Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Larimore: Hotbed of Activity

Can you really imagine what it would be like to grow up in a little town like this? This is kitty-corner from the bank and drug store and is, apparently, the entertainment district. Oh! And down the block was an area that looked like it would get flooded in winter and turned into an ice skating rink.

Above, note the combination of "Larimore improvement," and "off sale"--not the juxtaposition that I would normally have in mind! Below is a closer shot of the "Tumbleweed."

I actually wanted to go in there. I wanted to go in there, see if there was a person that looked willing to let me photograph them, and even ask them what it was like to live in this little town. But I chickened out.

Directly across from the bank was the shopping district. Note the farmer's market, and the competition to the "Tumbleweed."

I regret that I didn't go over and talk to this man and check out the vegetables. They certainly look better than what we have growing in our yard this summer! I'm vowing to be much braver on our next road trip to little towns.

Pat's comment yesterday about "one stoplight" made me laugh!

But maybe the train crossing light kind of counts as a stoplight.

This really was the "teeming metropolis." It's actually one of the larger towns around. The next little town I drove into, Arvilla, ND, has a population of 293. The incidence of personal crime per 10,000 residents is 6. How does that work with a population of 293? Would that be like one middle school kid hitting another middle school kid in oh, say, 1980?

10 comments:

Yolanda said...

Great photos. They really give a sense of this "little" town.

Ron said...

Ya know sis, I will agree that this is a really small town but its not that much smaller then, oh lets say, CICERO!!!

Suzy said...

Wow that is a tiny town! And it looks like all the buildings are squished together in one bigger building and then painted to separate them :). And no the train crossing light doesn't count as a stop light hehe..

Bruce Melby said...

The next time you visit Larimore, please stop in and I will gladly answer your questions.
A couple notes of interest:
While we don't have a stop light, during the Grand Forks flood of 1997 we had three temporary stop signs on highway 18 to slow the traffic with the additional foot traffic in the business district. Our population was estimated at between four and five thousand for a brief time.

The Tumbleweed building was also a bank at one time. I have images of both bank buildings in their original state.

--sme said...

These pictures are awesome! And I can only imagine the conversation and strange looks had you gone in to ask if anyone would let you take their picture...how cool that would be! Also loved your humor at the end. :)

Nicki said...

Oh I was hoping you ventured into the Tumbleweed - love the cutouts. Probably put up to give the illusion of being the "hot spot" because if you drive through the town REALLY fast, you could possibly mistake them for 'people'--who knows, maybe they were counted in the census. I can't say much because I grew-up in a one stoplight town. One half on one side of the river, the other half on - well, the other side of the river. There was the "business" section and then there was the "train depot" section. Over the years the action has moved from one side to the other, and they've added 2 more stop lights - but not sure why because its still a sparse little place. I love the character of small towns and am so glad I grew up in one.

Reds said...

Oh boy - that is one small town!! Love the farmer's market!! You should totally go see him next time!

pat said...

Boy, that is one stark little town. I wonder if people count the RR cars as the train barrels through town?

Maria said...

Ugly little town. I'm sorry but it's ugly. I hope it has other redeeming qualities . . .

Barb said...

Actually, the town looks better than the town we live by and it looks like it even offers more than the town we live by.