got one of the six or seven booths. When the two ladies wearing dresses in the next booth left, the two guys in the middle of the road disappeared.
When the waitress came over, she brought two cups of coffee, we hadn't even asked.
I've often wondered how much that place has changed.

[shooterg]

Good times. The PO was in the feed/seed/hardware store . Elementary through HS in same building. But at leat 3 bar/grilles in walking distance where you could always get free cokes from the old guys that placed bets on how far away the bottles were made.
NO STOPLIGHTS ! Two of 'em now. 3 deputies and a Sherriff for the whole county . A dime from Pop got me a Coke and peppermint patty at the local store most everything we didn't grow came from. No kid was ever arrested for vandalism and sent to "reform school" - much worse, they took you home and told the folks what you did !! Pickup ball games anytime chores done - now nobody plays unless they're scheduled to and in uniforms. And lifelong friends made . My grandson is 11, has been in 5 different cities in 3 different states - makes me sad he doesn't get to live the same way.

[MaryB]

If I had a choice I would live on an old farm site... but they are VERY hard to find, rents are stupid high... every city slicker wants to have a hobby farm where they last 3-5 years then sell to the next city slicker for inflated prices($250k+++ for 5 acres). Now I am to crippled up to be maintaining that, and keeping a driveway open in winter. I rented a place in the early 80's that was int he middle of a mile section, 1/2 mile long driveway, ultra private... but the driveway was a massive pain to keep open in winter. Most blew clear but as soon as you got where it went through the grove it got buried in feet of snow. The farmer that owned it decided to tear out the grove, made it impossible to heat in winter so I moved and bought the house I am in now. That farm stayed empty after that, nobody wanted to live in a house with no grove and a postage stamp yard. They finally burned it and the barn(barn was a shame, it was all old growth oak planking for the floor and curved oak beans for the roof in the hayloft, it was something I would have jacked up, replaced the barn underneath with a garage with 10 foot walls and turned the hayloft into a house)

[Wilderness]

My home town had a population of 600. Most people had at least two occupations. One fellow had a motor garage, ran the outdoor picture theatre, and ran/owned the power station. He'd go for a beer after work, and when his wife thought he should be home she would black out the town.

[Wilderness]

The other small place in our district was an opal mining settlement. Population would have been unknown, since many of the residents preferred to stay under the radar for various reasons.

The only solid building in the town was the pub. Everything else was round timber, dirt floors, walls and roofs made of beaten out petrol/kerosene tins, kerosene fridges in the more up market establishments, and long drop toilet out the back.

Our contact with the place was through a pair of ex pat New Zealand brothers who did some fencing and well sinking for us - digging holes was what they were good at. They were also, like the rest of the town, confirmed alcoholics, so the work would be a preceded by a few days of drying out after we got them home.

One of their notable achievements was to dig a new long drop for the widow next door. It was going to be six feet, but once they had the windlass up, the hole started to look like a good prospect for opal, so they kept going. They called a halt at 80 feet. It was a bit of a climb up the mullock heap to the little house on top, but the view was worth it.

[10x]

One of the most depressing day in my life was when the town got large enough to justify a landfill. The town dump had awesome rat shooting.


Not to mention all that barely used stuff that you could take home with you.

Hauled a load to the dump yesterday. Saw a guy going in pulling an empty trailer. Felt that I was superior because all l Liberated was a 30 lb propane tank that will become ether a lead pot or small wood stove....
We have a fall cleanup here where unwanted things are hauled to a transfer station. about 30% of the stuff gets recycled by the locals
Funny thing is that it is billed as A "recycling drop off" - yet they discourage salvage and scrounging by folks who can repair much of what is being scrapped.

[10x]

My home town had a population of 600. Most people had at least two occupations. One fellow had a motor garage, ran the outdoor picture theatre, and ran/owned the power station. He'd go for a beer after work, and when his wife thought he should be home she would black out the town.

