MEMORIES OF GROWING UP IN A SMALL TOWN

 

I was very lucky to be born and raised in a small town. Tazewell is a place where your neighbors were also your friends. A place that is rich in History and Tradition. A place where that history is embraced and appreciated, and those traditions are cherished. A place where even today those traditions, some of which have been passed down from generation to generation are still practiced.

Traditions, Like on Friday nights in the fall, most of the community would gather at the High School Football Field, to eat hot dogs and drink hot chocolate that you bought from the Lion Club Concession Stand while cheering on the Bulldogs.  

Traditions like coming to town on Saturday, and shopping on Main Street. Buying shoes from Hughes, or just stopping in to visit Sheffey Massie, Miss Flora Jones and Mr. Herbert Ward at Jeff Wards store.  Or drinking a cold Cherry Smash from the Soda Fountain at Jackson’s. 

Then on the way back home as the sun was setting over the banks of Ole Plum Creek, a stop at Frog Level was in order. The kids would busy themselves chasing lightning bugs while the grown-ups would just sit and talk, until someone would show up with fiddle, or a guitar or a banjo. And before you knew it, music was echoing throughout the hill on the bank of Plum Creek.

Then on Sunday’s, no matter what, you went to church, where the people of the community would gather to give thanks for the blessing of the past week and to pray for guidance and protection in the week ahead

A place where the community would gather at Christmas time to watch the children of the community perform their Christmas Program. To those of us in our small town, those little church Christmas Programs were better than any Broadway Play. A place where after the play, a simple brown paper bag filled with an apple, an orange, a candy cane, and a small toy would bring a smile to young and old alike. 

Yes, I was blessed to come from a place where we said and still say “Bless Your Heart,” “Merry Christmas”, and “God Bless You.” Today, I returned to that small town for just a couple of hours, and as I walked about looking at those same Christmas Decoration on Main Street that I remembered as a child, I realized just how blessed I am to have come from such a special place. 

No matter where I go or how far I travel, this place called Tazewell, will always be the Place I call Home.