Tuesday Around Town- the town square

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! I have come to love these bi-monthly blog posts about the little town I have called home for the last (almost) forty five years. (I turn that age in December.) This one is my favorite—it's all about our town square. 

I have to start by saying that we have thoroughly enjoyed raising our sons here. Our town square is the hub of the town and it's where a lot of our time was spent when the boys were little. It's always decorated adorably (think Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls) at every time of year, but fall and Christmas are my favorites. This picture above that you see is now the Morton Museum, but it used to be a church and then it was turned into an antique store with a tea room inside where I often went for lunch. To this day, I still have a spice rack from there that I bought when I went there with my sister Lisa years ago. I have been to weddings inside there too, but I've not stepped into it since it was turned into a museum, oddly enough. I need to do that...maybe I'll see if Dad wants to do that one Friday. 

I'll start with one thing we used to do all the time—on Friday nights after school and dinner, we would take the boys there (often with extra kids tagging along) for Friday night music on the square. This still happens today! It's when groups gather together (only when it's warm) and they pick their guitars or fiddles. It's mostly country/bluegrass music they play and we used to have the most fun together doing that every week. It was safe, it wasn't ever too crowded, and the boys could run around to their hearts content. We often ran into people that we knew there and all the kids would wind up playing together all night. We almost always took our dog with us.

There's a railroad track (one real and that is used and one that is old and not used) and railroad cars that you used to be able to go inside. This was Noah hanging off of one back in the day.

Once summer officially starts, Thursday nights become Concerts on the Square where everyone takes their own lawn chairs and food to eat (or you can buy from one of the food trucks), and you pass the night away listening to different local groups. This night is always way more crowded, even to this day, and we didn't go to this as often as we did Friday nights. (I think they call it Friday Night Pickers.) 

Years and years ago, our Christmas parade took place on the square, but they eventually moved it to a main road because it grew to be so big. Speaking of Christmas, that is for real my favorite time of year to see the square. We have an annual Christmas tree lighting that is comparable to the Rockefeller tree lighting. (Kidding, kidding, but it's pretty sweet.) I love our town!

This picture above was while we were there one year to see the tree lighting. I made them pose there in that exact spot year after year. They always loved this night, because all of their friends were always there and the free hot chocolate was flowing.

The tree that they count down for is this one behind us. This was the only thing I wanted for my birthday last year—a good dinner at home and pictures with my guys.

It's a fun place to go and just walk around with one of your best friends. We did that on my birthday as well, on a night we went out to celebrate. 

There's this cute little log cabin that you can sometimes catch with the doors open and you can take a peek inside...and years ago, we used to love to visit this yogurt place. They didn't last long in this location, though. I'd imagine the rent is pretty high. I used to say that I would love to have a bookstore with a coffee shop and small stage here that could have open mic night...but there's already a coffee shop there that is cute, but where the coffee sucks. That's a shame...have I mentioned I'm a self proclaimed coffee snob? I don't like Starbucks either. I say that I used to say I'd love to do that, because something similar like that used to be there, but like this yogurt place, it didn't last long. It was called Springs of Life and it was a Christian bookstore with coffee and pastries and weekend music. 

This used to be a church, but now it's a restaurant/event venue/catering place where you can purchase meals each week. It's Simply Done Catering.

I love going there to shop, especially when the weather is cool. 

This picture above is old and terrible, but those lights stay up all year. 

Basically, it's a magical place. The thing I love most about our town is that it feels like a small town. I loved growing up here and like I already said, we loved raising our sons here. I love the looks of our town and I love that almost everywhere I go, I run into someone I know. Case in point: last night I ran into my nephew at a Mexican place I went to with my friend Andrea! I love a town that feels small. 

It's a beautiful place to live, and I feel very fortunate to have lived all of my life right here. We technically lived in the country, but our mailing address was in Collierville. I didn't go to school out here, but I loved when our boys were in the local elementary school. Our favorite field trip of all was one that took place every year for all the third graders, when they'd walk to the square. They'd visit the gazebo in the middle of the square, the fire station, the police station, the post office (all located right there), a Bible museum that used to be there and an old church named St. Andrews that Drew pronounced as Standrews. 🤣

There is a lot of history wrapped up in this little slice of land we call town square, and I feel very grateful to have had sons that grew up on those stomping grounds. I'd never want to live anywhere else! 

Thanks for reading my blog! I'd love to hear a little about where you live! What is your favorite spot in your area and why? 

Love to all. ❤