My Small Town City Life

Like so many of our Heartwarming books, the setting for my two series (so far) are small towns, one on Lake Michigan, the second on the shores of a river with a covered bridge. These towns have Main Streets, shopping, schools, libraries, parks, festivals, and iconic landmarks. Sounds just like the little place where I grew up. It was Chicago, also known as the “city of neighborhoods.” My neighborhood was called Ravenswood, and the heart of it was Lincoln Square. It wasn’t State Street or Michigan Avenue, but it was our neighborhood’s “downtown.” 

I was a little girl and part of a crowd on the Saturday morning when the now famous statue was dedicated, which became an important event in my young life.

 

I went to the Eliza Chappell school, the first of my two neighborhood grade schools. Even as a young girl, I was impressed that my school was named after a woman, a pre-Civil War-era pioneer for public education in Chicago. (Funny how even little things help shape attitudes.) My high school, named after Norwegian Antarctic explorer Roald Amundsen, was across the athletic field and stadium. My dad used to joke that since he was Norwegian, Roald was probably a relative.

Chicago neighborhoods were originally associated with African-American migration from the South and the ethnic groups who settled in various parts of the city. Lincoln Square was originally known as a German neighborhood, but by the time I was born, it was more of a mixture of working class people and a few enclaves of wealthier families. Although some of my classmates lived in single-family homes, often brick bungalows, most of us lived in two or three-flat buildings, or like me, in one of the 3-story buildings that sat on corners and had three or four dozen apartments—a little village by itself.

Lincoln Avenue, “Main Street,” had “plain stores” like meat markets and delis and places to buy socks and school shoes. It’s a little more upscale and gentrified now, but a couple markets and the Merz Apothecary are keeping company with a thriving indie bookstore and many ethnic restaurants and cafes. 

Like any small town, Lincoln Square has festivals and welcomes excuses to celebrate.

I’ve had the joy of living many different places and wouldn’t trade the experiences for anything, but I never go back to Chicago without roaming around my old neighborhood, which still has a small town in a city atmosphere.

Meanwhile, I’m still celebrating my latest release, A Bridge Home, Book 3 of my Back to Bluestone River series. Like my Lincoln Square neighborhood, Bluestone River is a small town with a big heart.



A Bridge Home marks Virginia McCullough’s sixth book for the Harlequin Heartwarming line. An author of both fiction and nonfiction books, Virginia’s also a ghostwriter/editor and a coach for other authors at various stages of their careers. Her other Harlequin Heartwarming books include her first series: Girl in the Spotlight, Something to Treasure, and Love, Unexpected. She also writes award-winning women’s fiction, including Amber Light, Island Healing, and Greta’s Grace. All Virginia’s stories explore themes of hope, healing, and plenty of second chances.  

You can add you name to Virginia’s mailing list at www.virginiamccullough.com  and visit her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/virginia.mccullough.7 and on Twitter: @VEMccullough

Comments

  1. I love reading this. It's something I knew--my husband grew up in a "small town" in Louisville, KY--but it's hard to make real in a rural dweller's mind. (That would be me.) Thanks for sharing it.

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    1. Thank--I tend to forget how stunning the statue of Lincoln is, and how it helped create that section of the larger neighborhood. Carl Sandburg was a resident. The library is historic, with Depression era murals, now the Old Town School of Folk Music. Funny how neighborhoods change, too--I couldn't afford to live there now!

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  2. I loved seeing your neighborhood in pictures and through your memories, Virginia. I spent part of my youth in a suburb, then most of the rest in a big-city neighborhood too. Do you,live in a smaller place now? And if so, how does it compare? I'm curious. Thanks for this glimpse of your past!

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    1. I live in a small town now, essentially adjacent to Green Bay, WI. I've lived in smallish cities and on a tiny island community in Maine. The local library and grocery stores and such almost make my current town seem like neighborhood living, but I think it's harder these days. Once I left Chicago I was always "from away." But I'm glad I got to move around a lot.

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  3. How interesting to see the small-town feeling in a big city neighborhood. I love the glimpse into your life. Thanks, Virginia.

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    1. Thanks, Beth. I've got lovely memories of the place--especially the library! The book store that's on the street now is part of making the area strong.

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  4. Curious how people instinctively create neighborhoods within larger metropolises to the extent that crossing a bridge takes on the weight of entering an entirely new territory. I noticed that when I lived in various parts of the Lower Mainland in British Columbia. Thanks for letting me wander with you through your childhood neighborhood, Virigina!

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    1. Thanks--Chicago has such a fascinating collection of great neighborhoods with such rich history. If I run into other people from Chicago we identify ourselves by neighborhood names and our high schools.

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    2. Oh, Virginia, this nearly brought tears to my eyes. Living so close to Chicago all my young life, I remember those neighborhoods so well and had friends and family who lived in these wonderful enclaves. I adore Chicago. It's bee the setting for so many of my novels. You are so blessed to have these experiences. Don't you love it??? I can't wait to read the new book. Thanks for this "walk" with you.

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    3. Thanks, Catherine, I think Chicago is one of those cities that seems to welcome everyone. My sister lives downtown and has missed seeing the tourists this summer and giving directions to "lost people." I've always believed I was blessed to have grown up in Chicago with all its richness.

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  5. Lovely post, Virginia. It's funny the things from childhood that stick with us. As a kid I always wanted to live in a place where I could walk to a corner store or library. I enjoyed the stroll through your hometown.

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    1. Thanks--all the walking to schools and the library and the stores has stuck with me. I still don't take well to the need to drive in order to "do" so much of my life.

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  6. I love how cities have neighborhoods with a distinctive character, and Chicago is amazing that way. Even in the very small town where I live now, there are distinctive neighborhoods with special shops and restaurants.

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