Hometown Visit

Preface:  This post is a trip down memory lane for me.  As this blog is a journal of sorts and personal at times, this post is a mini-documentary of my hometown.  If you choose to read the whole thing, you may become a honorary citizen!  Skim reading is allowed.

I was born and raised in Richfield, Utah, a great small town about 2 hours south of Provo.  I lived there for 18 years until I went off to BYU.  Since Brent was away in South Africa this past week on business, I ventured down to Utah to visit family and friends.  I spent the weekends with Brittney and Stuart in Provo, but during the week I headed south to the place of my childhood.

Richfield is located in Sevier County, bordered by Cove Mountain on the south and east, and the Red Hills on the north and west.  Once you live in Utah, you know what mountains really are!  Here in Spokane we have "big hills" but Utah truly has mountains. . . The Wasatch Mountains and the spectacular "Y" mountain at BYU can't be beat.  Cove Mountain is also very beautiful, and this picture, with the huge American Flag that greets you as you enter Richfield is small town Americana at its finest.  Sidenote:  This time of year is kind of blah!  March is the limbo month--brown and boring everywhere. Trees have yet to leaf, flowers yet to bloom, grasses still need to green up.  If these pictures had been taken at another time of year, things would have looked very different, but I suppose that is the same for most places in March. 

The second shot has a bit of a back story.  It is of Main Street in Richfield.  You see, when I brought Brent down to Richfield for the first time to meet my parents, he thought it was so great that I came from a town so small that we didn't even have a stop light!  It's true--this is the very first stop light to be installed there, just a year or two later.  Now, I think there are probably about 7 or 8 of them--our little town has definitely grown up in the last 30 years! 

Richfield today is very different from what it was during my childhood, yet also in many ways it is very much the same.  When I drive the streets I am reminded of friends and events, some good, some not so good!  I remember the intersection where someone ran a stop light and smashed into our little Monza during my lunch break from Sears.  I also remember a similar intersection where some girl, who was test driving the car my brother Craig was trying to sell, crashed and totaled his car.  It was sad--it was the first time I remember seeing my big brother cry.  Who can forget the schools they attended?  I have fairly good memories of my years at Richfield High School.   I had many good friends, pretty good teachers, and all in all, I came out mostly unscathed!  (Nobody really wants to read a blog post about the drama of high school.  I mean, come on, it wouldn't be high school without some "junk" and drama.  It happened to all of us!)  Richfield is home to several great parks, and The City Park, right on Main Street, is a mainstay.  Every July 4th, the town has a wonderful patriotic celebration.  I think that if any visitor wandered into Richfield on the 4th of July, they would be charmed.  It puts on a wonderful parade and park celebration.  My very first job at 16 years old was at Taco Time, which actually was the first national fast food chain to come to town.  I felt so lucky to work at the new hot spot back in 1976.  It is still thriving today.  In fact, Richfield now is home to every fast food you could possibly want--McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Wendy's, Arby's, Subway, etc.--just like much of small town America.  In a weird way, that's kind of sad.  It also boasts a wonderful main street of shopping, but even that is slowly disappearing.  Christensen's Department Store is still thriving, but now that we have Walmart, Kmart and Home Depot, many small mom-and-pop stores can't make it.  I suppose that's not unique to Richfield either, and also somewhat sad. 

Lastly, I must document the places I lived.  My parents first house was at 140 East Center Street.  I lived there until I was 12 years old.  It is a small home--amazing to think that 7 people lived there!  It was a great place to live as a small kid, though.  We only lived a block from our grandparents, and visited them almost daily.  Valley Builders was only several houses away, and they had a bubble gum machine!  I think we went there daily with our pennies.  Also, the Public Library was across the street.  I grew up visiting that all the time--it seemed so big and so full of books.  I think I read every Nancy Drew mystery, amongst others.  In 1972 when my parents built our other home, it felt weird to move "across town" to a whole new neighborhood!  It is probably only 3 or 4 miles away, but it seemed so far.  But, it was very close to the city pool, so we thought that was great.  Besides, I was now a big 7th grader, and so I felt very grown up.  This home is where Mom and Dad still live.   Sometimes I forget that it is 38 years old.  They have done a good job of keeping it up, but let's face it--at their age it is beginning to be a struggle.   Now when we visit, we are happy to help them with a project that needs attention.  This week I thoroughly cleaned and organized the kitchen and pantry, and also painted the back bedroom.  It was great to keep busy.

During my visit, I did have a fun "Daddy Daughter Date."  My Dad is a loyal supporter of BYU athletics.  He and many of his friends travel the 2 hours to football and basketball games.  On Wednesday, BYU had a basketball game.  Now, if you have been following BYU basketball at all this year, you know that they are having a great season.  You also will know that the past week has been one full of drama and media scrutiny surrounding BYU, the basketball program, and the BYU Honor Code.  (If you don't know what I'm talking about, you either live under a rock, or are not related to me! JK!  Google it!  Let me just say that I am proud to be a BYU Alumni, BYU Parent, and member of the LDS Church--integrity and honor are way more important than basketball. . . and that's coming from a crazy basketball lady!)  ANYWAY (sorry, got off topic a bit) Dad had tickets to the game on Wednesday, and he took me.  It was fun to be in the Marriott Center, to see all the students and their ardent support, and to watch the whole team play.  Jimmermania is alive and well--he's amazing.  We'll see how the Cougars do in the NCAA tournament--no matter what, it's all good.   Gotta love it baby!

We are all a product of our environment, our upbringing, our childhood.  I've benefited from a really good childhood.  I owe much of that to my parents who have raised me well.  They sacrificed much for their family.  They both were very hard workers.  They have been an example in many ways.   I was lucky to grow up in a good environment, in a town where I could play outside, roam the streets, ride my bike everywhere, drag Main Street, not worry about locking my doors, and know almost everyone.   It worked for me.  Richfield, Utah will always be my hometown and hold a special place in my heart.