Otsego County’s population has nearly doubled since I moved here in 1976 – from 13,600 to 25,933. Still though, a relatively small population by almost any other comparison. The two mile stretch of Theisen Road in rural Elmira Township where I call home has gone from four houses; including my 120 year old farmstead, to 14 residences today. Still, relatively sparsely populated.

While the small communities of Vanderbilt, Johannesburg, Waters and Elmira look pretty much the same as they did back in the country’s bicentennial year, Gaylord today is quite unrecognizable; given its unbridled growth on the west side of town from the railroad tracks all the way out to South Townline Road on M-32 two miles to the west, where now sits a Meijer and a new Menards. 

With the addition of Menards to the growing westside sprawl of the Alpine Village Gaylord now boasts three big box home improvement centers. Do we really need that many in town to sell me a couple of 2x4s and a box of nails? I think not but then what do I know about how many big box stores are needed in the community to keep up with Northern Michigan’s insatiable demand for cheap cleaning supplies, light bulbs, screwdrivers and patio furniture? Between downtown and Meijer you can find almost any kind of fast food known to mankind to clog arteries and raise  cholesterol levels to scary new heights. 

When I first moved to Gaylord the Big Boy restaurant had just relocated from downtown to the west side of I-75; then the outer limits of commercial business. And McDonalds, with its Big Macs and waxy paper cups of Coca Cola was fast on its heels in the competition to sell us a bellyful of empty calories. Today both franchises are lost amidst the dozens of others which dot Gaylord – selling fast food, trendy clothing, pet food, designer coffee, haircuts, banking services, auto parts and anything else your everloving consumer heart desires. 

Yes, it is awfully convenient to stop off at Home Depot, or Lowes, or now, Menards, for a crooked 2×4 and a plastic molded Adirondack chair, then swing by Kohl’s or T. J. Maxx to pick up a new pair of socks and a table lamp I don’t need and then wash down the whole experience with a fountain drink from Burger King, Taco Bell, Panera, Applebee’s or one of a half-dozen sub shops which can be found here as well as anywhere else in America. 

Last weekend I visited my son at his home in the Metro Detroit area and driving down the streets of the suburbs where he lives I was struck by how much the landscape i.e. row after row of commercial, franchised businesses, looked eerily like approaching Gaylord from the west side of town where one can see row, after row of the same dang thing around my son’s house and almost anywhere else you might find yourself driving between the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts.

This sameness isn’t what I signed up for when we bought our drafty old farmhouse in the country back in 1976 but its the hand me and the community of Otsego County were dealt when first K-Mart, then Wal-Mart, then Meijer, then everything in between, thought it would be kind of neat to turn the old Alpine Village into a miles long generic strip mall.

Gone, I would contend, is the charming small town feel of the Gaylord I once knew back in the 1970s and 80s before commercial development began to run amok in the 90s. Gone is the nifty downtown where one could buy a straight 2×4, a box of nails and a pair of socks. Gone is the Main Street locally owned coffee shop and bakery*; replaced by chain coffee shops and a bakery tucked inside a big box supercenter grocery store.

Welcome to the new 21st century version of Consumer Paradise Capitalism Village; coming soon to your quaint, sleepy village or town if it hasn’t already arrived.

* I must admit we now have a newish locally owned coffee shop off of Main Street named Brennan’s Up North and they make a pretty good cup of coffee. I wish them success. Trading in the Alpine Village for something altogether different – Michael Jones

Otsego County’s population has nearly doubled since I moved here in 1976 – from 13,600 to 25,933. Still though, a relatively small population by almost any other comparison. The two mile stretch of Theisen Road in rural Elmira Township where I call home has gone from four houses; including my 120 year old farmstead, to 14 residences today. Still, relatively sparsely populated.

While the small communities of Vanderbilt, Johannesburg, Waters and Elmira look pretty much the same as they did back in the country’s bicentennial year, Gaylord today is quite unrecognizable; given its unbridled growth on the west side of town from the railroad tracks all the way out to South Townline Road on M-32 two miles to the west, where now sits a Meijer and a new Menards. 

