Small Town

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area I often wondered what it would have been like growing in up in a small town. A town out in “the country” with farms, ranches, and lots of open space where there were more wildlife than cars.

So it’s easy to understand why the song Small Town by John Mellencamp always resonated with me. The lyrics reinforces my romantic vision and reasons for living in a small town.

 

Tuolumne County

My small town is Tuolumne California. But it’s more than that. It’s also a collection of small towns in a community woven together by residents with a similar appreciation for a small town culture. Sierra Nevada Foothill Towns like Jamestown, Sonora, Twain Harte, and Columbia.  Towns with people that have a great appreciation for nature, the conifers and oaks, and the wildlife. Towns where community events are plentiful and not overwhelming due to crowding or long drive to get there (like in the Bay Area).

Small town culture at it’s best!

Small town culture is at its best in Historic Columbia on Fourth of July. There is the modest parade usually with less that 50 or 60 entrants who walk and ride down the main street of this living gold rush town. Entrants Typically includ classic vehicles from the era, docents dressed in period clothing, local youth groups, and individuals with their pets dressed in red, white and blue. Registration for the parade starts at 11:00 am. The parade starts at 12:00 and is usually finished by 12:30. A small parade by any standard but one that always has a giant dose of enthusiasm and small town culture.

The Mother Lode Fair in Sonora is another venue that seethes small town. This Tuolumne County fair runs only four days, opening at 3:00 pm and ending at 11:00 pm each of the days. Small by most county fair standards but chock full of tradition with fair rides and food on the midway, games, demolition derby, truck pull, and of course the agriculture and animals.

As Summer emerges and the warm weather and long days return both of events are on my mind and underscore the small town culture that I once only dreamed about and now appreciate as a small town resident.

So as Mellencamp said:

Got nothing against a big town

Still hayseed enough to say

Look who’s in the big town

But my bed is in a small town

Oh, and that’s good enough for me

Over the years I’ve said it many times: My wife and I left the Bay Area ten years ago and we have not looked back. We’re blessed to have been able to make this move and fulfill the vision I had as a young man of wanting to live in a small town.  A small town and my romantic perspective of life at 3100 feet.