About an hour or so north of Milwaukee there is a small town named Hustisford (Husty for short) that has about 1400 people...give or take a toddler. Located along Lake Sinissippi, this town has one main street (Main) which is taken up by 4 different bars, a bowling alley, a laundromat, a church, and a few other random shops. Also included in the town are various recreational areas (park and b-ball court) a library, and a school. This is my home town and i lived there for 18 years.
HICK LIFE AT ITS FINEST
Urban minds imagining small town (i.e. 2500 people or less) life usually conjure up images of a ghost town with one street, a couple mutts, and a handful of sequestered farmers who drink bad beer and need a better dental plan. With the exception of having a partiality to bad beer (Busch), these stereotypes about small town inhabitants are inaccurate and give city dwellers a skewed idea of what it's like to live in a small town. Now I'm not going to deny that I've seen a farmer or two on Main street, or that some people should probably just get new teeth altogether, but the vast majority of the population falls into the almost normal category...which is where all the rest of us are hanging out.
Hustisford is "hickish" if you will, but after this project, I've decided that's not necessarily a bad thing...in fact its pretty humorous actually. Because to me, hickish is 36 old people who bar hop during happy hour. To me, hickish is laughing hysterically when Bill finds his boot that has been turned into a flower pot by his wife. To me, hickish is taking a walk on main street and the finding that the only other living specimens around are dogs... and they're people watching. To me, hickish is actually having the opportunity to complement someone on a menagerie of fake flowers on their fence; its all that plus more and no matter what, hickish is always going to be home.
Studying photography has made me really think about what I consider to be reality and whether or not I think there is such a thing as reality, and I've come to the conclusion that we each have a reality based on our environment and experiences. Husty and the small town life is part of my reality and so that's what my photo essay is about. Hustisford and all the little quirks about it that I've come to know and love. And hopefully after seeing and reading this you will have a few different ideas about what its really like to be a hick.
1 comment:
I was browsing hustisford i'm one of the schulz family i moved right about when you were born. hehe
But i liked the site and wish you all the best
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