With the addition of Menards to the growing westside sprawl of the Alpine Village Gaylord now boasts three big box home improvement centers. Do we really need that many in town to sell me a couple of 2x4s and a box of nails? I think not but then what do I know about how many big box stores are needed in the community to keep up with Northern Michigan’s insatiable demand for cheap cleaning supplies, light bulbs, screwdrivers and patio furniture? Between downtown and Meijer you can find almost any kind of fast food known to mankind to clog arteries and raise  cholesterol levels to scary new heights. 

When I first moved to Gaylord the Big Boy restaurant had just relocated from downtown to the west side of I-75; then the outer limits of commercial business. And McDonalds, with its Big Macs and waxy paper cups of Coca Cola was fast on its heels in the competition to sell us a bellyful of empty calories. Today both franchises are lost amidst the dozens of others which dot Gaylord – selling fast food, trendy clothing, pet food, designer coffee, haircuts, banking services, auto parts and anything else your everloving consumer heart desires. 

Yes, it is awfully convenient to stop off at Home Depot, or Lowes, or now, Menards, for a crooked 2×4 and a plastic molded Adirondack chair, then swing by Kohl’s or T. J. Maxx to pick up a new pair of socks and a table lamp I don’t need and then wash down the whole experience with a fountain drink from Burger King, Taco Bell, Panera, Applebee’s or one of a half-dozen sub shops which can be found here as well as anywhere else in America. 

Last weekend I visited my son at his home in the Metro Detroit area and driving down the streets of the suburbs where he lives I was struck by how much the landscape i.e. row after row of commercial, franchised businesses, looked eerily like approaching Gaylord from the west side of town where one can see row, after row of the same dang thing around my son’s house and almost anywhere else you might find yourself driving between the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts.

This sameness isn’t what I signed up for when we bought our drafty old farmhouse in the country back in 1976 but its the hand me and the community of Otsego County were dealt when first K-Mart, then Wal-Mart, then Meijer, then everything in between, thought it would be kind of neat to turn the old Alpine Village into a miles long generic strip mall.

Gone, I would contend, is the charming small town feel of the Gaylord I once knew back in the 1970s and 80s before commercial development began to run amok in the 90s. Gone is the nifty downtown where one could buy a straight 2×4, a box of nails and a pair of socks. Gone is the Main Street locally owned coffee shop and bakery*; replaced by chain coffee shops and a bakery tucked inside a big box supercenter grocery store.

Welcome to the new 21st century version of Consumer Paradise Capitalism Village; coming soon to your quaint, sleepy village or town if it hasn’t already arrived.

* I must admit we now have a newish locally owned coffee shop off of Main Street named Brennan’s Up North and they make a pretty good cup of coffee. I wish them success. Trading in the Alpine Village for something altogether different – Michael Jones

Otsego County’s population has nearly doubled since I moved here in 1976 – from 13,600 to 25,933. Still though, a relatively small population by almost any other comparison. The two mile stretch of Theisen Road in rural Elmira Township where I call home has gone from four houses; including my 120 year old farmstead, to 14 residences today. Still, relatively sparsely populated.

While the small communities of Vanderbilt, Johannesburg, Waters and Elmira look pretty much the same as they did back in the country’s bicentennial year, Gaylord today is quite unrecognizable; given its unbridled growth on the west side of town from the railroad tracks all the way out to South Townline Road on M-32 two miles to the west, where now sits a Meijer and a new Menards. 

With the addition of Menards to the growing westside sprawl of the Alpine Village Gaylord now boasts three big box home improvement centers. Do we really need that many in town to sell me a couple of 2x4s and a box of nails? I think not but then what do I know about how many big box stores are needed in the community to keep up with Northern Michigan’s insatiable demand for cheap cleaning supplies, light bulbs, screwdrivers and patio furniture? Between downtown and Meijer you can find almost any kind of fast food known to mankind to clog arteries and raise  cholesterol levels to scary new heights. 

