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On Sunday afternoon, I took a walk through downtown Farmington, Missouri. There was practically no automobile traffic, and there was even less pedestrian traffic.
Downtown Small Town, Missouri still shuts down on Sundays.
As I walked down Main Street, the occassional driver passing by in their truck or car craned their necks to stare…
What is that woman taking pictures of? I imagined them wondering as they gazed through their windsheild at me with my digital SLR.
If only they’d get out of their cars and take a walk, maybe they’d begin to discover the beauty in their own small Missouri town. Until then, this smalltowngirl is trying to capture it for them, one black and white photo and one Small Town, Missouri blog at a time.
When I was a kid, my dad and brother regularly had their hair cut by the same barber.
When I was a kid, my mom would pull up in front of the post office, and my brother or I would run inside to get the mail. That was when the post office boxes were still locked with a combination (now they use a key). Our combination was B-F-J/A.
That post office seemed huge to me growing up.
The post office doesn’t seem so big now, but the barber’s pole still makes me think of my dad’s haircuts when I was a little girl.
Me, the barber’s pole, and my small town post office…
Driving to Jefferson City a few weeks ago for work, I passed through a very small Missouri town, the name of which I promptly forgot. On the roof of what appeared to be a normal residential home, however, sat a Sinclair dinosaur.
(Sinclair, for those of you not from the Midwest, is a gas station chain whose trademark is a green dinosaur.)
Behold, the bizarre small town Missouri rooftop Sinclair dinosaur:
Rooftop Dino, photo by smalltowngirl
As a kid, I wasn’t afraid of much, but I was scared of what was beneath the surface of lakes, oceans, seas, gulfs or streams. Any natural water source that was too deep for me to see the bottom of terrified me.
Our hearts are like those lakes, oceans, seas, gulfs and streams sometimes in that there is a darkness within them. There is a black, broken place inside even the kindest of hearts.
When I was 15, I went SCUBA diving in the ocean off the coast of Mexico. I was surprised that the bottom of the ocean at that particular spot wasn’t dark at all. In fact, it was beautiful and colorful and filled with amazing textures and patterns. Tonight I’m reminded of the bottom of the ocean, and suddenly the depths of my own heart aren’t so intimidating.
As much as I loved the compexities of Brooklyn, I’m thankful for the introspection, faith and courage I’ve found in Missouri. The depths of our fears are far more gentle and beautiful than we can imagine.
I challenge you to dive into your own.
The Brooklynite in me wants to believe that the future of independent film is in a loft somewhere in Williamsburg where a couple of hipster dudes are hanging out, experimenting with crazy new ideas and drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon.
The proud small town girl in me would love to believe that the future of independent film is, indeed, in Caledonia, Missouri, as Purely Productions, LLC claims it to be.
This building in Caledonia (pop. 158) appears to be the Williamsburg loft of Southeast Missouri:
The Future of Independent Film, photo by smalltowngirl
What kind of independent film company makes its home in a tiny Missouri town?
What kind of business has a posterboard business sign?
Maybe a smart one. The cost of living here is super low, and low overhead theoretically means more resources devoted to projects and less to paying the rent.
These guys have me curious…
Posterboard Sign, photo by smalltowngirl
The company’s website shows a small cast and crew who produced six short films in six months, but I couldn’t find any clips on YouTube. Does anyone out there know more about Purely Productions, LLC? Leave me a comment.
If all goes as planned, I will leave my office at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon and drive to Caledonia, Missouri, a village of less than 200 people, located on Hwy 21 south of Potosi, Missouri.
In researching Caledonia tonight, it seems like I’ll find more to explore and photograph than I’d originally expected.
Turns out, Caledonia, celebrating its 190th anniversary in 2009, is home to the oldest continually operating church and cemetery west of the Mississippi River.
I’m looking forward to checking out the town’s Greek Revival Architecture; to getting ice cream at the old mercantile; walking the tiny community; and exploring the cemetery.
Did I mention that my day will end with a glass of wine in Caledonia’s “Wine Cottage”?
Check back tomorrow night!
For the first time in ten years, I live close enough to the family farm (GrandPaGFunk’s homestead, as it were) to see family when they visit from out of town.
I’m the youngest of the seven cousins, and most of my cousins’ kids (my second cousins) are closer in age to me than my cousins are.
Six of my second cousins, many of whom I haven’t seen in seven years or more, have visited in May and June. Ranging in age from 7th grade to 21 years old, meeting these kiddos again has amazed me.
The two oldest boys are high school linebackers now, and one of them, when he laughs, looks a lot like my brother.
One of the girls, 21, has recently had a bout with lymphoma. She is so strong that though she still faces daily health challenges, she has a sense of humor about things, laughing and staying optimistic. She and I have the same freckles, light eyes, and light hair.
