And everyone knew everyone else's business in the town. My inlaws conversations would go something like this .. you know Beth that was married to Tom , his parents owned the farm on County hwy A . His mom was Sara , her parents were ...etc etc etc. I never knew who they were talking about . I also worked in town for awhile at a florist shop..and the owner/florist also did the makeup for one of the funeral homes in town. That florist shop was the gossip center of the town and the person providing the most info was the mail person for business area and homes near the post office . She knew everyone's business . I didn't know many of the people there but I if I heard their name , I already knew if they had had an affair, money problems , etc from what I heard at the florist shop .
As much as they gossiped , everyone looked out for everyone else . In this day and age , You would not believe the number of 1st and 2nd graders that would walk several blocks ( some over 10 blocks ) home from school alone . I was always amazed at how safe everyone felt here .
If it wasn't for how long and cold the winters were , I would still be living there .