What Do you Mean the Bank is Closed? It is Thursday.
Written: Aug 17 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Everybody Knows Everbody
Cons: Not Convenient to "big" city services
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| benagee's Full Review: Alabama |
You Know You Are in a Small Town When…
· You know what a counter-check is.
· You write a counter-check on the wrong bank and it clears your account at the right bank.
· You move to town and visit the Baptist church, the pastor greets you in the nursery, “You must be Ben and Julie Agee… we have been expecting you.”.
· You go to the emergency room at night and press the button on the intercom outside the locked entrance to be greeted by a friendly voice saying, “Can we help you?”.
· You can get a grocery cart full of groceries, have the cashier (owner) add it up and tell him to “put it on my account” without a signature.
· There is not an ATM machine in town (until 2 years ago).
· The whole town is closed on Thursday and Saturday Afternoon and all day Sunday.
· You can cash a two-party personal check anywhere in town.
· The gas is still pumped for you.
· News of where you have been and what you have been doing gets back before you do.
Believe it or not, every single one of these things have happened to me in Camden, Alabama. Camden is the county seat (and largest town) of Wilcox County, Alabama. Since the entire county has a population of less than 14,000, I will include information from the entire area in this review.
Camden, Alabama is not a place that you go through on the way to somewhere else. Camden is too far off of the beaten path to be on the way to anywhere. Camden, Alabama is 1 and ½ hours from the nearest “large” city (Montgomery, Alabama). Camden has a population of less than 2,500. Even though Wilcox County is a long ways away from anything, there are actually quite a few people (for the size town) who make their way to the area for a visit.
Area “Attractions”
Why would anyone visit a place like Camden unless they are there to visit friends or family? Wilcox County (and surrounding counties) has one of the best white-tailed deer hunting of anywhere in the country. Other than the paper industry, the deer-hunting industry is probably the largest single industry in the area. Deer hunters come from all over the state and from many other states to hunt white-tailed deer. The two private schools in the county both use an annual deer-hunt as their primary means of fund-raising. Often when people ask where I am from and I tell them, they respond that they have been deer hunting there before.
What else does Wilcox County have to offer to visitors? The county has a number of antebellum homes sprinkled throughout it. There is a lot of interesting history and historic buildings that have been maintained throughout the area. My grandparents for example own a home that was build prior to the War Between the States. If you happen to be interested in Civil Rights history, you would also recognize Selma, Alabama (which is 40 miles from Camden) as a significant city in the 1960s.
Otherwise, there is not a lot for Wilcox County to offer the vacationer except peace and quite and friendly people. If you are looking for a quiet place to get away, and relax, Camden, Alabama may very well be the place you are looking for. If you are not into hunting, I would have to recommend that you not come during hunting season because the motels tend to fill up rapidly.
Benefits of Living in a Small Town
What about the people who live there? What are the advantages of living in such a small town so far from the city? There are certainly disadvantages (which will be discussed later), but the advantages are also many. For example, it is nice to be able to call the owner of the gas station and have them meet you at the store to get a tank of gas when you have an emergency and need to leave town. I know, in the city you can get gas anywhere at any time, but there is something special about having someone be willing to get out of bed to allow you to get gas.
Another nice feature of living in a small town is that almost everybody knows almost everybody else. There is a sense of caring for each other that has been lost in the cities (with a few exceptions). It is often inconvenient for everything to be closed on Thursday afternoons, Saturday afternoons, and all day Sunday, but it provides some time to actually get together with the neighbors and get to know them. Teenagers may not like the fact that everybody knows everybody, but parents of teenagers would probably think that it is heaven on earth.
The family doctor still accepts calls at home and is willing to make house calls if necessary to care for his patients. The doctor still takes time to explain what treatment you are getting and what he hopes to accomplish with it. We are finding that it is almost impossible to get this type of personal treatment in a large city.
Disadvantages of Living in a Small Town
Just as living in a large city has advantages and disadvantages, so does living in a small town. There are a lot of great features, but there are also just as many disadvantages. First and foremost is that you have to drive an hour or so to go to a movie. This really limits your ability to get babysitters and go out to eat followed by a late movie.
Doctors and medical facilities are also limited. Camden has two family doctors that are very helpful and available. However, if you need to see an OB/GYN or take your children to see a Pediatrician (or any other specialist), you will have to drive an hour or an hour and a half. Also, the local hospital at Camden does not deliver babies, so you must drive at least 40 miles (we had to drive 1 ½ hours) to have your baby delivered.
It is nice to personally know the family that is making their living by owning the store that you purchase your groceries from. However, it also tends to be much more expensive than buying the same groceries at a superstore like Wal-Mart of Albertson’s. Many people mistakenly believe that the cost of living is less in a small town, but that is not necessarily true. If you happen to be privileged enough to live in a small town that is about thirty minutes or so for a metropolitan area, then the cost of living may be less. However, most small towns that are farther from the city tend to have a higher cost of living.
Traffic is not a problem and you do not have traffic jams. However, you do have to watch out for animals on the road (deer, cows, dogs, etc.). Also, if you do happen to have an accident in which you are seriously injured, it can take well over an hour for an ambulance and/or a policeman (state trooper) to respond to the call.
I have lived in these small towns most of my life. However, I have also lived in a medium-sized city and now a large metropolis. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. If I could have it all my way, I would like to have a large tract of land in a small town that is within thirty minutes of a larger city.
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Please read reviews written by others involved in this writeoff. This review was part of the “Hometown Writeoff” organized by irishma4. For your convenience, the following webpage has a link to the profile page of each participant:
http://www.geocities.com/irishma4/
Irishma4 has also set up links to each of the participants on her profile page.
Other writeoff participants:
annexation, levda, jenninca, Chelie11, Frani49,
blollies, julieinid, lucky47, Elorraine,
Saprswife, Cheynasmom, Benagee, Prepoia, Francesca57,Frazzledspice, Amykhar,Slicksbabe, Barefooter,Boosters, Kinganamort,ElmoTicle,
JenN2Kids, BeanieRandy, MeNMyZach, GizyKat, CeltMom,Foberswife, Trawma, Mom2Twinz, Endora60, Prncess,Braggio, SunnydayM, KaraHoo, VeeZee,
Thinkerlady,Redlass, NYLawgirl, KCFemme, Laryan,
BigJack, Jenb123, IrishMa4, Pmckay, jo.com,
29th_Candidate, moderngypsy, file13,
Y2JMcDohl, Disartain, Dr_Steph, MsBayLady,Amykahr, BeeCharmer, Kassie, Ahiggs, Elizajane, Erin5oaks, menomonee1, driver4t5, &
jankp.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
benagee
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Member: Ben Agee
Location: Fort Worth, TX
Reviews written: 23
Trusted by: 40 members
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