Behind every person is a hometown that they left. Now, I’m not talking about hometowns as in the hometowns that everyone meets during "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette." No, I’m talking about a hometown that you were raised and grew up in.
My hometown is Galena, Missouri. Sometimes I don’t claim it. Sometimes I do. Hometowns make up each and every one of us. It’s broken down into our DNA. It’s all about our past and our first experiences of first kisses, Friday nights spent cheering on the basketball team and Saturdays spent judging cattle for our FFA chapter. Galena, Missouri, is a special place in my heart that will always be important for so many different reasons, and here’s why.
First of all, our population is about 400 people, give or take a few. We have two schools: an elementary school and a high school. Our elementary houses our pre-K to sixth grade, while our high school takes care of seventh to 12th. Galena is a very rural town with lots of people who enjoy hunting, fishing, and camping, myself included. My family lives on family land right in between Crane and Galena -- literally in about the middle of nowhere.
Galena, Missouri, is known for the Y-Bridge. It’s a rarely seen structure, yet easily identifiable overhead due to the Y shape that it replicates. The Y-Bridge in Galena used to allow vehicles, yet now it’s just a footbridge.
Our historic square isn’t very historic now but was once a beautiful landmark filled with businesses, people, and traditions. Our 4th of July fireworks is always a beautiful one right off the Y-Bridge, where all can see the sky lit up with magical colors.
Though the town is small, families of the high school students come out for volleyball, basketball, and baseball to rally around our student athletes. My favorite memory about Galena has to be our Homecoming because pre-K through 12th grades attend an all-day assembly in the gym where we get ready to play the biggest game of the season! My senior year was the best because not only was I a homecoming candidate but because I was with one of my best friends, Dalton Chambers! I still remember the feeling when we won homecoming and we just looked at each other while we stood in shock as they crowned us.
Galena is a town of comfort and quiet. We don’t have any stoplights or fancy restaurants. We have one gas station and one home-owned restaurant, and that keeps us happy. We get our gas while we head out of town to get groceries and we go to movie theaters too far away that we break curfews on our way back home. Galena’s a quiet town where our best club is FFA and it isn’t a club, but it’s a way of life. All of the students get to be in whatever club they want and play whatever sport that want because we never had enough students who wanted to play so we always got to play anyway!
Sure, my town is small, and when I’m in school at the University of Missouri in Columbia, nobody has ever heard of it. But all of my childhood memories are all in playing basketball, cheerleading, and having my family's support. Sure, some people don’t understand what it’s like to grow up in such a small town, but it makes me grateful for what I have and it pushes me to grow my dreams big and to make sure that I follow them. Not everyone will understand that, but I’m still G-H-S all the way! Go Bears!