Teh fellow who owned the local movie theatre repaired radios and other electronics.
When TV broadcast became available he repaired televisions. It is ironic that television broadcast killed his theater business as folks justified the price of the TV by saving money not going to movies.
This guy also sold heating coal - he brought it in by the boxcar load to heat the theatre. When he closed up shop many folks had to switch to diesel or propane.- neither were reliable at - 30 or colder.

[MUSTANG]

Wilderness and 10X stories make me think of growing up in the Panhandle of Texas as there are a lot of similarities in their stories and extended family members on my mom & dad's side (Uncles & Aunts, Great Uncles and Aunts, Grandmother and great grandmothers all resulted in some similar experiences in my youth).

Harvest season was always fun; particularly when cotton was king and there were limited numbers of mechanical cotton pickers - most small farms would have friends, neighbors, and family all called out to hand pick cotton because the mechanical cotton pickers would not be available until too late in the season, storms coming, or prices dropping at the end of the season. Always liked that song by Roy Clark "I never Picked Cotton"; cause I was picking cotton from the age of 3 years and older (yeah been through this with doubters about my age and being put to work - but as Joe Friday said "Just the Facts Mam"). So we picked cotton, and when gardens came in ( often a garden was 2 or 3 acres) it was picking time and canning time - Family and neighbors would all travel to help pick gardens, swap with others on what they had and what they needed, and of course a couple of weeks of massive canning in mason jars. My, my - how our world has changed in my life; not to mention my grandmother who came to Tejas from Mexico in a covered wagon and watched MAN WALK ON THE MOON as she told the tale in the late 60's early 70's.

[Baltimoreed]

You know you live in a small town when you walk into the bank and there’s only a teller and manager there and you horsetrade bricks of primers with the manager and bs for 45 minutes about reloading and hunting. A friendly full service bank.

[WRideout]

You are in a small Pennsylvania town when you give driving directions by referring to the doughboy statue in the middle of town. Also, schools and factories close for opening day of rifle deer season.

Wayne

[snowwolfe]

It didn't make the national news, but our town had a election too.
We got a new mayor- our recently retired, very popular, Police Chief, who won with 156 votes, to the incumbent's 130.

I never met the guy, but looking at his bio- it lists he grew up near here, career Police Officer, blah, blah, blah,
and he's also a 'auto parts specialist'.
Mrs. Winger looked him up on the city web site with pictures...

Today, I was doing some of the 60,000 mile maint. on the '06 F250, and made a parts store run.
We were watching the election coverage for here and Virginia, and when our results were in, Mrs. Winger
asked me if an old fat guy waited on me at the parts store, ,,,,, or if I saw one there,,, other than myself.

I said yeah, friendly old guy, knows his stuff too.
He works part time, off & on. I'd seen and talked to him before.

She then informed me, "He's our new mayor".

Don't get out and vote much? LOL

[JLF]

My town is small that when I put the second gear to my vehicle I am already outside the town

[Cosmic_Charlie]

When your sixth grade teacher lives next door and the doctor 5 doors down. When your mother can send you as a 10 yr. old to pick her up a pack of Virginia Slims at the grocery store and charge it.

[varmintpopper]

Small Towns stay small because every time someone gets pregnant, a couple Guys leave town.

Good shooting

Lindy

[Wilderness]

And then there are the characters, usually alcoholic, who can find a place in a small town, but who would be wasted on somewhere bigger. Our barber was a functioning alcoholic, prone to the DTs. One day my father went in for a haircut. Trembles was at the barber's chair, cutting someone's hair, but standing on a box. "What's with the box Trembles?" Reply: "The snakes are bad this morning".

[BunkTheory]

You truly know you live in a small town when you can claim that your not bribing the judge, or arresting officer because "its not a bribe to give your uncle a birthday gift"

[Idaho45guy]

Went to the only bar/cafe in town the other night for dinner and I walked in and got a personal greeting by name from the bar staff. Then I noticed that the special was a burger named in honor of a local gentleman that turned 80 that day. I ordered the special and about 15 minutes later, the birthday boy arrived to thunderous applause from the entire place.

It was heart-warming to see a community and business come together to honor a good man on his 80th birthday.