Hometown Due 9-14-10

Ethan Sayers

On the outskirts of Athens, Ohio is a small town known as The Plains. Now to me, the town means nothing but to some it’s their hometown. Whether is the location of this town or the community as a whole, whatever it may be the Plains is a well-loved place by some.

First of all, the one thing that comes into play when picking a place to live is location. No one wants to live in a place where they don’t like their surroundings. Well the Plains could sway either way for some. Something many people notice first about this town is the size of it, it’s a small close nit town and some would say it’s probably the sort of town where everyone knows everyone else’s business. To help with the idea of the close nit town is the surroundings that the houses have. The houses in the Plains aren’t surrounded by woods but by more houses. For example, Maria from class, her house is located in the Plains and it sits right next to the Athens High School football field and then her house is surrounded my more houses. In a town such as Albany, Ohio this is not the case. The houses here are more surrounded by woods more than anything else. So when it comes down to it, the location of the town as well as the surroundings of the houses can play a role in where you would want to make a town your hometown.

Secondly, the sense of the community is something the Plains varies in. When it comes down to the actual community the age range for those in the town is older. Because of the location and its size not very many industries have risen up or been able to thrive in the Plains. However, with an older community that usually means the members of the community have more roots in the town and some may own privately owned businesses that have been able to thrive due to the fact that they know the community and what other members of the community expect out of the business. Other than privately owned businesses and chain restaurants there is no other industry here. Now some blame the location of the town when others blame the economy of the U.S and that it’s unstable and not helping the small towns. Even with the lack of major industry the Plains and its Community members still excel in making the Plains a wonderful place to live.

Lastly, in every town there will always be things that are major turn offs. Going back to location and the economy, both have caused industry and businesses to close and that in turn drives the workforce away from the town. That explains why majority of the community members are of older age, because they have retired and no longer need to work, but for those who do need to work, they can’t live here without somewhere to work. So in some ways the size of the town can act as a pro and con. The size makes the Plains close nit and gives everyone a chance to meet other people easier. On the other hand the size and lack of work drives the workforce away. As it has come to show, with every good aspect there will always be a negative aspect to follow it.

All in all, the Plains is well-loved by its many community members and will continue to be for years to come. Whether it’s the location, size or community the Plains has become a hometown to many. However, due to size and economy the workforce has been chased out of the Plains because no businesses or major industry are able to strive. So I guess the Plains could be called your hometown or could just be a town you know of, it all depends what you want in a town.