When I first moved to Gaylord the Big Boy restaurant had just relocated from downtown to the west side of I-75; then the outer limits of commercial business. And McDonalds, with its Big Macs and waxy paper cups of Coca Cola was fast on its heels in the competition to sell us a bellyful of empty calories. Today both franchises are lost amidst the dozens of others which dot Gaylord – selling fast food, trendy clothing, pet food, designer coffee, haircuts, banking services, auto parts and anything else your everloving consumer heart desires. 

Yes, it is awfully convenient to stop off at Home Depot, or Lowes, or now, Menards, for a crooked 2×4 and a plastic molded Adirondack chair, then swing by Kohl’s or T. J. Maxx to pick up a new pair of socks and a table lamp I don’t need and then wash down the whole experience with a fountain drink from Burger King, Taco Bell, Panera, Applebee’s or one of a half-dozen sub shops which can be found here as well as anywhere else in America. 

Last weekend I visited my son at his home in the Metro Detroit area and driving down the streets of the suburbs where he lives I was struck by how much the landscape i.e. row after row of commercial, franchised businesses, looked eerily like approaching Gaylord from the west side of town where one can see row, after row of the same dang thing around my son’s house and almost anywhere else you might find yourself driving between the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts.

This sameness isn’t what I signed up for when we bought our drafty old farmhouse in the country back in 1976 but its the hand me and the community of Otsego County were dealt when first K-Mart, then Wal-Mart, then Meijer, then everything in between, thought it would be kind of neat to turn the old Alpine Village into a miles long generic strip mall.

Gone, I would contend, is the charming small town feel of the Gaylord I once knew back in the 1970s and 80s before commercial development began to run amok in the 90s. Gone is the nifty downtown where one could buy a straight 2×4, a box of nails and a pair of socks. Gone is the Main Street locally owned coffee shop and bakery*; replaced by chain coffee shops and a bakery tucked inside a big box supercenter grocery store.

Welcome to the new 21st century version of Consumer Paradise Capitalism Village; coming soon to your quaint, sleepy village or town if it hasn’t already arrived.

* I must admit we now have a newish locally owned coffee shop off of Main Street named Brennan’s Up North and they make a pretty good cup of coffee. I wish them success. Trading in the Alpine Village for something altogether different – Michael Jones

Otsego County’s population has nearly doubled since I moved here in 1976 – from 13,600 to 25,933. Still though, a relatively small population by almost any other comparison. The two mile stretch of Theisen Road in rural Elmira Township where I call home has gone from four houses; including my 120 year old farmstead, to 14 residences today. Still, relatively sparsely populated.

While the small communities of Vanderbilt, Johannesburg, Waters and Elmira look pretty much the same as they did back in the country’s bicentennial year, Gaylord today is quite unrecognizable; given its unbridled growth on the west side of town from the railroad tracks all the way out to South Townline Road on M-32 two miles to the west, where now sits a Meijer and a new Menards. 

With the addition of Menards to the growing westside sprawl of the Alpine Village Gaylord now boasts three big box home improvement centers. Do we really need that many in town to sell me a couple of 2x4s and a box of nails? I think not but then what do I know about how many big box stores are needed in the community to keep up with Northern Michigan’s insatiable demand for cheap cleaning supplies, light bulbs, screwdrivers and patio furniture? Between downtown and Meijer you can find almost any kind of fast food known to mankind to clog arteries and raise  cholesterol levels to scary new heights. 

When I first moved to Gaylord the Big Boy restaurant had just relocated from downtown to the west side of I-75; then the outer limits of commercial business. And McDonalds, with its Big Macs and waxy paper cups of Coca Cola was fast on its heels in the competition to sell us a bellyful of empty calories. Today both franchises are lost amidst the dozens of others which dot Gaylord – selling fast food, trendy clothing, pet food, designer coffee, haircuts, banking services, auto parts and anything else your everloving consumer heart desires. 

Yes, it is awfully convenient to stop off at Home Depot, or Lowes, or now, Menards, for a crooked 2×4 and a plastic molded Adirondack chair, then swing by Kohl’s or T. J. Maxx to pick up a new pair of socks and a table lamp I don’t need and then wash down the whole experience with a fountain drink from Burger King, Taco Bell, Panera, Applebee’s or one of a half-dozen sub shops which can be found here as well as anywhere else in America. 

