Sweet Summer Livin'

With warm weather vastly approaching, i can't help but reminisce on the Summers I had in Chester. 2 1/2 months of pure freedom in the 16 square mile promise land; every 8 year olds dream. You wake up with the roosters at sunrise, ready for the day of impromptu adventures. It would be a perfectly dewy, golden morning calling out to every child in town. The day would typically start by the creation of the worlds best pancakes, complimented by whichever fruit we had successfully grown that year (a wild blueberry bush or occasional raspberry would make us proud). The outfit of choice would be a fashion foward one piece bathing suit, the most versitle piece of clothing in the summer wardrobe. It's appropriate whether the first big plans were washing my Fathers car and playing with the hose, or going to Cedar Lake, Chester's public "beach". It was really the most unsanitary body of water you could think of, with the constant fear of leeches running through your mind and your feet trudging through a goop-like substance we considered sand. Regardless us as kids didn't care, hundreds of us ran in and out all day carefree.  

My Sister Jordyn, my Mom, and I in front of the snack shack

A trip to Cedar Lake was another one of those small town moments. You could show up with your family, and know every other family there. Kids went off and did their thing, moms lounged on the limited sized beach and gossiped, and crabby teens went to the snack shack in attempt to disaffiliate from those they came with. This was a summer hotspot and allowed us to escape with out leaving our town. Summer was all about not keeping time, leaving when the sun came up and returning when the sun was setting. What happened in between was sort of like a fairy tale. We'd get on our bikes, ride downtown and wherever else the wind would blow us. In small town America there is a built in trust. As long as the helmets were on that's all parents needed to know. Me and my friends loved downtown. We'd go into Basic Goods (which has since been bought out and renamed) to get our ice cream, and continue on to the creek that ran through town. We'd sneak down into an area surrounded by concrete walls, and based on the newest

Previously known as Basic Goods, where we'd buy
all of our ice cream and sodas

vandalism get the latest gossip. After being updated we'd hop back on our bikes and continue up to the town green in front of the meeting house. It was the most serene part of Chester in our opinion. We'd lay in the grass, make shapes of the clouds, and by that point be so covered in melted ice cream and dirt that we were lost causes. After enough relaxation and digestion, if it we were feeling really good that day we'd do our best to conjure up the most unforgettable lemonade Chester has seen, and sell it at our makeshift lemonade stand. Our day would have been made if we made even $3 (which would be in tips...the lemonade wasn't worth the money).

The final stop to a typical small town day would be home. Everyone knew when it was dinner time, even when my Mom didn't ring the dinner bell. We'd come home only to be put to work shucking corn on the porch, and the aroma of BBQ chicken outside on the grill could be smelt from a mile away. After a family dinner outside on the deck and making many attempts to capture a firefly, the day would come to a close.

No matter what small town you're from, your summer days are presented to you. A kid living in small town America has all they need right next to them, and they don't need much to make an entire day out of one adventure. I'd give anything to be able to go back and enjoy the summer days of Chester like i used to, and to appreciate the magic it offered. If you're a city folk reading this, i strongly encourage you to turn of your computer, put away your phone, and escape to a town like Chester for a few days and i guarantee you'll be very pleasantly surprised.