Celebrate • July 2017 • From The Editor-In-Chief

Well I was born in a small town. And I live in a small town. Probably die in a small town. Oh, those small communities.

Do you know the next line? Better yet, do you know who wrote and sang this 1985 song about his experience growing up in a small town?

See, you did know the next line. Our parents were from a small town, and they proudly raised four sons in a small town during the ’70s and ’80s, when life seemed much simpler. At least it seemed simpler in the eyes of my brothers, our friends, and me. While we certainly enjoyed the dynamics of our immediate family, we also savored our life in our small town — which we also considered our family.

Our small town of Cabot, Ark., had a total population of around 4,000 people and had 15 churches, one stoplight, one railroad, one general store, one school, and one Tastee-Freez. John Cougar Mellencamp must have been all too familiar with small-town America, and towns like Cabot, when he released his other megahit “Jack and Diane” in 1982. Yep, my friends and I were also regular attendees at the local Tastee-Freez, and I can proudly sing most of the words from that little ditty, as well. Can you? I did not know a Jack and Diane per se, but I did know a Stephen and Diane, a Donnie and Jane, and an Edward and Libby.

And I have seen it all in a small town. Even Miss Arkansas – USA, Teri Utley, who was from Cabot, was crowned Miss USA in 1982 after so honestly chatting with pageant host Bob Barker about what she and her friends did in Cabot on a Saturday night in the summer outside the Tastee-Freez. Sitting on the back of a pick-up truck, playing the banjo, and drinking beer was the norm for many folks growing up in small town America, and Cabot was no exception. There must be something in the water in my small town. Paula Montgomery was crowned Miss Arkansas in 1995, and Whitney Kirk won the crown in 2003.

I have also had myself a ball on a Friday night in my small town. I can still smell the popcorn from the concession stand and hear Lewis Smith’s voice resonating across the football stadium as the band played our adopted fight song, “Dixieland.” I can still sing my high school alma mater, and I bet you can, too. I can even remember the rush of running onto the field before the football game and getting a whiff of the freshly cut grass that stained our red and white Cabot Panther uniforms. I recall the crowd roaring as touchdowns were scored, homecoming queens crowned, and alumni honored. While we never won a single state championship in any sport, little did I know we were laying an important foundation for future family members.

To borrow another line from the Mellancamp song, “No, I cannot forget where I came from.” We were family! These types of experiences helped to mold us into whom we are today. These unforgettable experiences may have occurred in a small town, but they had big time impact on many people’s lives — including mine.

Cabot has grown tremendously since those John Cougar Mellencamp days. While it is still a small town, Cabot has a population today of almost 27,500 people. There is still one railroad that runs through the middle of downtown, many eating establishments in addition to the beloved Tastee-Freez, beauty queens, too many stoplights, and a school district that boasts one of the largest and finest in the state of Arkansas. In addition, the mighty, mighty Cabot Panthers have won several football state championships, a boys’ basketball state championship in 2016, and their first baseball championship in 2017. I’m so proud of my small town!

How about you? How are your small town experiences defining who you are today? Life is still going on for me … and the thrill of living is not gone.