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["Marie McHarry" <mmcharry AT gmail.com>]

 On Fri, May 16, 2008 at 8:17 AM, Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com> wrote:

>
> I've always been nonplussed at people in near perfect small towns that
> pushed for growth. Nothing like a zealous Chamber of Commerce to ruin
> a perfectly fine place to live.

I have to admire the town elders of Greenview. Back in the 60s or 70s
(I wasn't here at the time so I can't report all the details, but by
all accounts the character of the town has not changed in the
interim), the feds were passing out money so little towns could
upgrade (or build from nothing) a sewage treatment system. Greenview,
said, No way; people will just want to move here and next thing we'll
have to provide other stuff like schools and a real fire department.
At this point in time, the Greenview business community consists of
two banks, three bars (one with a restaurant and a separate entrance
for the nondrinkers), two churches, a funeral home, a Casey's, a real
service station (I can call them at 7 a.m. of a winter morning when my
car won't start and you can buy good used cars and lawnmowers from
them and have your small engine tools fixed), a couple of ag
chemical/feed businesses, and a farm implement business. We used to
have a really good meat shop and motorcycle business, but they burned
up one windy spring day when the motorcycle shop guy decided to burn
his trash. We also used to have a nice grocery, but the guy who ran it
couldn't find anyone to buy it, and he finally just retired.

Greenview still has a K-12 school but it's a matter of time until that
gets consolidated. Or maybe not because the busing costs might be a
problem....

Just a small report from a county full of tightfisted old coots,

Marie of rural Greenview