Love it or hate it, Edgerton is a unique little town. Full of tractors, football, and cowboy boots, it’s exactly the type of place you’d expect to hear about in a country song. It’s not the most exciting place on earth but it’s got character nonetheless. Here are 10 things you are likely to have experienced if you grew up in the small, rural village we hold dear to our hearts.
1. ...You're from where?
Let’s all be honest, we’ve been asked this question way too many times, mostly because no one outside of northwest Ohio has ever heard of Edgerton. Not that we’d expect them to. We usually end up giving a broad spectrum like “I’m from the Toledo area” or “Do you know where Defiance is?” when it comes to explaining where we live.
2. Gypsy Hill
Was I the only one who was surprised when it wasn’t actually a hill? Regardless, we all know the story about how the gypsies were run out of town. If you were brave enough you drove out there with your friends, turned the car off, got out, locked the doors, and waited for something to happen. Ask anyone, we all have our own varying stories of what happens when you take a trip back to Gypsy Hill.
3. Mr. Stoll's science class
Who could forget Mr. Stoll’s junior high science class? He was everyone’s favorite science teacher. He taught us how to dissect a worm and made us watch “Mr. Sun”. He gave us spelling words for talking during class and there wasn’t a day that passed that my class didn’t break Rule #3—stay in your seat until the bell rings. But at the end of the day, we loved that class because it was so laid back and that’s where all of our best stories originated from.
4. The trains
There is not one railroad crossing in town but two and it is not uncommon to get stuck behind one of them because a train blocking BOTH crossings. As a result, trains are a valid excuse for being late 90% of the time, unless you’re trying to get an “excused” for being tardy to school.
5. You made your own fun
I think I speak for everyone when I say there is literally nothing to do in Edgerton. The closest anything is at least a 20 minute drive. Therefore, we had to make our own fun. This probably involved multiple trips to Wal-Mart and Taco bell. You also probably gathered groups of 10-15 people that went to the movies together. Occasionally, there were also the attempted dance parties and bonfires.
6. You know everyone
This is not an exaggeration. You know everyone, and their brothers/sisters, and their parents, and more than likely their grandparents too. For some this is comforting, others not so much. You can’t so much as buy a new pair of shoes before the whole town knows and is talking about it.
7. FFA was life
A large percentage of our high school was a part of our FFA. As a matter of fact, I believe we have one of the largest FFA’s in the county, if not the largest. It makes sense, considering we are a large farming community. However, our FFA wins numerous awards, goes on annual trips, and even brings in a petting zoo during FFA week.
8. Your friends defined you
Stereotypes are strong in our small community. Who your friends were played a huge role in how people looked at you. This mostly plays back into “You know everyone”. It didn’t matter who you were as an individual, the group that you hung out with was crucial. However, this thought process mostly just applies to the adults in town. If one of your friends had a bad reputation you more than likely adopted that reputation as well. This also probably wasn’t something you figured out until after you graduated high school and by then you also realized those opinions and reputations don't matter.
9. You have the stoplights timed perfectly
Considering there is only two of them it isn’t hard to do, but you probably know the exact timing of the stop lights. When the light by the post office turns green the other is a few seconds behind—just enough time to get to it—and occasionally they are perfectly in sync. You also probably know that after 11 pm they only flash red and yellow because there is no point in directing traffic… there isn’t any
10. You wanted to get out
Don’t mistake this for a bad thing, we all wanted to leave. It was too small, there was nothing to do; there are countless reasons for leaving. The majority of us had big plans to move away and never come back. The lucky ones did just that, others are still there, and the rest of us are still working on the never coming back part. It doesn’t mean we didn’t appreciate our time in Edgerton, it just means we’ve had enough of the small town atmosphere.
