Be Local before leaving for college
Many area residents will soon be packing their bags as they head off to their next year of college — whether for the first time or for a continuing year in the school they have chosen to make their home over the coming months.
But before you take off for a great adventure of learning about the world and yourself, remember to Be Local.
Take time to enjoy the beauty and traditions of the area before you go.
Visit local restaurants that you won’t find anywhere else for a delicious meal or a cup of coffee. Enjoy a drive to take in what makes this area special: charming towns, beautiful countryside, forests, mountains and waterways.
Visit area parks where you probably have spent time walking, hiking or biking. Swim in a community pool or lake. Visit your favorite fishing hole. Take a picnic and savor an outdoor meal near your home. Check out a covered bridge. Spend a night under the stars at a drive-in movie theater.
You can stop by attractions that are known beyond our borders, such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater in Mill Run, the Great Cross of Christ at Jumonville in North Union Township, Laurel Caverns in Farmington, the Donora Smog Museum, Fort Necessity National Battlefield in Wharton Township where the French and Indian War was started, West Overton Museum in Scottdale, which was the birthplace of industrialist Henry Clay Frick, and the Mason-Dixon Park in Greene County that recalls the two men who drew a border between the North and the South.
When you visit these places, you create new memories and take a little bit of them with you. When people ask where you are from, don’t forget to mention the people and places that make up your home.
Dr. Lawrence Stratton, a Presbyterian minister and lawyer who is director of Waynesburg University’s Stover Center for Constitutional Studies and Moral Leadership, said that students often share their summer experiences in orientations, including their hometowns.
“For me, it’s a geographical experience to have students from different places,” he said, noting some students don’t know it but find out they are from the same area.
Stratton said, “I think helping people ground themselves in faith and an identity is good. That involves where you’re from and where you’re going.”
There’s a great big world out there, and it’s wonderful to give it a try. But before you leave, celebrate what makes your home special.
And don’t forget to Be Local each time you come home.
Those interested in joining the Be Local Network can contact Ted Flowers at 724-425-7231 or by email at tflowers@heraldstandard.com. Discount cards are available at the Herald-Standard, 8 E. Church St., Uniontown, and at the Greene County Messenger, 82 W. High St., Waynesburg.