Putting Down Roots In A Small Village In Michigan

SIT BACK, GRAB A CUP OF HOT CIDER AND TAKE A LITTLE JOURNEY WITH ME TODAY AS WE TOUR THE SMALL VILLAGE OF BELLEVUE MICHIGAN THE TOWN I LIVE IN. IT’S WEHRE HUBBY AND I CHOSE TO PUT DOWN ROOTS AND RAISE OUR FAMILY.

Welcome to the place I call home, Bellevue Michigan population 1,000. Yes that’s right only one thousand people living in our village. That may seem small but houses are spread out amongst farmland so neighbors can’t be seen or heard unless you live in town.

My parents moved here when I was 4 years old, they built a new home, and I stated kindergarten at 4 in Bellevue.  My mom worked for the school system and my dad in the evening’s coached sports. I’ve always said I lived the Beaver Cleaver life, you know like they did on the show “Leave it to Beaver”. My family rode bikes in the summer, took long walks down our dirt county roads, snowmobiled in the winter, and loaded up the station wagon for those yearly summer vacations.

If you happened to pass through our village you’ll have to make sure and not blink or you’ll miss it. We have one stoplight, a gas station, a market, and a small downtown that includes our fire department, and police department. Life is truly like living straight out of a 60’s TV show. We never lock our homes or our cars. You can leave the keys in the car downtown and know when you return it will be right where you parked it.

You can stop by the grocery store and not have enough to pay for everything you need. They’ll put a note under the register and when you get paid you can come by and pay your bill. Everyone knows everyone! In some ways that’s good but it other ways it’s bad. I always told my kids if they get into any trouble I’d know about it even before they have a chance to even think it up. Our town is that kind of small.

We have farmland for days, with sprouting crops and grazing cows. If you’ve ever been to the country you can define that distinct smell of a cattle barn or hog barn. One of my favorite things about the county is seeing all the barns, many old and dilapidated and others that are new construction of steel rather than wood. I never pass up an opportunity to photograph a lone barn or tree standing in a field. Something about it just speaks peace to me.

All of our roads are dirt except the ones directly inside the village limits. I’ve never known anything other than living on a dirt road my entire life. City living just isn’t for me. I’ve always teased and said if I can’t walk to the mailbox in my underwear without anyone seeing me than I’m living to close to my neighbors.

Many times in the winter months when the snow is high my boys would drive the back roads in their big 4 wheel drives just looking for people to pull out of the ditches. You don’t have to worry about calling a tow truck in these parts there’s always a big truck around that will come to your rescue.

Our churches are small; we still have the original one room schoolhouse, and our old mills been converted to a seasonal home. We don’t have much excitement in our neck of the woods but when we do news of it spreads like wildfire.

I’ve always been thankful and grateful for the life I’ve lived. Small town living is the thing for me and I wouldn’t want to raise my kids anyplace else. There’s a big sense of community here where we take care of our own. I feel like this kind of place just is unheard of nowadays but if you seek you will find a slower way of life in a small rural village.  It’s so rural we don’t have Internet like the rest of the word, but we somehow make due.

You won’t find shopping malls, trendy restaurants, or public transportation but you will find a way of life that’s peaceful and gratifying by living here. I hope you enjoyed the things I’ve shared today about where I live, it’s a way of life I take for granted sometimes.  

If you enjoyed reading about my home town you’ll want to click on the links below. They all belong to my blogging friends and they’re sharing with you today their home town. My friend Jennifer from Town & Country Living came up with this great idea of Points of Interest blog hop and I was lucky enough to participate. Who knows you may just find your next vacation spot!

WEDNESDAY

Creative Cain Cabin / In My Own Style / Duke Manor Farm / Hearth and Vine

MONDAY

Town and Country Living / Finding Silver Pennies / Southern Hospitality

Shabbyfufu / Designthusiasm

TUESDAY

My Sweet Savannah / Hymns and Verses / It All Started with Paint / The Happie Housie