Last weekend I visited my son at his home in the Metro Detroit area and driving down the streets of the suburbs where he lives I was struck by how much the landscape i.e. row after row of commercial, franchised businesses, looked eerily like approaching Gaylord from the west side of town where one can see row, after row of the same dang thing around my son’s house and almost anywhere else you might find yourself driving between the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts.

This sameness isn’t what I signed up for when we bought our drafty old farmhouse in the country back in 1976 but its the hand me and the community of Otsego County were dealt when first K-Mart, then Wal-Mart, then Meijer, then everything in between, thought it would be kind of neat to turn the old Alpine Village into a miles long generic strip mall.

Gone, I would contend, is the charming small town feel of the Gaylord I once knew back in the 1970s and 80s before commercial development began to run amok in the 90s. Gone is the nifty downtown where one could buy a straight 2×4, a box of nails and a pair of socks. Gone is the Main Street locally owned coffee shop and bakery*; replaced by chain coffee shops and a bakery tucked inside a big box supercenter grocery store.

Welcome to the new 21st century version of Consumer Paradise Capitalism Village; coming soon to your quaint, sleepy village or town if it hasn’t already arrived.

* I must admit we now have a newish locally owned coffee shop off of Main Street named Brennan’s Up North and they make a pretty good cup of coffee. I wish them success. Trading in the Alpine Village for something altogether different – Michael Jones

Otsego County’s population has nearly doubled since I moved here in 1976 – from 13,600 to 25,933. Still though, a relatively small population by almost any other comparison. The two mile stretch of Theisen Road in rural Elmira Township where I call home has gone from four houses; including my 120 year old farmstead, to 14 residences today. Still, relatively sparsely populated.

While the small communities of Vanderbilt, Johannesburg, Waters and Elmira look pretty much the same as they did back in the country’s bicentennial year, Gaylord today is quite unrecognizable; given its unbridled growth on the west side of town from the railroad tracks all the way out to South Townline Road on M-32 two miles to the west, where now sits a Meijer and a new Menards. 

With the addition of Menards to the growing westside sprawl of the Alpine Village Gaylord now boasts three big box home improvement centers. Do we really need that many in town to sell me a couple of 2x4s and a box of nails? I think not but then what do I know about how many big box stores are needed in the community to keep up with Northern Michigan’s insatiable demand for cheap cleaning supplies, light bulbs, screwdrivers and patio furniture? Between downtown and Meijer you can find almost any kind of fast food known to mankind to clog arteries and raise  cholesterol levels to scary new heights. 

When I first moved to Gaylord the Big Boy restaurant had just relocated from downtown to the west side of I-75; then the outer limits of commercial business. And McDonalds, with its Big Macs and waxy paper cups of Coca Cola was fast on its heels in the competition to sell us a bellyful of empty calories. Today both franchises are lost amidst the dozens of others which dot Gaylord – selling fast food, trendy clothing, pet food, designer coffee, haircuts, banking services, auto parts and anything else your everloving consumer heart desires. 

Yes, it is awfully convenient to stop off at Home Depot, or Lowes, or now, Menards, for a crooked 2×4 and a plastic molded Adirondack chair, then swing by Kohl’s or T. J. Maxx to pick up a new pair of socks and a table lamp I don’t need and then wash down the whole experience with a fountain drink from Burger King, Taco Bell, Panera, Applebee’s or one of a half-dozen sub shops which can be found here as well as anywhere else in America. 

Last weekend I visited my son at his home in the Metro Detroit area and driving down the streets of the suburbs where he lives I was struck by how much the landscape i.e. row after row of commercial, franchised businesses, looked eerily like approaching Gaylord from the west side of town where one can see row, after row of the same dang thing around my son’s house and almost anywhere else you might find yourself driving between the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts.

This sameness isn’t what I signed up for when we bought our drafty old farmhouse in the country back in 1976 but its the hand me and the community of Otsego County were dealt when first K-Mart, then Wal-Mart, then Meijer, then everything in between, thought it would be kind of neat to turn the old Alpine Village into a miles long generic strip mall.

