Growing Up in a Small Town

My Hometown, Keene New Hampshire

I grew up in a small town in New Hampshire.  Although we proudly claim to be a “city”, Keene is by any other measure, a small town.  Keene’s claim to cinematic fame was it’s use in the movie Jumanji and it hosts the world’s best Pumpkin Festival every October.  The best thing about Keene is that it was big enough to have many of the amenities that a village wouldn’t but, again, it was and thankfully still is a small town.  The population was about 20,000 when I grew up and remains around that number today.  I have literally been all over the world but if I had to choose from all of those locales, including some honest to God paradises, where to bring up a family, I would choose Keene. There is a rhythm to life in a small town that gives you a chance to experience life without being distracted by it.  The pace slows just enough that you can focus on the important things like family and friends. I live in an even smaller town right now but I work in the second largest city in New England so I can truly see the contrast and the lure of a community that gives you a chance to catch your breath but still has enough outside attractions to constitute a social life.  The town I live in now does not have a feeling of community, it’s too small.  The city I work in, Worcester, has many of the problems most big cities have, and while I enjoy working there, I’m glad to leave it each evening.  This isn’t a Pleasantville kind of thing where I’m yearning for a bygone era or anything because I really like how Keene has evolved over the years.  I keep coming back to Keene on so many levels; it’s where I belong even though I haven’t lived there since 1978.

The Center of Keene

Keene Starring in Jumanji