Death of a Small Town

I rarely visit my hometown and when I do it's solely to visit my family. This past Christmas was a little bit different. I was also able to drive around a little and explore the places I used to call home. It was shocking! West Grove (where my mom lived) was completely over-developed. The small cul-de-sac I grew on up that only have 5 houses was once surrounded by corn fields and and trees. Now, those corn fields have been replaced with cookie-cutter homes. What worse is that Parkesburg (where my dad lived) appears to have taken an Ambien. The entire town is exactly the same as I remember it being six years ago when I left. The only thing that seemed to change was the accelerated rate of decay.

I never liked playing outside when I was a kid. I preferred to watch TV or play with my action figures or Legos under my lofted bed. But I can still appreciate the environment in which I grew up. I remember playing with Lisa, my next door neighbor, and exploring with Van, the slightly creepy kid that lived a few houses away. It was nice to have the opportunity to run around and be kids in a very innocent setting. On my first trip back to the old neighborhood (see picture below), I was so surprised by how much everything had changed. The once small town has slowly been replaced with sub-developments and big, shopping centers. The open land that I was so used to seeing is now gone. It's pretty sad that a new generation of kids won't get the same opportunity to grow up the way I did.



While West Grove has boomed and grown, Parkesburg hasn't changed at all. The town was slowly declining even when my dad was still living there and it hasn't gotten any better. When we first moved there is was a cute small town. It has a grocery store, hardware store, churches, parks and various restaurants and little stores. It wasn't a tourist destination but it was a nice place to raise a family. Now most things are gone. The Acme and hardware store went out of business at least seven years ago when the Walmart opened near the highway. Those huge spaces still sit vacant like a giant black eye. The stores that remain open look exactly the same - right down to the signs above the door. Nothing has changed!



One of the saddest examples of the decay was the shopping the center across town. There are train tracks that divide the town into two sides. The smaller part of town had a bridge every block to connect to the major part of town. Once the bridge closest to the shopping center closed because it was structurally unsound, every store went out of business. The place I used to get my hair cut and go tanning? Closed. The video store? Closed. The Super Fresh...closed? The holistic, organic grocery store that opened next? Closed within a few months. Now the entire shopping center sits empty next to the dilapidated bridge that is overgrown with vines and weeds.



It was really depressing to see how many places from my childhood aren't there anymore. I have so many good memories and it's weird that no one will be able to have those experiences. Both towns that I grew up have died. West Grove lost the small-town country charm that I remember and Parkesburg lost the will to grow into the future.