Shut That Down

 

There was a time when really small towns (we usually don't say 'villages') would have most everything you needed for life. In fact, many small towns had people who actually manufactured things. Things like wagons, saddles, clothing and had mills for fabrics or grain. But that was a really long time ago. Another thing a small town might have, though not the smallest, was a decent hotel, perhaps even with live entertainment on Saturday night. There might even be two banks.

 

The biggest difference may have been that most businesses were locally owned. The money spent one day didn't leave town the next day. The local businessmen were also the local political leaders who had more of a vested interest in local affairs than might be the case today. They were the people who lived in Italianate-style houses in the nicest part of town. Ordinary people lived in ordinary houses in other parts of town and there was still room for people who lived in shacks.

 

Things change, of course, but everything changes and it's not so easy to put your finger on what makes things so different today. Probably the one thing that caused more changes than anything else was widespread ownership of cars. I remember hearing so many complaints about the traffic and the lack of parking when I was little--in a town of less than 8,000 people.