2008 Woodie Awards
Embrace your Greencastle
By: Beth Towle
Issue date: 10/2/07 Section: Opinion
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On the first day of school this year, I drove into Greencastle and felt like I was home. I had the same feeling of expectation that I still feel every time I drive into my hometown in northern Indiana. Greencastle is my home, in more than just the most literal sense, and I constantly feel a need to defend it.
I have yet to pass a week at DePauw where someone did not say something derogatory about the town of Greencastle. Whether it's talking about "townies," deriding the lack of shopping options or making grand stereotypes about the residents, cruel and unnecessary things are always being said about Greencastle. When I hear these things, I am angered, but I often remain silent. I have decided to finally speak out.
Greencastle is a mirror image of my hometown, Walkerton, a little place of 2400 people. Although Greencastle is nearly four times its size, it looks and feels extremely similar to Walkerton. So when I hear people talking badly about the town of Greencastle, I feel that they're also disparaging my hometown. It is true that I don't want to live in Walkerton for the rest of my life, but it's so deep inside me that I will never break free from it. It is the scenery I write from, and in my mind it will always be home no matter where I end up fifty years from now.
I know that dozens of people before me have defended Greencastle in these pages. They point out reasons why DePauw should perform more community service within the town or why students should shop at more of its stores. But asking University students to deign themselves to help Greencastle is hardly a better form of condescending than any derogatory comment. Students who do community service should want to do it no matter in what town or city their school is located, just as they should shop in the stores of a town they have made their own. When people choose to attend DePauw, they need to realize that the campus isn't their only new home; Greencastle is as well. You choose to live here, and you need to embrace that choice.
I have yet to pass a week at DePauw where someone did not say something derogatory about the town of Greencastle. Whether it's talking about "townies," deriding the lack of shopping options or making grand stereotypes about the residents, cruel and unnecessary things are always being said about Greencastle. When I hear these things, I am angered, but I often remain silent. I have decided to finally speak out.
Greencastle is a mirror image of my hometown, Walkerton, a little place of 2400 people. Although Greencastle is nearly four times its size, it looks and feels extremely similar to Walkerton. So when I hear people talking badly about the town of Greencastle, I feel that they're also disparaging my hometown. It is true that I don't want to live in Walkerton for the rest of my life, but it's so deep inside me that I will never break free from it. It is the scenery I write from, and in my mind it will always be home no matter where I end up fifty years from now.
I know that dozens of people before me have defended Greencastle in these pages. They point out reasons why DePauw should perform more community service within the town or why students should shop at more of its stores. But asking University students to deign themselves to help Greencastle is hardly a better form of condescending than any derogatory comment. Students who do community service should want to do it no matter in what town or city their school is located, just as they should shop in the stores of a town they have made their own. When people choose to attend DePauw, they need to realize that the campus isn't their only new home; Greencastle is as well. You choose to live here, and you need to embrace that choice.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Ben
posted 10/04/07 @ 7:12 PM EST
Wonderfully written.
Lisa
Lisa
posted 11/02/07 @ 7:48 PM EST
Nice article. Thank you for addressing this issue.
Greencastle is a wonderful town and it's unfortunate more students do not open up to the townspeople. (Continued…)
Kevin in Loveland, Ohio
posted 11/20/07 @ 11:13 PM EST
Well done! I felt the friction in 1981 and 1982 when I attend Depauw, and I wondered if the same thing was still going on today. Shame upon the people who still feel that money gives you a leg up on life. (Continued…)
'06 Grad
posted 11/28/07 @ 4:44 PM EST
I also came from a small town in Indiana and had those exact sentiments in my time at DePauw. Learning to think of all people as people - nothing more and nothing less - is a lesson that can be carried throughout life. (Continued…)
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