Yesterday’s answer to the Where Am I question was Estonia. Tell me where I am today. In 2006 my population was listed as 16,115. Originally inhabited by the Atfalati band of the Kalapuya nation in 1843. I was originally named after my co-founders. Not even the co-founders liked the original name, so the name was changed to be named after a city in a midwest state. The US Post Office began sending us mail on July 5, 1891. The city was officially incorporated in 1926. Go seventy miles one direction from our city and you will run into a famous ocean. Go seventy miles the other direction and you will be at the base of a well-known mountain that at times has made the national news for being deadly. According to the 2000 census, 46.3% of the households had children under 18. For every hundred females, there were ninety-five males. Now largely a residential community, in its early years the main industry was a pressed brickyard. A recession changed that and the economy of the city was jumpstarted by the Klondike Gold Rush. Not all that many years ago a well-known magazine named us as one of the 15th most livable towns in the United States. People that know my name know the forest through the trees and assume I was named for where a raggedy England bunch resides, instead of a city in a Midwestern state. Where am I?
Now lets talk about some other cities, trip advisor.com surveyed 3,400 people and some of the results of their survey:
Friendliest and Most Helpful: New York City
Least Friendly and Helpful: New York City
Least favorite cities:
Detroit, Michigan. Followed by Los Angeles, California, and Atlanta, Georgia.
Favorite Cities:
New York, New York, San Francisco, California, and Chicago, Illinois.
The nicest sounding accent:
Atlanta, Georgia.
The most annoying accent:
Boston, MA.
Sexiest city was Miami. The most romantic city was Honolulu. Seattle, Washington was healthiest. Washington, D.C. had most free attractions. Cleveland, Ohio was the most boring city.
You can read the entire article here:
http://www.gadling.com/2009/06/25/apparently-everyone-hates-detroit/?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl4|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gadling.com%2F2009%2F06%2F25%2Fapparently-everyone-hates-detroit%2F
Tell me about where you live, the highlights and the lowlights. Hope today will bring you happiness, fun, love, and be stress free!
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Today's answer by email.
I live in Cloverdale, Indiana. Small town, but surrounding cities are what Indiana is mostly known for. Indianapolis which is where I was born and raised.
We are a hop, skip and a jump to Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky and some major cities which include Detroit,Chicago, St.Louis.
We have an International Airport.
We have a Soldiers & Sailors Monument and a Civil War Museum and Civil War Hospital that was turned into an Orphanage and a Children's Home for the Veteran's Children.
We have the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Which is known all over the world and is Home to Races since the 1900's and has the Hall of Fame Museum which holds Tons of memorabilia and a special place in The Shankster's heart as there is the Borg-Warner Trophy which was originally designed by his daddy. As a jeweler he designed the cup and the faces for each year on the cup, which looked very much like each winner (until his death and now they all look the same) I have pictures if you like. He also designed & made the rings for the winners as well which are in the museum. Also The sword that the Japanese surrendered toward the end of the war, his dad made the only replica of it and it was out at Fort Harrison, which is in Indiana. Now they show it on a tour with the Smithsonian all around the U.S.
We have a cemetery that holds a President, several vice presidents, a few governors and some criminals..including John Dillinger.
We have lots of Amish communities, Historical Homes, Amusement Parks & Zoos. We are home to Santa Claus Land Theme Park (which has been renamed Holiday World) But I will always know it as Santa Claus Land.
We are home to Rocker John Cougar Mellencamp (hubby and I fish the dock across from his home) & sometimes get a freebie concert while fishing if he is practicing.
We are also home to James Whitcomb Riley, David Letterman, Red Skeleton, Sandy Allen, Benjamin Harrison, Mark Spitz, Larry Bird, Phil Harris, James Dean, Orville Redenbacher Florence Henderson, and a little family known as The Jacksons, just to name a few.
I am not sure if this is a friendly place and know some parts are sure filled with some not so friendly or helpful folks. I have lived here all my life and have really, up til recently, never wanted to go anywhere else. Boring sometimes, but its still home. And usually there is no place like home.
Hi Dona
I absolutely loved your post. And we often or kindred spirits because I never really wanted to leave Oregon until the last two winters and now I would like to be somewhere else.
Wow great news about The Shankster's dad designing the Borg-Warner trophy! And of course I can't speak for others but I would love to see the pictures! The sword also interests me as I am a WWWII buff. Which president?
Red Skelton was always one of my favorites, not so much for his TV shows but for his standup act. We have a connection through Spitz and Don Shollander was once my brother's next door neighbor.
Thanks for the very informative and great post!
Bill
Wow, Dona, what a promo for Cloverdale. Are you anywhere near Carmel IN? I have a friend there and she talks about all the neat stuff to do and about sometimes going to Indie. My cousin's son is in charge of all the catering for the Speedway (and boy can he cook, although he's in admin, obviously). How fascianting about the Shankster's father and his wonderful accomplishments! Like Bill, I'd love to see pictures.
We live on the back side of Paris Mtn, in an unincorporated pocket of Greenville SC, and usually associate ourselves with the small town of Travelers Rest, which is 5 miles down the mountain. Been here nine years and love it. I guess we're technically in the foothills of the "upcountry," but can see the Smokies from our property.
Gee, what's not to like... We have two major universities -- Furman, which is ten minutes away and opens their campus and physical center to the public and has weekly concerts by the lake and hosts the Highsland games. Bob Jones, which has a large art gallery and museum. Sattelite campuses for all the major state colleges and universities. Several tech colleges and vocational schools. Downtown G'ville is 20 minutes drive. During spring/summer/fall there are free concerts every night somewhere downtown, ranging from beach music to oldies to classical and Shakespeare in the Park plays alongside the Reedy River. The BiLo Ctr and Peace Center bring in major names from country to classical and Broadway productions on a regular basis. You can see everything from River Dance to Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. Culture of all types is big in G'ville and often associated with fundraising for local charities. The Cliffs is home to one of the major fundraising golf tournaments and nearby Anderson has hosted the annual Hot Air Balloon championships for years. Variety we got (g).
We're rich in history. G'ville started as a small mill town and many of the mill villages/houses are still standing and have been maintained or renovated. A number of the mills have been or will be renovated into art galleries, condos and the like, maintaining much of the original structure. There are several designated historical districts, with proud old mansions and grounds, some open for tours, others still retained by the family. For the most part, G'ville retains much of its small town flavor.
At the same time, we've top medical care, cancer centers, a Shriners Hospital (which we're fighting valiently to keep open, working with the Shriners) and a teaching/research hospital with three campuses. There's a very active Senior Action program here, offering everything from line dance to massage to a full fitness center and classes from watercolor to nutrition to yoga. We have an international airport less than half an hour from the house (although it's a lot cheaper to fly in and out of Charlotte and drive the 2 hours).
We have an abundance of state parks within an hour or less, all with fishing, boating, hiking and camping facilities, as well as some beautiful county parks. Ashville NC is an hour's drive and has much to offer. There are a number of small towns just across the NC border that offer more than enough to engage the artist and crafter's heart.
I think the only "lowlight" is the development surge, probably due to all the good stuff we have to offer. We've seen a loss of green and an increase in traffic during our nine years here and an upsurge in upscale housing and development, which has somewhat speeded up the laid back pace we moved into. Gary Palmer is putting in a golf community just 15 miles from us. Sigh. Fortunately, we avoid most of it, being where we are, but who knows... they're running out of places to build and we can see the beginning of "creep" into our little piece of paradise. Fortunately, there are a number of "watchdog" organizations doing their best to manage progress.
Wow, Dona, I've spent a lot of time in your neck of the woods. My husband was born and raised in Columbus, IN, and still has a bunch of siblings living in the area. They're in Bloomington, Columbus and Danville, mostly. He also had cousins in Martinsville, and one of my fondest memories is seeing the Fall Foliage festival parade there.
I live in Edmonds, WA, which is a suburb at the north end of Seattle. Everybody knows about Seattle, so let me tell you what I love about Edmonds. It's a small town, founded over 100 years ago as a sawmill town. We have a population of only about 40,000, but have a downtown shopping area, and spectacular views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.
If you want to explore, you can take a ferry from Edmonds out to the Olympic Peninsula and see the Olympic National Park. If you want to go the other direction, you can go up to the Cascade mountains. North is Canada. South is Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Oregon.
We have a sister city in Japan that we have a close relationship with. Every year, teenagers go back and forth. My oldest son spent two weeks there a couple of years ago, and we have hosted students and teachers here. My next son will probably go next year.
Edmonds itself is pretty small town and residential. There are lots of small businesses and independent shops here. If you want national chains, you can go to the next suburb over, where I work, to find a huge mall. We have a good hospital five minutes from my house, surrounded by all kinds of doctors and specialties.
If you need world class medicine, it's in Seattle. World class shopping and eating, Seattle. Major league sports, Seattle. Hiking, camping, amazing scenery, is everywhere you turn.
We put up with a lot of rain, and a lot of moss, and we don't see the sun for large portions of the year. But when we do, there's no place better. I love it here.
Hi DR
Another great post, you all make me want to viisit your cities!
Dona sent me some pictures and I will post them Sunday or Monday.
I didn't know you were so close to the smokies! I knew from your classes and teaching that you were near Furman. The free concerts sound like great fun.
I like the idea of closed meals becoming art galleries condos. And I'd love a tour of the old mansions!
The thing so hard for some of us West Coasters to understand about the East Coast is how close states or to each other!
Has the development surge continued duriing the economy downturn? It really put a lot of projects on hold here.
Bill
Hi Mary
Another great post, of course as you know a lot of us here have been to Edmonds.
I loved the offices they had on the water when I visited there and the hotel where we all stayed was great.
Seattle is rich in Japanese history.
I think one of the most respected cancer centers is the Fred Hutchinson center, no?
And I Always think Portland is Seattle with less traffic and less rain! lol
Bill
Edmonds sounds lovely, Mary. And you have the same advantage we do - a small town near a big city and amenities and medical. We flew to Seattle for Walt's cancer treatments, but at that time (25 years ago), Swedish was one of the primary cancer care facilities. Having lived in Juneau, I hear you on the rain (moss and webbed feet) and the spectacular views and vistas when the sun shines.
Bill, I'm not sure what the economic downturn is doing. They're still scraping off trees and clearing land, but I'm not sure they're selling much. Haven't hear anything about the proposed golf communities in the last six months. One can hope progress slows enough for people to really look at the results, but only time will tell.
Hi DR
If you remember the second netstock was hosted by Mary a week after she had her youngest baby so a lot of us here have been to Edmonds. If memory serves me correctly you missed the one Mary hosted and the one I hosted. I actually fell in love with Edmonds. Even at one point considered moving my office there.
The economy here has resulted in two things, construction stopped in the middle of a project or a project completed and stands empty.
Bill
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