Last Saturday was a great day in Columbia. There is simply no other way to describe it other than that. The city and Marion County showed why small towns are some of the best places to live in the country.
Operation Clean Sweep and the Main Street Cruise-In gave our community a big boost and showed a lot about the kind of folks who live here. Sure, there are many people that like to point out the downfalls of our community. We’re not wealthy, we don’t have huge factories paying all of their employees $30 per hour and we all know that there is a drug epidemic here. But face it, every community has a drug problem – just watch TV or read the papers. Those factories and high-paying jobs? They come with the price tag of a higher cost of living. I often hear people describing a salary they’d like to get and mentioning a place where that salary is available. The funny thing is that that salary won’t go any further because real estate or rentals are two, three and even 10 times higher in those locations.
So in reality, we’ve got it pretty good in our little town and in our county. Though I’m not an outsider anymore, I can still look back on the places that I’ve lived and rank Columbia among the best. Besides my hometown, I’ve now spent more time here than any other place in my life.
Saturday showed why Columbia is one of my favorite places that I’ve ever lived. How many other communities could muster 75 to 100 people or more to clean up on a humid, 100-degree day? Not many, I’m sure.
I didn’t get a chance to help out a whole lot Saturday because I was heading to the various locations to take pictures and observe the work that was being done. I heard chainsaws and lawn mowers. I also saw people working up a sweat and it wasn’t for money. Those of you who were out there working did it for pride.
We all want our town to put its best foot forward for residents and visitors. Columbia certainly did that on Saturday.
The town was cleaned up just in time for classic and collectible cars, trucks and motorcycles to come to town. More than 100 vehicles were on display on Main Street Saturday night. An estimated 1,200 people walked the streets of Columbia checking out the cars and enjoying food from vendors. They talked, laughed and yes, even danced.
One of the best moments of the night – if not the summer, happened as a wedding party, fresh out of the ceremony, headed to the Cruise-In. One of the drivers was a massive stereo system began playing music and voila, an impromptu dance began. It was truly amazing to see people dancing and laughing in the streets of downtown Columbia. I defy some of the folks from those stuffy metropolitan areas to ever say they’ve seen that.
I left downtown Columbia and headed to a local restaurant with a smile on my face.
When organizers first began talking about the Cruise-Ins way back when, I don’t think they could have envisioned a better night than last Saturday. Maybe, just maybe, July’s edition with more people and fireworks, but I’m not even sure that topped the feeling I felt as I watched people dancing in the streets of downtown Columbia.
Yes, Saturday was truly what small town life is about. In my life, I’ve lived in cities as large as Buffalo, N.Y., and as small as Columbia. I’ve enjoyed food and fellowship as I worked in small towns like Pottsville, Pa., Hillsdale, Mich., Massillon, Ohio, Beaver Falls, Pa. and Coldwater, Mich., but I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a crowd having as much fun as we did last Saturday night. Maybe, just maybe, a New Year’s Eve celebration on Garfield Square in Pottsville, Pa., but it’s a maybe.
Next month, the Columbia Gearheads and Main Street will host another Cruise-In. In October, our town will have festivals and events ranging from the annual Heritage Festival and Gator Fest to the Zombie Swampocalypse, Haunted House and more.
I urge people to come out and enjoy these events. Make new friends and see old ones. Most of all, enjoy yourself and be thankful that we live in a small town that can be an epicenter for events like these.
If you want to be a part of something special, I hear that there is a parade set for our local Dixie Youth and softball teams to celebrate their World Series wins and appearances set for 10 a.m. Aug. 19. As we get the details, we’ll pass them on, but be sure to come out and support the kids. I’m sure it will be a good time.
Thanks, Columbia, for showing others how it’s done.
Mark Rogers is the managing editor for The Columbian-Progress. He can be reached at (601) 736-2611 or by email at news@ columbianprogress.com.
