*

Jeff Dorris

Deliberations from Dorris

Jeff Dorris is the Editor of the Delta Dunklin Democrat

Editorial

Small town charm

Saturday, September 18, 2021

I’ve always preferred living in a small town.

There’s a certain charm about it.

The downtown square, the neighborhoods, and usually, multiple generations of the same families living close to another.

It’s a true community.

Sometimes you really do want to go where everybody knows your name.

Neighbors recognize each other on the street and in the stores.

There’s nothing else like it.

Because of that tight-knit community, small towns are ideal for raising a family.

Small populations lead to smaller class sizes and environments where children can be in class with their neighbors, creating social bonds that are key to their development.

Small town communities are so special they can appear to be rooted in timelessness.

Small town charm.

Everyone wants to preserve it.

If we could, we’d put a moat around it, freeze time and live in a fairy tale.

There’s a danger to that though.

Fairy tale living doesn’t just happen.

It’s always taken a basic industry such as farming, retail shops, and small factories with jobs.

It takes hard work, sometimes, very dirty work.

Small town charm comes with a price.

Small town charm has always been paid for with the blood, sweat, and tears of its citizens.

Paid for by local businesses and local jobs.

We control the future of our small town and it will go away if we don’t bring back good work ethics, community pride, and encourage businesses and industry to locate here.

If not, small town charm gives way to ghost town realities.

We must find a way to turn it around or our fairy tale lifestyle will not live happily ever after.

See you out there.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: