I have been born and raised in the small town of West Branch, MI and still reside here at the age of twenty-one.
My whole life I wondered why do people stay here what makes this town a little lockbox of people who have just been here forever and people who go away to college promising they will never return and 4 years later you see them at Walmart with their new little family.
What makes the West Branch people stay?
1. Community.
In West Branch, there is a strong community of supportive people that you don’t just see when something tragic happens but you can also see it in all of the little things. You see it in the decorations of storefronts for Halloween you see it in the rallying around a family in need. You see it at the sporting events and the county fair. You see it in truckers and farmers rallying together to help farms out of state affected by wildfires. You see community in West Branch.
2. Family.
In West Branch most of the time your extended family is within a 15-minute drive. This makes it easy to celebrate birthdays, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years together. You see family in West Branch.
3. Success.
It may seem like the likelihood of being a successful person here would be hard but I’m starting to see different in the growing businesses in my hometown. Not only are new businesses being formed, but old fixture businesses are being renovated into something new. You see success in West Branch.
4. School Spirit.
It’s not a complete surprise that there isn’t a whole lot to do here but if you go to any of the high school sporting events you see there is no lack of school spirit from the youngest toddler to the grandparents in the stands. We stand together. You see school spirit in West Branch.
5. Support.
Whether you grew up and went away to pursue your dreams or you’re still here to this day you know that you are supported by your community in your endeavors. We are hometown proud. You see this in the large number of new Detroit Lions fans with the rise of hometown great Anthony Zettel. You see support in West Branch.
These are the reasons we stay.
Contrary to the article published in the Wall Street Journal not long ago. I feel these are the reasons that West Branch continues to be a community that grows and thrives. I don’t believe we are stuck. I believe that many just choose to stay.
