Latitude33
Songster
Please pardon me while I wax nostalgic. I was born, and have lived most of my life, in Post WWII suburbia. Yet, on the fringes, there was still a connection to the land, to farming. On my mother's side, the family was very much involved with agriculture but on my father's side it skipped a generation or two. Where I grew up, farming was near at hand. The adjacent community of Dairy Valley dominated L.A County in agricultural production into the 1970's. (Please don't do the math) Because of this activity, there were all the usual supporting businesses, chief among them, the feed stores, mercantiles and mills.
Over the years, anything zoned ag moved away. Pushed out actually. The space created became pre-planned communities, chain stores, malls, later to be termed by some as sprawl. Sadly, today, most kids do not know where there food actually comes from. In suburbia, that connection to the land is lost.
One of the few respites during that transition though were the feed stores. To me as a youngster, these were havens, the last bastion of farming culture, the last place where a young person could still imagine life on a farm. The smells, the feel, the liveliness of the animals. Places where local folk gathered, whether it was to exchange gossip, or as I later learned in life, men met for the gathering of the Liars Club.
Sadly, these are mostly gone now from my area. In their place eventually came what I term "Boutique" exotic pet stores.
Please cherish and support your local purveyors... lest this happen to you.
Lat33
Over the years, anything zoned ag moved away. Pushed out actually. The space created became pre-planned communities, chain stores, malls, later to be termed by some as sprawl. Sadly, today, most kids do not know where there food actually comes from. In suburbia, that connection to the land is lost.
One of the few respites during that transition though were the feed stores. To me as a youngster, these were havens, the last bastion of farming culture, the last place where a young person could still imagine life on a farm. The smells, the feel, the liveliness of the animals. Places where local folk gathered, whether it was to exchange gossip, or as I later learned in life, men met for the gathering of the Liars Club.
Sadly, these are mostly gone now from my area. In their place eventually came what I term "Boutique" exotic pet stores.
Please cherish and support your local purveyors... lest this happen to you.
Lat33