The three townships that make Highland the best hometown

We might grow up and move away, but none of us will ever forget the ‘Tattoos’ we left on ‘that town’

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Growing up almost anywhere in Ohio usually leads every angsty teenager to want nothing more than to get out. We all know there is so much outside of corn fields and bipolar weather and we all just can’t wait to leave. Some of us stick around, some move away, but all-in-all, an Ohio hometown is like no other.

Where I’m from we don’t really have a “hometown” that has a real classification. We are a collection of three small townships that make up the Highland community. Smack dab in between about seven different school districts, we clearly had the most heart of any area around us.

Highland means Friday night lights before Friday night Bdubs, Saturday night Sheetz followed by Sunday morning Hinckley donuts. Highland means windows down, country music up, cruising down Route 94 which connects us all.

We might not have any malls or really ANY stores within 20 minutes of us, but that just meant we became very creative when we had to find out what to do. We were never scared of country roads that are 60mph with no street lights, even with the occasional farmer in overalls on the side of the road.

Nothing explains Highland better than those Friday nights on the football field. If you’re old like me you remember the old football stadium, where in middle school we spent it on the hill socializing and causing trouble, but as soon as high school came we were rocking the bleachers with the loudest student section out there. What other kids could break brand new bleachers at an away game?

There was nothing like watching Coach Lombardo scream on the sidelines when we would win a game at the last minute, and there was no other high school rivalry quite like Highland and Wadsworth(less).

The best part of the Highland community is the way we would all come together. Just in my high school years we had a lot of tragedy, and every single time we came together as a family to grieve and overcome.

Each township has it’s own thing to offer, and we bring it all to the table. Hinckley natives bring us just about the only thing we all laugh at but love, Buzzard Day. Don’t forget to mention Hinckley park! Granger neighbors know that, even in a couple square miles, we hold the heart of it all with the middle and high schools. Sharon residents have the best barns for bonfires and can tell you any back road to help you get anywhere faster.

Highland High (obviously being biased) is the best high school I could have asked for. We really didn’t have “cliques” in our class and we all became amazing friends. We all shared an amazing love for our school and our hometown, and that showed. School spirit days where incomparable to any other one I have ever seen, and not many other places will you hear “drive your tractor to school day” and think it’s completely normal.

We may have been small, but we grow up learning how important community is, how to make anything fun, and what a true friendship is. All in all, Highland has changed me to be the person I am today and I know that many others feel the same. We might grow up and move away, but none of us will ever forget the “Tattoos” we left on “that town.”

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