This morning while searching Google for information about hometowns, I came across the lyrics to two songs about hometowns. Unfortunately reading the lyrics did not make me feel better. Bruce Springsteen and James Taylor both sang about how the places of youth had changed. The sad part is they had not changed for the good. Both songs allude to how things were not the same as they used to be, and about staying in a hometown.

Thinking back on my younger days, I can remember downtown as the place to be. You had Western Auto as the place to find the latest bikes; blue jeans, hats, and boots were abundant at E.R. Roberts; Sunday shoes could be found at Johnson’s; and new clothes could be found at Roberts Bros. You could buy the latest 45’s (vinyl records for those younger than 40) at Kuhn’s or Elmore’s for a $1.00, get your drugs at Fowler’s or Strickland Drugs and get a really good burger at C. F. Penn’s. If you needed animal feed, garden seed, fertilizer or hoop cheese Stewart & Bennett was the place to go. If you wanted to make ice cream, the ice was plentiful at Hartselle Ice Co., or you could buy a new refrigerator at Morton’s or Minor Furniture Co. could help you out. If you needed something that was not available anywhere else McClanahan Hardware was the place to check.

Back then it almost seemed that you never had to leave Hartselle to find anything that you needed. You could find everything in downtown or the general area of downtown. The good old days, as some would refer to them seemed a slower pace; more smiling faces and a “Mayberry” type feel of a town. But things do change and even though we may sometimes wish for days gone by we still have a great hometown in which to live and raise our families.

However, to keep Hartselle as the hometown that we love and enjoy, revenue is needed to provide the services that we need and desire. Since most of the revenue required comes through sales tax the more money we all spend in Hartselle makes for a win-win situation. The merchants and businesses here will be able to re-invest in their operations and create more jobs and opportunities for all the folks here. Also, our city government will have the funds necessary to take care of the needs of the city. Maybe we all can work a little harder and really try and support our local folks. The tax money spent here will make life better for all of us and keep our hometown moving forward.

Randy Garrison is the president and publisher of the Hartselle Enquirer.