Sauk Centre Streeters, Spring, and Tom Sawyer Clones

Wednesday, March 24, 2010. Okay, so the Streeters didn't come out first at state. I wasn't there, so what I know is what I read in the papers. If you live in Sauk Centre, you've probably read what the Sauk Centre Herald had to say. There's a pretty good write-up in the St. Cloud Times, too, dated March 18, 2010.

Sure, it would have been nice to come out first in the Class 2A state tournament. But in my book, getting from the gym at Sauk Centre High School to Williams Arena? For the first time? Yeah, I'd say that was a big deal.


Let's take a closer look at that sign. March 24, 2010.


I like that. March 24, 2010.

Meanwhile, winter has been melting. The flowers in one yard on the north side are already in full bloom. Of course, they were all winter, too. They're "permanent" flowers. That kind I think even I could take care of.

This is one of my favorite front yards: it's enthusiastic. March 24, 2010.

At least one household is going through the annual rite of putting screens on the windows.


Sure sign of spring: screens propped against the wall. March 24, 2010.

Last week I wrote about small town America's image as a sort of Brigadoon, idyllic islands untouched by reality. There's a sort of flip side of that stereotype: Small town America as cesspools of hatred, ignorance, prejudice, and inadequate dental hygiene.

Mayberry, RFD and Harper Valley PTA are pretty good examples of those two views of the sort of place I call home. Do I really need to say it? Neither one is particularly accurate.

I've written about this before: "Small Town America: Beyond the Tom Sawyer Clones" (December 10, 2009) and "Thucydides, Al Tingley, Myth and Me" (September 2, 2009).


I don't know about 'gritty reality,' but we do have large pressure tanks in odd places. That's somebody's house, behind the tank. March 24, 2010.

Also a week ago, I wrote about contemporary technology and small town America. We're fairly up-to-speed, actually, when it comes to our infrastructure. What we don't have, generally, is Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, or Von Maur stores. I suppose that contributes to the impression some folks have, of small towns being backward.

Sauk Centre, however, does have a WalMart supercenter. Which isn't quite the same thing. And Meads, downtown, is a pretty good clothing store.


Marian garden, Our Lady of the Angels church. March 24, 2010.

Technology is important: but I think the folks who live in towns are what make the difference. We're not Tom Sawyer clones, here in small town America: which is just as well. He wasn't real.