The Same -- Just Different
Friday, December 10, 2005
Eunice, LA the Gateway to the Great Southwest Prairie. Lawrence Massachusetts, hometown of Robert Frost and Leonard Bernstein. Tipperary, You’ve come a long. long way. This year I have driven the back roads of the British Virgin Islands, Ireland and now Louisiana.
The sign as you enter my home town of Lawrence Massachusetts takes pride in the writers of poetry and music who grew up there. Many of the small towns elsewhere highlight their location, specific historical events, annual happening (Home of the ____ Festival!), or of some “famous” person. Each town is touting what is unique about them. Each trying to build civic pride and encourage development.
The sign hints at something special about this community. Then you drive through and usually find it is simply another small town or small city. Sometimes very poor – sometimes not, but rarely is the place something truly special to anyone but a local or someone with a particular interest. But what is important is that the locals see their hometown as special. That is what builds communities, builds pride, causes people to start looking out for each other and their town, and stimulates ambition in the children to do more and be more.
Today, I sent each of the government bodies reminders that we are having a Government Planning Workshop on Wednesday Afternoon. Then I drove up to Oakdale just to get a feel for the Area. It is the largest town in the Parish. There is a Wal-Mart, and a number of recognizable restaurants – more variety than Kinder or Oberlin. There is also a larger “T” shaped downtown. Like Oberlin there are a good many vacant storefronts. In that regard Kinder seems more prosperous.
School is letting out. Like in towns everywhere at this time of day, students are climbing into vehicles idling by the curb adjacent to their school. Some are public schools some are religious. Churches and religion are an important part of life here. Just looking at the distribution of churches I would guess that the southern part of the parish is largely Catholic like the Cajun dominated parishes to the south while the northern part is more protestant like its northern neighbors.
Eunice, LA the Gateway to the Great Southwest Prairie. Lawrence Massachusetts, hometown of Robert Frost and Leonard Bernstein. Tipperary, You’ve come a long. long way. This year I have driven the back roads of the British Virgin Islands, Ireland and now Louisiana.
The sign as you enter my home town of Lawrence Massachusetts takes pride in the writers of poetry and music who grew up there. Many of the small towns elsewhere highlight their location, specific historical events, annual happening (Home of the ____ Festival!), or of some “famous” person. Each town is touting what is unique about them. Each trying to build civic pride and encourage development.
The sign hints at something special about this community. Then you drive through and usually find it is simply another small town or small city. Sometimes very poor – sometimes not, but rarely is the place something truly special to anyone but a local or someone with a particular interest. But what is important is that the locals see their hometown as special. That is what builds communities, builds pride, causes people to start looking out for each other and their town, and stimulates ambition in the children to do more and be more.
Today, I sent each of the government bodies reminders that we are having a Government Planning Workshop on Wednesday Afternoon. Then I drove up to Oakdale just to get a feel for the Area. It is the largest town in the Parish. There is a Wal-Mart, and a number of recognizable restaurants – more variety than Kinder or Oberlin. There is also a larger “T” shaped downtown. Like Oberlin there are a good many vacant storefronts. In that regard Kinder seems more prosperous.
School is letting out. Like in towns everywhere at this time of day, students are climbing into vehicles idling by the curb adjacent to their school. Some are public schools some are religious. Churches and religion are an important part of life here. Just looking at the distribution of churches I would guess that the southern part of the parish is largely Catholic like the Cajun dominated parishes to the south while the northern part is more protestant like its northern neighbors.
posted by J Corlss at 8:32 PM
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