Towns big and small, known and strange
82mhz wrote a thing about revisiting the town he grew up in. I want to add two cents from my perspective, my Hometown, etc.
I grew up in Fenton, Missouri. A Fentonite, and I still identify as that. Fenton – City of Parks, has been renamed to Olde Towne Fenton (way cooler!). The reason for this, is because the area around it (expansion of Highway 141, the Gravois Bluffs (an outdoor outlet mall), fast food restaurants, affordable and less affordable grocery stores, Starbucks, etc.) were all added in the past 25 years.
The expansion really started in 2002, completed in 2006. I was born in 1983, so I remember when near all of it was woods. My small subdivision off Delores Drive, down Highway 30, which in and of itself was an expansion, had very little in the surrounding area. Fenton, the historic district along the Meremec River, Blockbuster, KFC, One Hour Photo, Larry's Barbershop (Larry's is still there, though not Larry), Viviano's Italian Eatery (still there, thriving), made up the main “active” parts of “downtown” Fenton.
I remember them building a Wal-Mart in Fenton in 1993, prior to Wal Mart Supercenters, and few in the town were enthusiastic about it. We knew the establishment wouldn't last long, though, as they had decided to build it atop an Indian burial ground. At the edge of a parking lot, near a small series of shops at the corner of the town, a trail went a quarter mile or so into the woods. Small burial sites were surrounded by a short stone parameter. Most people didn't go there, always saying they felt unlucky after visiting. All of it was dug up (and relocated?) when they put in the Wal-Mart. It lasted roughly two years. It sits a large empty building with a Wal-Mart logo stained across the top.
This is more or less a rememberence post – as most of the town is still there (Olde Towne Fenton is, anyway). The Bluffs overran most smaller businesses, bringing in customers to Starbucks instead of a cafe, or Trader Joes instead of Schnucks. The surrounding municipalities came in droves, too. The further rural areas (House Springs, Cedar Hill), and also from South St Louis County – no shortage of latte lovers and Applebee's patrons in the Midwest. (Also, ironic, as South St Louis County was once considered “affluent” with Crestwood Mall, Drive-In 66, and the entirety of Watson Rd populated with mom & pop shops for miles – thank the convenience of Internet shopping for that decline).