Minster, Ohio is the smallest town with the biggest heart

Some considered us hicks, some thought we grew up sheltered… as for us, we called it life. Welcome to the world of Small Town, USA.

One square mile town. 200 pigs. 120 acres of farm land. 55 classmates. 2805 residents in the community. One amazing family.

Sunset on the farm

Minster, Ohio is wasn’t much, but it was everything you ever needed. The closest movie theater was 25 minutes away, the closest mall was 45 minutes away, and the closest amusement park was an hour and a half away. So you’re probably wondering what we all did for fun and entertainment?

I have three words for you: Friday Night Lights

If you weren’t at the games you were either sick, out of town or too busy at the bar. Grandparents, parents, children, and pets were all in attendance. We didn’t have a large student section like other schools because half of us were in the band, a fourth on the field and only a fourth to cheer on the team. The game was the place to be on Friday nights, after the clock ticked down to zero and we secured the victory everyone made their way to the McDonald’s across St. Route 66. It was the local “hang out spot” for the kids and of course we claimed it as our territory, when the rival crossed over, there was some smack talk that went down.

Senior year powderpuff

Of course football season didn’t last all year, basketball soon took its place and after that it was basically summer for all of us. We were forced to make our own fun, scavenger huts, bike rides, pond parties, country concerts and bonfires. We were a town which was straight from the country songs. Everything you heard, we lived. Our community was a second family, there were no “rough areas” of town or places we shouldn’t go. Everyone knew everyone, which also meant everyone knew everything about everyone – there weren’t many secrets in our town.

My morals, my values, my outlook on life all came from the people I was surrounded by for 18 years of life. Now most people would say we were all raised in a “cushioned” environment, that we were raised in a place which was nothing like the real world. I, of course, have to disagree. Growing up in a small town may not have taught me much about diversity, but it taught me a lot about how to treat people. Not only how to treat people, but how to treat myself. Self respect, dignity, pride and unity all of which I still believe in today.

Small town life wasn’t about materialistic things because it taught you those can all vanish within seconds. That stuff doesn’t create happiness. What really does though is the people you surround yourself with, how you carry yourself and what you believe in and sticking to those morals and values. It taught me that once you hold yourself to a certain level and constantly adhere to that level, people will begin to treat you that way and nothing less.

Growing up in a small town, especially on a farm, taught me how to work hard, very hard. When I was younger, my father constantly reminded us that if we wanted something we had to work for it, there were no handouts. We didn’t get an allowance, we were expected to help out around the house. No ifs, ands or buts about it. This lesson affected several areas of my life and I still to this day can hear his voice in the back of my head repeating this lesson.

The community gathered together weekly, every Sunday to be exact. When 95 percent of your town is born and raised in a German Catholic community, you expect two things: God and beer. Those who drank together, prayed together.

Oktoberfest is what we are most famous for – German food, beer, church in the gazebo on Saturday evening and a reunion with those we haven’t seen in awhile. There is nothing but cheerfulness, drunken loving hugs with those we haven’t seen in months and one big german hoedown in the middle of town. Its a time where the beer is pouring and so are the exuberant cries of “EIEIEIO”… look it up, you wont regret it. Its the one time of year where all the cares are out the window and instead it’s a time for nothing but celebration.

Oktoberfest 2015

The hardest part about living in a community which is so close and connected is leaving. It is the same reason why you see so many generations which come from our town and the surrounding ones around us. Nobody wants to leave. Going to college is one of the biggest monumental times for any teenage life but when it involves leaving your friends, a community and most importantly a family which has done nothing but support and love you, it makes it much more difficult. I, on the other hand, knew it wasn’t my place, like it was for some.

As I made my way to college, moving into a dorm which housed just about the same number of people as there was in my community back home, was a big adjustment. Some hated every minute, but I was in the group which loved everything about it. The people, the lights and all the action. I fell in love. I had traveled before moving away to college, but never experienced it on my own. I was a small town girl in a big city and I knew it was where I was supposed to be. After spending two years at the University of Cincinnati, I decided even though I knew a city was where my heart was, I was in the wrong one. My dream was elsewhere.

So of course I followed it. It lead me to The Ohio State University. I knew I had wanted to be a Buckeye since my first game in the stadium when I was in my first years of high school. I had gone with one of my great friends and the atmosphere, the chants and cheers, the lights, I knew I had fallen in love with Columbus. However, the career path I had thought I had wanted, took me on a detour to Cincinnati first. After a couple bumps in the road and path changes, I have finally ended up where I belong.

As I continue to meet new people in my college, I realize one thing in particular: anytime someone finds out I grew up on a farm in a one square mile community, their jaws just dropped. It’s like it is unheard of. It’s hard for some to wrap their brain around the fact a farm girl is surviving in a big city.

First OSU Football Game

My time as a Buckeye has been nothing short of perfect. I still carry the beliefs I learned growing up and remember them even more when I am faced with a difficult decision. No matter what happens, I will always have them to fall back on. As I soon enter into my last year at the best college I could have chosen to attend, I have learned several things about myself. The morals, values and unity I grew up surrounded by will follow me to any place I go – its the foundation of all of the decisions I make and it is because of those three things I have become the person I am today. And even though my home will always be back in the small town and on the farm I grew up on, it’s not where my heart is. No matter what, I will never regret growing up in a community like I did and for this reason I have to fully thank my parents for.

Country Concert 2K15

Growing up in a small town life is simple, some may call it plain or boring but I call it perfect. Many would see it as the middle of nowhere, I see it as a getaway. I know as I continue my adventure of living in the busy city lifestyle, that instead of going to a beach for a getaway vacation, I will find myself back on the farm I grew up on. There are a lot of memories which are hidden in the hay lofts and pig pens, the stars were our night lights when we had bonfires in the summer nights and the cruises down the backroads are something irreplaceable. Some of the nights I won’t remember with the friends I’ll never forget have come from that square mile town and I wouldn’t change growing up there for anything in the world.