A Great 'Small Town'

Small towns come up often in conversation, and are highly regarded ... in nostalgia.
Or, on the other hand, they get ‘a bad rap.’

The usual line goes: It was great to have been brought up in one, until … oh, until that day you felt the world (read ‘big city’) was passing you by.
Then, you couldn’t wait to get out and see the world!
For example, check out the biting lyrics in Paul Simon’s, ‘My Little Town,’ from 1975. Simon has stated that the song is not autobiographical; instead he says that it is about "someone who hates the town he grew up in. Somebody happy to get out."
But, I’m going to avoid nostalgia and praise a small town: Antigonish, N.S.
Recently, my wife underwent surgery at St. Martha’s Hospital, and I spent a week in town for support during her recovery.
I stayed at the nearby ’Maritime Inn,’ which has a room which is handicapped-equipped.
All I can say is in summary, the staff (as well as other townspeople) were great!
You notice right away that everyone seems to know everyone else, folks are greeted warmly, more likely by name, as old friends, even if they might be having their first visit. The staff takes time to routinely carry on conversations with the guests at every opportunity.
We had spent one night together at the motel, and had stated that my wife was to undergo surgery the next morning, and that I would be staying for the week.
On the morning following the surgery, I called into the restaurant (called the ‘Main Street Café’) for breakfast and was greeted by the clerks and serving staff with the question, “How’s your wife?”
Throughout my stay, I got a lot of help from the staff: for example, tying my shoelaces each morning, unloading and reloading all the luggage from / into the van, and, in the café, opening those (handy!) little milk and jam containers.
Folks were helpful around the Hospital area, too, opening doors and inserting loonies into the parking meters, sometimes during driving rain and gusty wind conditions.
The Sisters of St. Martha and their friends from Antigonish were extremely hospitable during my visit for Sunday Mass.
I know Antigonish rather well: I had listened to C-J-F-X Radio in my early years, and studied four years at St. F.X. in the mid-1960s. While taking a private van tour, I was amazed at how much the campus had more than doubled in size!
On Remembrance Day, while I was having breakfast at the Café, I received a bit of a bonus: I noticed that folks in military uniforms were walking toward Columbus Field, which I guessed correctly was the marshalling area for the parade to the Cenotaph.
It was great to watch the colour party, veterans, groups of cadets of all three Services, RCMP officers in red surge, and even the Knights of Columbus in their ceremonial uniforms with capes and plumed hats.
Naturally, there were a few frustrating moments during my week-long visit to their small town:. CBC Radio signals were very weak, and the local station seemed to be playing a 60-minute loop!
But wherever I went, the local folks made me feel welcome!