You know you're from Afton if. . .

As you know, I'm a newcomer to Afton, having only known about the town for the last 12 years. However, recently I was invited to join a Facebook group in which Afton "old timers" are finishing the sentence "You know you're from Afton if. . .". There have been almost 100 replies in less than a day, and I'm enjoying every one of them. It's quite the window into the Afton of gentler, sweeter, and livelier times. It's bittersweet. On one hand, it warms my heart to hear about the vitality of the town that's now a shadow of its former self. On the other hand, it saddens me to find out what's been lost along the way.

I'm sure many of the recollections could apply to any tiny town in the '50s, '60s, and '70s. Having never lived in such a town, I am charmed by what I'm reading. YOU KNOW YOU'RE FROM AFTON IF. . .

". . .you competed in the Egg toss contest at the Afton Day celebration."

". . .as a kid you played in the Victors old hay barn in town."

". . .if you know the sound that peacocks make." (This refers to the peacocks that lived at Buffalo Ranch, the Route 66 tourist trap on the outskirts of Afton.)

". . .you remember the egg farm on the east side of town and the trash/junk yard/ shooting range on the west end of town."

". . .if you know where the dive "cliffs" are/were. More like juming off cliffs or scaling down to the bottom until you can crawl into the water.... to us."

". . . if you loved to ride the stuffed horse at Buffalo Ranch."

". . .you've helped run cattle back in the fence on your way to school."

". . .remember the "joints" on either side of town where "liquor-by-the-wink" was served."

". . .you get locked in the meat locker a Bassett's (Grocery) by one of the Twins while your Mom is shopping. Wasn't so funny when Tom found me."

". . .you know you are from afton if you do something 5 miles out in the country and your father already knows what you did before you get home!!! "

". . .you know what Dairy Ranch is and you miss Betty's Cherry Limeades..........or you know what a Rocketburger is........or if you were late for school because you had cows out and you had to get them back in.........or if you were late for school because of a train......" (The Dairy Ranch was also known as "Betty's Place", referring to "our" Betty W. who is my dear friend and spends a lot of time at Afton Station now that she's retired. It's amazing how many recollections involved Betty and her drive in!)

". . .Hair Teezers was the place to be on a Saturday morning...Sandy always did my granny's hair and I would love sittin there listenin to all the ladies gossip...I usually got all the awesome inside scoop there!!"

". . .the co-op had the best Grapette pop. My wonderful dad dumped his wheat and got me a pop!"

". . . leg wrestling in your living room floor, or possum hunting (seriously) were some of the things you did for entertainment with the guys you dated."

". . . if you was at a friends house and thier parents would whip you if you needed it. And when you got home you knew what was coming. We didn't have the problems with kids like we do today."

I'll stop now, but there are vastly more I could post here. Hope you've enjoyed a peek into a small town just as much as I have.