Gone, I would contend, is the charming small town feel of the Gaylord I once knew back in the 1970s and 80s before commercial development began to run amok in the 90s. Gone is the nifty downtown where one could buy a straight 2×4, a box of nails and a pair of socks. Gone is the Main Street locally owned coffee shop and bakery*; replaced by chain coffee shops and a bakery tucked inside a big box supercenter grocery store.

Welcome to the new 21st century version of Consumer Paradise Capitalism Village; coming soon to your quaint, sleepy village or town if it hasn’t already arrived.

* I must admit we now have a newish locally owned coffee shop off of Main Street named Brennan’s Up North and they make a pretty good cup of coffee. I wish them success. Otsego County’s population has nearly doubled since I moved here in 1976 – from 13,600 to 25,933. Still though, a relatively small population by almost any other comparison. The two mile stretch of Theisen Road in rural Elmira Township where I call home has gone from four houses; including my 120 year old farmstead, to 14 residences today. Still, relatively sparsely populated.

While the small communities of Vanderbilt, Johannesburg, Waters and Elmira look pretty much the same as they did back in the country’s bicentennial year, Gaylord today is quite unrecognizable; given its unbridled growth on the west side of town from the railroad tracks all the way out to South Townline Road on M-32 two miles to the west, where now sits a Meijer and a new Menards. 

With the addition of Menards to the growing westside sprawl of the Alpine Village Gaylord now boasts three big box home improvement centers. Do we really need that many in town to sell me a couple of 2x4s and a box of nails? I think not but then what do I know about how many big box stores are needed in the community to keep up with Northern Michigan’s insatiable demand for cheap cleaning supplies, light bulbs, screwdrivers and patio furniture? Between downtown and Meijer you can find almost any kind of fast food known to mankind to clog arteries and raise  cholesterol levels to scary new heights. 

When I first moved to Gaylord the Big Boy restaurant had just relocated from downtown to the west side of I-75; then the outer limits of commercial business. And McDonalds, with its Big Macs and waxy paper cups of Coca Cola was fast on its heels in the competition to sell us a bellyful of empty calories. Today both franchises are lost amidst the dozens of others which dot Gaylord – selling fast food, trendy clothing, pet food, designer coffee, haircuts, banking services, auto parts and anything else your everloving consumer heart desires. 

Yes, it is awfully convenient to stop off at Home Depot, or Lowes, or now, Menards, for a crooked 2×4 and a plastic molded Adirondack chair, then swing by Kohl’s or T. J. Maxx to pick up a new pair of socks and a table lamp I don’t need and then wash down the whole experience with a fountain drink from Burger King, Taco Bell, Panera, Applebee’s or one of a half-dozen sub shops which can be found here as well as anywhere else in America. 

Last weekend I visited my son at his home in the Metro Detroit area and driving down the streets of the suburbs where he lives I was struck by how much the landscape i.e. row after row of commercial, franchised businesses, looked eerily like approaching Gaylord from the west side of town where one can see row, after row of the same dang thing around my son’s house and almost anywhere else you might find yourself driving between the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts.

This sameness isn’t what I signed up for when we bought our drafty old farmhouse in the country back in 1976 but its the hand me and the community of Otsego County were dealt when first K-Mart, then Wal-Mart, then Meijer, then everything in between, thought it would be kind of neat to turn the old Alpine Village into a miles long generic strip mall.

Gone, I would contend, is the charming small town feel of the Gaylord I once knew back in the 1970s and 80s before commercial development began to run amok in the 90s. Gone is the nifty downtown where one could buy a straight 2×4, a box of nails and a pair of socks. Gone is the Main Street locally owned coffee shop and bakery*; replaced by chain coffee shops and a bakery tucked inside a big box supercenter grocery store.

Welcome to the new 21st century version of Consumer Paradise Capitalism Village; coming soon to your quaint, sleepy village or town if it hasn’t already arrived.

* I must admit we now have a newish locally owned coffee shop off of Main Street named Brennan’s Up North and they make a pretty good cup of coffee. I wish them success.