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
TUESDAY
My Sweet Savannah / Hymns and Verses / It All Started with Paint / The Happie Housie
Dawn, Bellevue sounds and looks heavenly. It’s kind of hard to believe that places like that still exist. It seems like more and more development is happening everywhere. And, how wonderful for your boys to grow up in such a beautiful and nurturing place. This hop has been so fun!
Patti yes I love small town living. My town has no hotel or place to stay but it is home and it’s been good to me and my family.
we don’t live all that far from each other but not sure I have ever been to your town….sounds heavenly…That is the way we all lived growing up….Thanks for your story Dawn
Jeanie you’re in Jackson is that right? And yes I love living in a small town where things are a little more old fashioned.
Dawn…yes, we are in Jackson.
Jeanie that’s where my Dad lives!
Maybe I know your dad!!
Jeanie very well could be. Where do you work?
I knew I would love your post, Dawn! You’ve captured the rural beauty of your area perfectly. I had to look up your town’s location and saw you’re only 30 minutes from where my sister lives in Hastings. Have you ever been there? She and her hubby own Cotant’s Farm Market.
OMG Jennifer I shop at your sisters place all the time. That’s where almost everything in our landscaping is from. Wow small world.
Thank you for sharing your rural country lifestyle! Honestly, it’s such a foreign concept to me. I’ve always been in busy places – even in suburban NJ where I grew up we were just outside of the NYC. Your town looks lovely! When we would take my son to college at Indiana State my daughter and I always dreamed of just getting off the highway and seeing what’s at the end of the many dirt roads we passed. Now I know! 🙂 Linda
Linda, You should do just that and drive and get lost down a dirt road. You never know what you might find!
what a beautiful place to call home. when we first moved to my small town my friends and family thought it was a foreign country. Now a days everybody wants to come to my house and move out to the country….we both know why.
Laura I know what you mean I have people ask are we sure we live on a dirt road, LOL.
So beautiful and peaceful, Dawn! What a lovely area to live!!
Thank you Krista I love it here.
I live in a town of 2,000 in west Texas, where I grew up and now teach school, and like you, I love my small town life. Going to big cities stresses me out!
Margaret me too. We spent 3 days in NY City and that was enough for me!
I so enjoyed learning about your little town. Dawn, the photos are just gorgeous. It must be so lovely to be surrounded by farms and a slower pace of life. Loved reading this post!
Thanks Danielle I enjoy small town living for sure!