Crawfordsville, Indiana is a small town with a population of about 14,000 people, located about 30 miles south of Lafayette and 50 miles west of Indianapolis. This little town is where I grew up, and to be completely honest, I didn’t realize how many peculiar things there were about C-Ville until I had to describe my hometown in an English project first semester.
1. The Walmart Parking Lot is THE hangout…and nobody really knows why.
Let’s face it, our dear old C-Ville lacks in the activities department when the most exciting thing people do is hang out in the parking lot of Wally World in their lifted trucks at all hours of the weekend. It’s almost like there’s an appeal to big savings and seeing every single person you’ve known your whole life. As long as I can get my pizza rolls and shampoo without a problem, then keep on keepin’ on, Wally Squad.
2. You’re used to swerving all over the road because of potholes.
I stand by the belief that Montgomery County has the worst potholes of any county in the entire state of Indiana. They range from small little dips in the road to gigantic chunks of road missing that’ll mess up your car if you are unlucky as to go through it. People drive like madmen trying to avoid all of them, and everyone around is just kind of used to it at this point.
3. You look forward to the summer for the Strawberry Festival and 4H County Fair.
Every summer, the weather gets warmer, the sun shines until 9 at night, and you know that the two most exciting things to come to C-Ville are the SFest and the annual county fair. Both are places to spend time with friends, indulge in elephant ears and funnel cakes, and sweat profusely all hours of the day. The SFest brings strawberries galore in the form of shortcake and ice cream, shake-ups, smoothies, and freshly picked berries by the pound. The 4H fair showcases all of the hard work done by the 4H kids in the form of crafts, fashion, and showing varying animals like llamas and pigs.
4. You kinda know everything about pretty much everyone.
Eh, very much expected of a small town. It’s weird that I know so much about people, but knowing everyone for so many years does that I suppose. We all grew up together, and everyone remembers the awkward middle school years but agree to never speak of them, which everyone is thankful for (Braces and straight across bangs wasn’t a good look for me…).
5. Chicken nachos and hot fudge cake shakes. ~cue mouth-watering~
There is nothing better than delicious cheese and shredded chicken on tortilla chips with some salsa from Lil Mex. And a hot fudge cake shake is just as decadent and divine as it sounds. It’s a piece of chocolate cake on top of a hot fudge shake topped with whipped cream and a cherry. My stomach is growling just thinking about it. Gah.
6. Bonfires are the go-to when there’s nothing else to do.
Having friends that have fire pits is kind of awesome because nothing truly beats just sitting with great friends talking about everything under the moon. It’s definitely a favorite pastime of high schoolers, and college kids reconnecting after a semester or two apart.
7. Everyone is either a die-hard Hoosier or Boilermaker… And they’re quick to tell you that.
Obviously, I’m a Boilermaker ‘til death do us part, but most people I know are Hoosiers and just LOVE to talk about their banners. There’s of course that one lone Ohio State or Michigan fan in the mix, but a majority of people either bleed cream and crimson or the beloved (and better *wink wink*) gold and black.
8. You never have to worry about when you’ll see another gas station.
I’m sure there’s a very valid, and logical reason as to why there are so many gas stations in town. There’s a gas station across the street from the gas station that’s right down the block from another in either direction. It’s ridiculous, but at least there are lots of options when I need to fill my car up!
9. Wabash College.
There’s really not much to say here; it’s one of the many things Crawfordsville is known for. A small, private, all-male liberal arts college offering degrees in religion, mathematics, biology, rhetoric, accounting, business, and Spanish, amongst several others. One of the few remaining all-male colleges, it’s actually pretty cool that it’s home right in our little town. It’s my favorite during the summer when there are boys on the frat benches. Sorry, mom, I had to take a detour and go past Wabash.
10. Everyone knows where “ghetto” Kroger is.
Surprisingly, there are two Kroger grocery stores in town, and they are known as the “Big Kroger” and “Ghetto Kroger”. Where the name originated from is beyond me, but everyone knows where it is. Trying to explain the name, or the difference between the two to someone that's not from around here is actually difficult.
11. We all link our arms during tragedy and hard times.
If there’s one thing that nobody is immune to, it’s tragedy. Crawfordsville has seen it’s fair share of really, really hard situations and tough situations. During these times, no matter our differences, everyone bands together to help cope and deal with the tragedy. It’s really amazing to see everyone come together.
12. No matter how far away we want to be, we always will remember where we came from.
I am the first to admit that I wanted to be as far away from Crawfordsville as I possibly could be when I graduated high school, and I’m definitely not the only one. But one thing my first year of college taught me was that I’m truly a small town girl, and I’ll always be at heart. We all want to get out at one point or another, but we have our roots here. We grew up here. Like one of my favorite Kenny Chesney songs says, “where everyone knows everyone / There ain’t no secrets around here / Either you love me, or you hate me for all that I am / Either I hold your heart, or I hold you down / I’m a small town”, we all will share this humble hometown for the rest of our lives.
Picture: Enjoy the picture of me and my sister from her junior prom. We are at Wabash College taking photos on campus.
