One of my many responsibilities as a writer and editor for The Columbian-Progress is to interview local business people weekly for our Professional Profile feature that runs in every Saturday newspaper.
Anybody who commonly reads those profiles knows there’s one question that always seems to draw a common response from the subject of the interview: “What do you enjoy about Columbia and Marion County?” It’s a very simple question, but the answers it consistently elicits are anything but when you examine them.
Growing up in a military family, I moved around a lot as a kid until my dad, Michael, eventually retired from the Navy. I’ve lived in three different cities in Louisiana, two in Pennsylvania, two in Mississippi and one in Virginia. When you move around that much, especially as a kid, it can be really difficult on you because of the people you leave behind. Learning a new town, starting at a new school and making new friends are easy tasks compared to saying goodbye to the people you know and care about the most.
But there are great people everywhere, and in time a lot of those people you didn’t want to leave become like a book you read long ago as you make new connections in a new place. It’s just a fact of life that distance creates holes even in the strongest relationships.
What I’ve come to realize, though, is that very few places actually have a real sense of community. The only true communities I had witnessed in my life were on a small scale, whether it be on a military base, among a sports team or in a fraternity. Those communities were strong in their own right but were exclusive and only expanded when necessary.
But then I got a call one afternoon in July 2016 from a number from a city I had never heard of: Columbia. Prior to that call, my only exposure to Columbia, Mississippi, being a real place was the sign on U.S. 98 in Hattiesburg that said Columbia straight ahead. Then that call came, an interview was scheduled, a job offer was made and I was packing my bags for a place I knew absolutely nothing about.
When I first started doing the Professional Profile, I kept hearing all these people telling me how much they loved the small-town atmosphere and how wonderful the people are when I asked them what they like about their hometown. I have to be honest — the first few months I lived here I thought it was just a bunch of talk. I had never lived in a place so small and was utterly bewildered by how many places were closed on the weekends. I was definitely not a fan of that small-town feel and spent a lot of time in Hattiesburg with my old college pals.
Over time, however, I began to witness how much the people here genuinely care about each other. And it wasn’t just people caring about their family and close friends; it was everyone.
It’s none more evident than when disaster strikes. The people in Marion County come together and look after one another like no place else. We’ve faced a lot of hardship in recent months from the multiple tornados to the coronavirus pandemic costing thousands their jobs, but all you have to do is look around you and you’ll see that sense of community with people helping each other without any thought of reciprocity.
It’s not just a Southern thing as some might claim. For some of you lifelong residents of Marion County who don’t have a lot of experience outside the area, I can tell you that I’ve lived in many places in the South, and there truly is no place like it. The true sense of community here in Marion County is one of a kind, and as a transplant to the area I’m glad I’m able to witness it.
Joshua Campbell is sports editor of The Columbian-Progress. Reach him via email at joshuacampbell@columbianprogress.com or call (601) 736-2611.
