A Little Country Town by Albert Locke

This poem captures my hometown of St. Marys, West Virginia as I remember it growing up... 

The Walter S. Carpenter Bridge over the Ohio River
in St. Marys, West Virginia.

A Little Country Town

By Albert Locke, Modified by Dan Fleming, Jr.

I love a little country town where 

all is clean and neat,

Where people smile and say _Hello_

When meeting on the street.

A place where snobbishness is scarce

And human hearts are warm,

A pleasant place to spend one’s days

In sunshine or a storm.

Sophisticated folks may frown,

May call such people hicks,

And insist a little town

Is backward in the sticks.

But I’d rather be a simple hick

For all the world to see

Than a melancholy city dweller

Even lucky to see a tree.

I like a little country town

When springtime breezes fly,

And find it just as pleasant

When the summer sun is high.

I like it in the autumn

When wooded hillsides glow,

And receive a thrill in winter,

When the ground is white with snow.

You may have the city if you wish

With its bustle and its noise,

But you’ll find it’s not a proper place

To bring up girls and boys.

And even those who win success

And earn a broad renown,

Quite often give as their address

Some little country town.

I know my little country town,

I know its streets and alleys,

I know its people young and old,

Its Henrie’s and its Sally’s,

I think of it as best of all,

And my opinion never varies,

The town I’m proud to call my home,

Of course I mean St. Marys!

Notes

Albert Locke was associated with the Pleasants County Bank for many years. Some of you may remember him... Dan Fleming, Jr is a St Mary’s boy and now Professor Emeritus, VA Tech.

Downtown St. Marys, WV
with the Carpenter Bridge over the
Ohio River in the background.

Monument in memory of 5 local pioneer families of
Pleasants County, West Virginia.
- Bills - 1840
- Reynolds - 1790
- LaRue - 1790
-Brown - 1849
-Ruckman - 1849

The Pleasants County Courthouse in St. Marys.
-PC: Jennings Illar

Middle Island, which is part of the
Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge;
a bridge connects the "Little Country Town" of St. Marys to the island.