Drunken Civility

Walking into the Stacy Bar & Grill, I awkwardly grab a table nearest the bar and position myself closest to the nearest costumers. This bar is not dark and dingy, but rather hip and clean. It is only a couple of years old, so it is a fun place to hang out and have a good time. The Bar & Grill has a couple of wide screen TV’s, a gambling booth where costumers can buy scratch offs and raffle numbers, and a kitchen to order food. The people are your average bar flies, 9-5 workers, and locals. It felt like any small town bar with a fun, safe atmosphere.

 

In all fairness, I do not usually find myself wandering into bars at the age of 19, grab a table—all for myself—and ask for a glass of water. Thankfully many of the bars patrons did not consider me peculiar or out of place. I somehow managed to fit into their ‘place of enjoyment’ where one tends to catch up with friends, discuss current issues, and have fun. And by fun I mean get intoxicated! In all seriousness, I was rather surprised by the conversations the people sitting beyond me were discussing .

 

One of the conversation that stood out the most to me, and one that struck the nerve of what this article was to be about was: The traffic jam during rush hour. I myself have experienced this very same issue everyday I come home from work: Cars at the 4-way intersection line up and wait their turn everyday of the week, mornings and late afternoons. Just within the last 2 or 3 weeks, they have set up a police officer to keep the congestion at a minimum. This has greatly increased the efficiency of travel during rush hour and I am sure everyone is thrilled they do not have to wait countless minutes just to make a turn.

 

Unfortunately, this is the only conversation that I heard regarding the community. Stacy is a quiet town that does not experience a lot of change. I think a lot of my neighbors, and the rest of the community are optimistic. No one really talked about the troubles in their lives, at their work, or with their families. I think a lot of people are content and happy to be a part of this small town community.

Life in a Small Town—Stacy, Minnesota

The People—What do they hold valuable?
Stacy is definitely a working class town. Many people work outside of the city either in Forest Lake, North Branch, the Twin Cities or elsewhere. The people of Stacy have a strong opinion on work and family life. Stacy is rather small compared to the other towns in the area, and the people focus their attention on their families and career. The people of Stacey also have a value for a happy community or neighborhood. When you walk down a road, children from different households are playing with each other, and neighbors are conversing with each other often.

 

Civic Places—Where do people get together and talk?

The surprising thing about Stacy is that there is only a few places where people can get together and talk. There is no true restaurant where people can go and have breakfast, lunch, or dinner. There are two bars that serve food, but that is far from being a civic place for the whole family. Despite this fact, people can go the children’s playground where the bike trail intersects through town. On a nice summer day, people traveling on the trail, and families playing at the park have a nice civic place to get together and relax.

 

Place—How is the community developing?

In my opinion, the community is not developing too rapidly, but it is thriving. Many homes are for sale, but majority of them are homes that were built within the past 2 years. Because of the economic situation, not a lot of people are willing to buy homes, or even build homes in Stacy, Minnesota. And, I am sure this is true for countless small and large towns. Even though homes are being sold, majority of the people are thriving in Stacy. They are happy to live in this small town, and don’t want to leave anytime soon.

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