Home Again

Menomonie is a beautiful small town not unlike the one I’m from.  Just across the border and 75 odd miles west, Northfield, Minnesota, the town I’m from, bears many similarities to Menomonie.  Northfield is a sweet little college town with a population of 20,007.  There is a charming downtown where locally owned business fill the storefronts.  At first, I felt as though I was in a slightly smaller Northfield. Sitting in the park on Tuesday night, eating pie and listening to band music, I realized Menomonie is a special city.  I’ve never lived in a place where a whole community regularly gathers for any reason, let alone to listen to a medley of songs from The Music Man. 

On the other hand, I rarely see folks walking around on the sidewalk.  And I don’t see people interacting with Lake Menomin the same way I see folks stroll along and cast lines into the Cannon River in Northfield.  I wonder how much of this is due to the physical design of the city, strongly favoring automobiles over pedestrians and no connection between the downtown and the river, and how much is due to the pollution in the lake.  I’m interested to see how the infrastructure of the town impacts the experience that other LAKE students and I have this summer.  But like I said earlier, Menomonie is a beautiful little city.  And I already feel at home here.