1)  A Town We Call Home

A Soviet Magazine Features Granville

(Carol Apacki)

A Russian magazine, called something like Soviet Life, wanted to do a story about small town America and they came to do Granville.  And they needed sort of a representative family and they asked our family to be in the story about the town.  So two photographers and a writer came -- we still have the picture they took of our family standing in front of the pink house in Granville. 

At first the story was going to be more about a family living in a small town.  But they got so fascinated by the town itself that they took hundreds and hundreds of pictures of people in the community:  Mr. Fuller standing in front of Fuller’s Market with his broom and his son -- just sort of Gothic American pictures, all black and white.  This was Granville in the early 1970’s and they absolutely fell in love with the town.  And so it was a feature story in the Russian magazine.  In fact, I’ve got a copy of the magazine that I should probably give to the library some day. 

So Granville, I think, to the Russians and to people that come here, represented sort of small town America, the best of small town.  Diversity where young and old, rich and poor could all live in a small town setting.

Why Granville is a Great Place to Live

(Fred Palmer)

Granville a really is a great place to live.  We have a great fire department.  We’re close to Columbus.  In 45 minutes you can be downtown Columbus.  The airport is on this side of Columbus.  There’s a hospital on the west side of Newark.  And, if you want to go to the hospital in Columbus, that’s not a big problem.  I think we have an excellent police department, and we have good schools.  The taxes are high, but high property values and high taxes go together.  You can’t have one without the other.  And I think that it’s just a great place to live and for people to raise kids.  And if people have a problem and need help or have some tragedy happen in their family, everybody is willing to help those people.  It’s just amazing.

A Hometown You’d Love to Live in

(Don Wiper)

I think Granville Is probably what a lot of people would hope their hometown is like.  We’ve run into so many people, particularly Denison graduates who say, “Oh, my goodness, how could you possibly be able to live in this wonderful community?  This is the kind of place we’d always like to live in.”  I think it’s a mixture of the unique character of down town – the small business section, the strong presence of the churches, the good school system, and the warmth of the people.

Small Town, Trusting People

(Robert Kent)

The one thing I really like about Granville is the people.  People are number one and the rural, friendly atmosphere.  That’s what really draws me to Granville.  I like the open spaces.  I like the hills.  But I like the people most of all -- they’re small town, trusting people.

A Snowy Night on Broadway

(David Hawkins)

My most vivid Granville memory was leaving my office at one o’clock in the morning one night after working late to get something done, and driving down Broadway in the middle of the night with snow coming down quite hard and the lights on, snow on the ground, it just looked so clean and crisp.  It looked like the old days -- and there was nobody else there but me.  I felt like I was Jimmy Stewart in a scene from the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

People Move Back to Granville

(Laurie Kissack)

I think Granville has attracted that kind of mixture of creative people because it’s charming -- the downtown, the houses are well kept. And you can find almost any kind of living here that you want.  We’ve met a lot of people that moved back here – have lived here once and moved back here because this is where they were happiest. . . whether it was in college or they lived here and then their husband was transferred.  And the husband says, “you know, I could take a job close to Granville and you’ll be happier and the kids will happier.”

(Fred Karaffa)

Granville kids will give you a story about they can hardly wait to get out of this small town, and they go to college, and then they come back.  They try to find some work in the area so they can come back here to live.  And I think that most people who grow up in Granville liked it and would like to try to live here.

Married the Boy Next Door

(Kelly Rosinski)

There are things about Granville that I appreciate now that I didn’t appreciate as a child growing up here.  When I was in high school, we just made fun of Granville constantly.  How boring it was.  There’s nothing to do.  I just wanted out.  . . . [ Now ] what I like especially about being back home in Granville is the sense of community.  My sister Amy also married someone who lived less than a half-mile from us and who attended Granville.

I Know I’m Home

(Robert Kent)

I do know that whenever I return back to Granville from a trip or being gone in the winter, the minute I come into town and see the Denison chapel up on the hill and I know I’m home.  It’s a great feeling I have when I come into town – seeing the hills and the university up on the hill.  Denison University is very special to my wife and I because we met there.

The Best of Both Worlds

(Arnold Joseph)

Living in a small college town, I have the best of two worlds in that I have the small town friendly atmosphere and yet I have the cultural and intellectual stimulus of the college.  So it’s just really ideal.

Diverse, Creative People Hold Same Values

(Laurie Kissack)

We have a tremendously diverse and creative population.  Where we moved from it was farmers and teachers – and that was it.  When we moved here, our group of friends ranged from doctors to artists to engineers.  And I just love the creative people that I meet here.  I just met a woman who makes baskets and does the prototypes for Bath and Body.  It seems like a month doesn’t go by that I don’t meet somebody that has just an extraordinary job or talent.  Kate Kenah is my friend and she writes books.  Our next-door neighbor’s an illustrator.  We just have so many creative people that it never ceases to amaze me.  And although our occupations and interests are very diverse, I think our values are the same.  I like being with people with the same values.  They cherish their town and they cherish their neighbors and they cherish their schools and their churches.  But they’re all very interesting in their own ways.

A Conservative Town with Radical People

(George Williamson)

Granville looks like a New England town.  It’s a college town with a lot of vibrant, intellectual life.  It’s a conservative town that is home to some of the most radical people you’ll ever know.  And it’s a beautiful place and a warm and friendly place and a place that is doing what it can to preserve a traditional identity against the overwhelming odds.

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