10 Signs You Grew Up In Hadley PA

You never truly realize how small of a town you are from until you grow up and fly the nest. Hadley, Pennsylvania was my home for 18 years and it was basically all I knew. Not until I saw it in the rear view mirror did it really dawn on me how “small town” my upbringing had been. Hadley has yet to reach 2,000 people and it isn’t really growing. Here are 10 Signs that you grew up in Hadley PA…where there are more cows than people!

1. You are fascinated when you hear another language being spoken.

This is one of the negative truths about coming from a small town like myself. In most small towns like Hadley, you’ll find one race, one religion, and one language. When I started my freshman year at UT and heard students around me speaking Spanish, Swahili, Punjabi, and other languages from all around the world, I was interested. Not that I had believed that English was the only language beforehand, but it just became transparent how BIG the world really is and how many different cultures there are that come together at my campus.

2. You shake your head in disbelief when your peers at school point to someone and say “I think I graduated with that person”. You mean you don’t know?

The chances are high that I knew most people in my town growing up. In fact, I could personally tell you a story about each person I graduated with. So when my peers who came from large schools and graduated with up to 1,000 kids make such comments, I am reminded again how unusual it is to know everyone in your graduating class.

3. Your wildest nights out were cornfield parties with the people you went to kindergarten with.

Part of me wishes I was joking, but the other part of me knows that these corn field parties and bon fires with close friends were a lot safer than the fraternity parties and club/ bar scenes I am exposed to now. Plus, who doesn’t love warm beer and skinny dipping in fishing ponds! Cheers to Friday nights on the town.

4. Your best memory from senior year was “Senior Campout”.

After the seniors’ last day of school, the class camps out in the school’s front yard. With a burn barrel, hot dogs and marshmallows, a couple trucks to tailgate on, and a handful of tents and campers, everyone is content to chill under the stars together the night before they walk across the stage and end what has been the last 12 years of their life with this groups of people.

5. Your second best memory from senior year was “Drive Your Tractor to School Day”

This one really catches people’s attention, but in fact, this is a timely tradition that you begin looking forward to as soon as you enter junior high. Amongst the last few days of senior year, the seniors pick a day to trade up their typical cars for tractors, lawn mowers, side by sides, four wheelers, dirt bikes, and other ATV’s or farm vehicles that can be driven.

6. People look at you like they saw a ghost when you tell them you graduated with less than 100 people.

Personally, my class had less than 50 kids in it, and even more shockingly, most of them were also the people I went to kindergarten with. Not a lot of people come to small towns, and not a lot of people leave. This also explains why my school didn’t have a football team, swim team, or a lacrosse team. Secondly, many of the sports we did have, we had a combined team with the small schools next door.

7. You’re the only one to leave your state for college.

Small towns are comfortable and many people are content to stay in their small hometowns with their families, friends, and roots. I don’t regret leaving mine though and trying something new. Bigger cities and different areas offer a lot more opportunities for jobs as well as personal development.

8. You’ve never heard of an Uber or Lyft before, nor have you taken a public bus.

In small towns, you almost always need a car to get from place to place (unless you’re hitching rides with your Amish neighbors on their horse and buggies). The first time I tried taking a bus in Tampa, I waited for it on the wrong side of the road. But fear not, once I figured out the system, I saved a lot of money using buses instead of Ubers or taxis. Plus, with the help of Google Maps, it just takes a little bit of practice until you are cruising.

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9. You stand at a cross walk forever because you didn’t know there was a button to press.

Laugh all you want, but when I wanted to cross the roads at home I just waited for all the cars to go and then I went. Most roads back home are dirt roads without signs, you walk wherever and whenever you want. It only took once for someone to come up behind me, stand there a few minutes, and go “Did you push the button?”. Oops.

10. You trust people way too much and are seemingly naive about what the big bad city contains in its darkest corners.

Gangs? The only gang you knew of was the group of guys who would go “mudding” and tear up farmers’ fields on the off seasons with their four-wheel drive beater trucks and cars. Political protests? Oh, you mean like when we complained to our principal about the “fingertip length rule” for girls who wore shorts to school? Scam artists? The only time you’ve ever felt cheated is when the refs made a bad call in your little league games. Drug violence? You’ve only ever seen it in movies.

If you’ve been raised in a small town like myself, prepare to put your guard up when you move to a city. Crime rates are drastically higher and with large numbers of people, your new home is even at a larger risk for large scale incidents like terrorist attacks, riots, or shootings. This isn’t to scare you from testing the waters in a new place, just be prepared for a bigger world than where you came from.

Do you have any other signs you grew up in Hadley PA!? Share in the comments below!

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