Another of the girls, a 7th grader, makes me think of myself at that age in her Kermit the Frog t-shirt and black fingernail polish.
A junior in high school, Hailey is thinking of majoring in music education, which is what I studied through most of college, and her younger brother, Taylor, looks so much like my older brother that I couldn’t stop staring at him during dinner.
Small town life is a good reminder that family is amazing. We share similarities, even with family who live hundreds of miles away and who we only see once a decade. When is the last time you reconnected with your own family?
If you haven’t lately, I encourage you to get together with your cousins, aunts, and uncles. We’re far more similar than disimilar, and I think you’ll be amazed, like I’ve been, when you reconnect with them.
Garden, photo by smalltowngirl
Now that I’m back in Missouri, where there’s no shortage of land to plant on, I’ve been working with my parents to plant a garden.
Growing up, we grew strawberries, tomatos, cherry tomatos, cucumbers, and a few green peppers. This year we planted all but the strawberries, as well as crooken neck and zuchinni squash, blueberries, golden raspberries, and lettuce.
I’m excited to cultivate life this summer, and to do my part where sustainability is concerned. Walking into the backyard for lettuce will certainly leave a smaller carbon footprint than driving 4 miles to the grocery store to purchase lettuce that’s been shipped in from far away.
Are you gardening this summer?
I saw our little tiny tomatos and berries as a good excuse to practice taking super-macro photos this afternoon. Here’s what I came up with:
Beginning of Blueberries, photo by smalltowngirl
Beginnings of raspberries, photo by smalltowngirl
tiny lil tomater, photo by smalltowngirl
Tonight’s blog is one I’ve intended to write for two months, as Olde Tyme Pantry was one of the first places I visited, camera in tow, upon my relocation from NYC to Farmington in late February.
Olde Tyme Pantry, photo by smalltowngirl
The simple concrete and steel frame of Olde Tyme Pantry is complimented by rustic log accents. On the front porch sits a wooden wishing well and several wooden rocking chairs. This Saturday, with the concrete patio newly expanded into the gravel parking lot, a group of people socialized around a large wooden table under the store’s front overhang.
I’ve been to the market at least four times now, and each time, the smell of fresh baked bread has met me as I’ve opened the front door. Just inside the entrance, on the right, sits a countertop with fresh-brewed coffee. Week before last, I bought myself a coffee grinder at the very un-religious local Wal-Mart, anticipating the purchase of fresh coffee beans at Olde Tyme Pantry. I was just as pleased with the flavor of my coffee as I have been with the fresh whole wheat bread I’ve bought week after week.
Old Tyme Pantry is a great spot for buying spices, dehydrated soup (and other types of) mixes, and basics like whole grain noodles and baking supplies. They sell trail mixes and dehydrated fruits (see cranberry and white chocolate chip trail mix, above), and did I mention that they’re homemade bread is really, really good?
And the eggs! Oh, the eggs! A dozen cage-free brown eggs is $1.99, and I guarantee that you’ll taste the difference between these eggs and the ones you’ll buy at the aforementioned Super Center. These eggs are amazing to eat, and it’s not uncommon for 4 or 5 eggs in the dozen to have double yolks.
As wonderful as the food is, the experience is what makes the trip – your first time at least. Kiddos tug the shirttails of their dads, who ring you up at the register. Ladies wear long skirts and fitted white caps, with no accessories or makeup.
It’s a shop where your humilty comes out, and in a magical way, this store brings out the manners in its shoppers, too. You’ll hear “please” and “thank-you”, and costumers will stop to advise one another…
“Have you tried the vegetable chips? They’re so good!”
“Oh, you have to try the deli meat.”
I think it’s fair to say that even in Missouri, there’s a rebirth right now of farming, home-cooking, and buying local. While not all of Olde Tyme Pantry’s products are locally produced (see cheese photo, below), it still feels good to know that the money you spend is supporting local business, and that the foods you buy are relatively natural and whole.
NY Cheese from Olde Tyme Pantry, photo by smalltowngirl
Shopping here on Saturday afternoons has become an almost-weekly habit now for my mom and I, and I think that once you visit a time or two, you’ll find yourself frequentling Olde Tyme Pantry, too.
The Pantry is open from 9-5 Tuesdays through Fridays, and 9-4 on Saturdays. For more on Olde Tyme Pantry, read the Daily Journal’s story here.
At the beginning of this video, I was skeptical.
Part of the way into this video, I thought, “Hmmm, his art is kind of neat.”
And by the end of this video, I was inspired.
“I have learning difficulties, you know I can’t read or write. I had to find a way to express myself…the teachers at school made me feel small, so they made me feel like ‘nothing’. I’m trying to prove to the world that ‘nothing’ doesn’t exist.”
What a great reminder that everyone brings something to this world. Check it out:
