My Side
Views from an 'out-of-towner'

(Katherine A. Kappel has some interesting observations for those who may think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.)

My seven-year-old son and I recently moved to Emporium from Latrobe (Westmoreland County).

The people here are awesome, the school district (including the football team) is awesome. The sheer beauty of the town is breathtakingly awesome.

I left Latrobe area for many reasons.

The elementary school my son was to attend has more than 900 students.

Also, when Pittsburgh cracked down on drugs, most of the drug traffic moved to smaller cities. Latrobe has a heroin problem. I have witnessed six young men overdose and die before age 22.

I wanted a smaller town in which to raise my son. I feel I picked the best small town in the world.

When I purchased my home in Latrobe, no one welcomed us to the neighborhood. The neighbors barely waved.

After I closed on my home in Emporium, I found out that the pipes were broken; I cried. Bats flew around in my upstairs; I cried. When it got cold, I learned that the furnace needed repaired; I really cried.

Here is the response from the people of Emporium:

My neighbors opened up their homes and invited my son and me to use their water and stay if we wanted. They even cooked for us.

Woodland Elementary gave me phone numbers to churches and agencies.

One neighbor brought hot water and cleaned my kitchen while I was not home. What a surprise when I walked through my front door and smelled Pine-Sol!

Another neighbor fixed my furnace for free.

The plumber and his wife loaned me $25 and later, when I went to repay the money, they would not accept it.

I was given a "Welcome to Emporium" coupon for a free pizza from Pizza Palace Plus. It was the best pizza I have ever had.

Country Blessings would not take money the first time that I shopped there.

A parent in my son's class found out that I was sick and opened her home and her heart to my little boy.

The Strengthening Families Program (sponsored by Communities that Care) gave us the leftover food for that night's program and a worker even drove us home.

Last night I stopped at Rite-Aid. The employees were so friendly and helpful. One even helped me carry my purchases to the car. That would never happen in a big city where people are afraid of each other.

I could write a whole page of thanks to the people here. It reminds me of a scene from the movie, Dumb and Dumber, where the characters say, "Give me a hug." I just want to hug the people here.

The other day I heard a person say he can't wait to get out of "boring" Emporium. I could not believe my ears.

What is so exciting about a bigger town -- muggings, rapes, murders, molested children, drive-by shootings, drug dealers, getting rocks thrown through your windshield from overpasses, traffic jams?

I have either died and gone to heaven or I am in the Twilight Zone.

Thank you, Emporium, and a special thanks to Carol Pelton, who has made me feel like I have a family here.