Sadly, these were taken only 5 years ago.*





* Just kidding. But they were taken around 1910.

Edit to add:

I guess I should mention that almost all of those buildings are still there. That is our business district. For those of you who've never lived in a small town like this, this is pretty common. The only real difference between then and now is that we have parking spaces instead of places to tie up your horse. Other than that, not much is any different. That could be the Main Street of pretty much any town out here on the prairie.

Oh yeah.

This is where I live now.

Right on!

They had much better awnings in the old days, don't you think?

Just because I like my town.

Some pictures on some real estate site

Are people that live there called Le Martians?

Cool pics. My Dr's office has pics of Louisville from the 1900's through 1930's in the lobby. It's interesting to see how little changes in that amount of time.

small town charm is a bankable asset...

unless you're in the southwest...
(not including most of utah)

The meth makes most feel like they're still cowboys, so many reasonably sized town are involved in downtown reconstruction projects - trying to turn their historical sites into disney renderings of paintings of the southwest, and raising rents to bring in wealthy californians...

the rest of the country would like to go back to the era that paul appreciates...

progress is beautiful, ain't it?

The small town I lived in for 5 years in Montana

Anaconda



All of those buildings are still there and still being used



My home town of Camas Wa



Today


Please note. The image was taken during the week in August we like to call, "summer".

I call them that, but they really don't seem to appreciate it very much.

People used to ask me why I moved to Anaconda,
and with two steps towards the door I'd say....


To expand the gene pool.



Seriousely, I grew up in a small town, and I really do like it that way.
Big cities give me the heebie jeebies, though it's fine to visit once in a while.

I absolutely adore small towns that are huge on their history. Old buildings, local heritage societies and local traditions that go back generations. The draw back is, it can sometimes take a damn awful long time for an outsider to be fully accepted into the community. One of the finest days I ever had in Anaconda, was the day they had the pub tour. Every block had at least 2 bars, so it was quite a tour, with liberal opportunities for tasting in between each bar owner telling the lengthy and colorful history of his establishment.

I'm stealing that.



I feel the same way, only opposite. Love visiting small towns. Miss my big city.

Funny thing is, most didn't "get it" 'till I was long gone.
Others who were also relatively new to the place usually picked it right up.

Anaconda back in the early 90's. When I was there they had their very first crack bust.
Some guy driving through town kinda fast got pulled over and he was a tad bit wired.

During the time I was there, the school system banned flannel shirts, in the middle of winter.
Because some uptight yahoo got the idea that flannel shirts were some sort of "gang thing".

When I lived there, if talking with a localyou mentioned "taggers" and "tagging",
they would assume you were talking about a wildlife biologist!


One of my major claims to fame, are my political years in Anaconda. I was also the radical environmentalist.
I got the job of running the towns brand new limited use land fill. (No liner, so only fill material)
First day on the job I set out where the glass and plastic bottle recycling would be, along with appliances,
and I set up the counties very first windrow compost site. (all are not only still in use, but have been expanded)

One very nice summer day an older gentleman was dropping off a pick up load of grass. (worked for the schools) He asked me what I was "gunna do with all that grass?" I gave him the brief explination and said I was gonna make it into dirt, and he went dead quiet with astonishment. As he stood there and his rake was no longer moving I gave a breif explination of what compost was. By the time the old guy left I had made a new friend, all through the amazing science of window composting.

I liked that town though. Was a bitch having to shovel the snow off the side walk nearly every god damned winter day, and a major bitch to have to walk where ever cause it was so cold that even with a dip stick heater, a mag heater on the oil pan, an inline water pump heater and an electric battery blanket the truck STILL would not start. But you never seen a thunderstorm till you seen one in the rocky mountains. I have walked among mountain goats like it was a petting zoo. I have seen Moose in peoples back yards. I've seen the elusive Cougar. I've driven on a frozen lake. I've stood on the top of mountains and been awed by the predawn light show. I've stood less than 20 feet away from wild Elk.


OK OK. I'm rambling on. But dayum. If I had a bazillion dollars......

Le Mars Daily Sentinal
http://www.lemarssentinel.com/


How is the Hollywood writer's strike affecting your television viewing habits?






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's where my congregation meets. Heaven on weekdays.

Sounds wonderful! - Or to use an Americanism - Awesome!

Nice pics Jesus!

Great small town pics!

My town:

Funny how they all look like they could be in the same town.

Most towns and cities west of the Mississippi all started at around the same time. (give or take a decade or two)
Manifest destiny.
Therefor they all used and have the same period architecture.

When the Dutch* settled just north of here in Orange City, they only built in dutch architecture. And still do to this day. They have an ordinance that requires businesses on main street to build in that same dutch style. They also have big assed windmills and a wooden shoe factory. They've preserved a lot of their culture, too. Like business owners take brooms and seep the STREET in front of their businesses.



Not Dutch Enough: An article written by Dan Breen of the Northwest Iowa Review regarding the renovation being done to Windmill Square Park in downtown Orange City. (.PDF)