Hometown Stories

There is something grounding about knowing the place you call home: its landmarks, quiet corners, familiar roads, and the stories layered beneath everyday life. Whether we grew up there or found our way there later, towns shape our understanding of community. They provide a sense of continuity and belonging that often remains with us long after we leave.

My Hometown Stories began with the places most closely connected to my own life and family. As the collection has grown, however, so has my understanding of what a hometown can be. It is not only where we were born or where we currently live. It can also be a community we return to over the years or a place we discover while traveling that invites us to slow down and learn more.

When visiting a new community, I enjoy leaving the main road to explore its town center, historic neighborhoods, public buildings, churches, cemeteries, museums, and preserved landscapes. Courthouse squares, old mills, general stores, monuments, plaques, and small historical markers often reveal stories that would otherwise remain unnoticed. They show us not only what happened in a town, but also what its residents value and how they have chosen to remember their past.

These stories are my way of looking more closely at the communities we visit and sharing what I discover. Each one begins with a place, but ultimately becomes a story about people; those who established the community, those who sustained it, and those who continue deciding what will be preserved and carried forward.