My Little Town
Cheryl Unruh
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Greensburg is getting a fresh start.
While reconstructing that town, hundreds of decisions will be made: what parts of town to recreate and what parts to leave out.
Now I don’t know how Greensburg residents feel about all this. They may be excited about possibilities. Or they may be tired of it all and just wish the process were over and done with.
But to me, as a person who has not suffered the trauma of an EF-5 tornado, the idea is intriguing: building a town from scratch.
So I started playing a game in my head: If I could create my own little town, what would I put in it? What makes a community pleasant and attractive to both residents and outsiders?
Most towns have some shining attributes and if we could incorporate only good things into a community — including residents who have a positive and cooperative spirit — well, we’d have Utopia.
The town of Ulysses had visitors in mind when they placed signs at downtown intersections, directing travelers to such things as the courthouse, the post office, the police department.
Since I wanted to take a photograph of the Grant County Courthouse, those signs were useful to me.
So my village would have helpful signs. And, by the way, I think I’ll call my fantasy town Sunnyville (Utopia was taken; it was once a Greenwood County town.)
The town of Satanta, named for an Indian Chief, had a permanent teepee in a city park along the highway. Teepees are good attention-grabbers. Need one of those.
Gotta have a restaurant. The Miracle Café in Reading is an attractive place. I’d bring it and all of its magic into my imaginary Sunnyville.
Since this town would have about 1,500 people, it could support several restaurants. We’d also have a café with a diverse menu. This place might serve Indian, Greek, and Lebanese meals — a variety of ethnic foods.
A great restaurant, a destination café, can pull in people from neighboring communities. Live music adds to the fun.
I’d put in a dozen art galleries with studios, a row of buildings set on a narrow brick street along with trees, flowers and shaded benches. Artists would be plentiful: weavers and glassblowers, photographers, painters, potters and poets.
Sunnyville would have a big old house with lots of windows — a retreat center for writing and art workshops. (Hey, this is my imaginary town, I can have whatever I want.)
So, yeah, my little village would be the Taos of Kansas.
The city park would look like Marion’s Central Park, a shady grassy place near downtown for festivals and community picnics.
History is a big part of Kansas and a draw for tourists. A sprawling museum would explain the oceans and our geology and show Native American history, Civil War and pioneer exhibits.
A few antique stores like those in Paxico might draw a different set of visitors.
And the town would have one of those cool, rocket-shaped water towers. I liked the one in Bucklin with the ace of hearts painted on it. (Their school mascot is the Red Aces.)
Because Sunnyville would be the county seat, we’d have a grand old courthouse, something like the buildings in Kingman and Troy.
When I walked around the courthouse in Holton, such a warm feeling fell over me and the only way to describe it was: Mayberry. So I’d try to cultivate the atmosphere of Holton’s town square.
And since people will swarm to this town, we’d have a couple of 1950s motels, like one I saw in Sabetha. Retro is good.
Well, that’s how I’d start my ideal community. What would you put in your town?
“Flyover People” is online at www.flyoverpeople.net.
F Cheryl Unruh can be reached at cheryl@flyoverpeople.net.
rita785 (anonymous) says...
Great activity! I think I'll try to re-create my little town. Since we're 250 miles from Denver, I think I'll move it 150 miles west.
July 24, 2007 at 4:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )