More Than Meets the Eye

Dolbe Wayfair

Because I was born and raised in the town of Florence, Texas, I know a thing or two about "sleepy little towns." People today only realize that they are traveling through Florence when they have to stop for the one of the two traffic lights. They wonder how people can stand to live in a small town when there is nothing to do; so they just stop at the gas stations, to fill up their tanks and then continue on their way. Little do they realize how interesting a small town can be; it's like viewing /small colony of ants without a magnifying glass. It appears as though there isn't much going on at first, but when people look closely they see there is so much more happening.

The first things someone might notice in a small town are the buildings. One might notice how big or small, old or new these buildings are. Two of the more interesting buildings are shops now known as the Fitness Center, located on the corner of College and Main, and its counterpart, the Un Mall. The Un Mall to the outsider would be thought of as a Good-Will store, because [of its] low priced, and slightly used clothes. The Un Mall was recently shut down after it was discovered that the shop owner had a drug operation occurring upstairs. The Un Mall was previously a restaurant, and before that an antique store. What is now The Fitness Center was once the first bank in Florence, and it still has the original vault. Over the years this has transitioned from bank, to junk store, to video store, until it, just recently, a Fitness Center.

Every year on the fourth Friday and Saturday in June, the town of Florence celebrates Florence Friendship Days; Friendship Days begin on Friday with the Miss Friendship, Junior Miss Friendship, and Little Miss Friendship pageants. The Miss Friendships are chosen from high school, middle school, and elementary school aged girls. Early on Saturday morning the booths are placed on Main Street and the various floats for the parade are pulled into place. The parade ranges from floats, which are covered with ribbons and fake flowers, old fashioned cars, horses that are ridden by the [local folk] wearing traditional cowboy outfits while holding flags, and the army band. At 10:30 am the parade begins with the blaring sirens of the fire trucks. It takes about an hour for the parade to meander down the streets.

When the parade is over, Main Street fills with people. Some people are there to sell their homemade crafts and little trinkets, home made ice cream and lunches, but most are there just to mingle with friends. The children run around and play while they wait for the contests, such as the egg toss, to begin. When the egg toss begins, two rows of people line up opposite each other ready to toss a raw egg back and forth. Whoever can get the furthest from each other, while still tossing their egg with out it breaking wins. The street is filled until about 2 p.m. when the sun will drive away the crowds with its blistering heat.

At about 4 o'clock the booths are cleared away and clean up begins in preparation for the street dance. The dance begins at 5 p.m. with a live band performing for the dancers. Most of the town's younger people go to this dance with their dates. This time of the friendship day is more like a bar room dance. Plenty of drinks for everyone; it doesn't seem to matter your age here. The dance is to end at about 1 a.m. Sunday morning. Occasionally the dance becomes rowdy as people have [too] much alcohol to drink.

In December Florence has a Christmas parade and more booths set up. This parade isn't quite as big or well known to people as the Friendship parade, even though Santa is in it. Who said Florence never had celebrities come to town!

Florence has a population just past the thousand mark. Most of the population consists of the elderly, who can tell plenty of stories about the town and how it has changed. They can tell the story about the time when three of the Top Ten Most Wanted criminals were living in the town's trailer parks. No one really knew who they were because they kept to themselves. Someone eventually recognized them, and called the police and the criminals were apprehended. Or the stories about the corrupt town leaders who thought they could get away with embezzling money. The better known story is about the local judge who put another person's name for the money that went into his pocket. Once confronted, he resigned and no charges were brought.

Little towns are more interesting than people think; they see the out side and think how boring it must be to live in one. If they would only take the time to see it in detail they would learn that just because it's a small town, doesn't make the people any different. One never knows what to expect here. There is always something that will surprise every visitor who will venture in and explore the little town of Florence.