Samaria Day 2008
By Bess Hudson
14 Jun 2008
What city do you live in? What neighborhood?
Samaria, Michigan, USA. It's not a city, it's a small town. Some say we're a suburb of Toledo, Ohio. Do you see anything suburban about it? I don't.
What are some adjectives that describe your neighborhood?
Rural, quiet, agricultural, observant, easy-going
How long have you lived there, and what brought you there?
We moved to Samaria three years ago, nearly four. It's situated on an old stretch of highway, almost precisely between US23 and I-75, both of which are main expressways connecting bigger cities, ie. work. We've got Ann Arbor, Detroit, Toledo and Bowling Green at our fingertips just to name a few. I call it access to opportunity... with a country view.
What is your favorite thing about this place? Your least favorite?
I love the tranquility, the small town feel, seeing the same guy with his dog walk past every day, the agriculture. On the downside, the road that passes through Samaria is old, a test road made out of concrete slabs laid end to end. When the weather changes (as it has a habit of doing in the upper midwest, frequently) the joints tend to crumble lending the infamous and trademark M151 THUMP-THUMP-THUMP of large semi-trailers and empty gravel trucks as they speed past. As children, we used to put our fingers on the screws that held our schoolbus together when riding down this road...so the bus didn't fall apart.
Do you feel that you belong there?
Most definately. My family and my husband's family have lived in this area for generations. It's home.
What is the most common misconception about where you live?
That we're isolated. People hear "small town" and wonder how I get to a grocery store. It's in the next town...erm...five minutes away.
What is a special fact about your city that you have to live there to know?
The name! Samaria is so named after a couple, Samuel and Mary (Mason) Weeks who opened the post office in 1879 right after the railroad was established. It was formerly named Weeksville. Kinda glad they changed it.
What aspect of your city do you secretly love?
Ooooh, the coyotes that yip and yodel at the trains when they sound their horns at night! They live in the woods/fields behind the house. Oh, and that the local farmers planted a double row of white pine that separates their field from the town that borders it.
Anything else you'd like to add?
You don't hear about small town America enough. I grew up a 4-Her and still am, as a leader. When we get together, the first thing we ask of the kids is to tell us where in Michigan they're from but also something INTERESTING about where they're from. They always come up emptyhanded. "It's boring." or "There's nothing to do." Well, pshaw! There's no better place to be in the end! We take so much for granted.
