There’s no place like home

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“All I kept saying to everybody was, I want to go home … And this is my room — and you’re all here! And I’m not going to leave here ever, ever again, because I love you all! And — Oh, Auntie Em — there’s no place like home!” — Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz

In 1896 my great-grandpa and my then 11-year-old grandpa were riding a horse-drawn wagon — from Blue Ash to market in Sharonville — with a load of oats when they went over railroad tracks. Great-grandpa lost his balance and somehow ended up under the wagon.

My grandpa was orphaned. He was later “taken in”, as they say, by a Mason family.

Since then our family has lived primarily in Warren County — mostly Mason — although for the past seven years we resided in Lebanon.

I was familiar with Wilmington primarily from years of coming here for Brown Publishing meetings in the days of Clarence Graham and Jay Carey. And for Bengals’ training camp visits (until Mike Brown DHL’d that).

In the nearly three years I’ve been the editor of the News Journal, I’ve commuted from Lebanon with the cruise control on 58 (OK, maybe 59) and 26 minutes one way (27 during a traffic/tractor jam).

During that time, and with few ties remaining in Warren County, a transformation took place — Wilmington started becoming our unofficial hometown. Local Warren County transplants helped the transition take place (I’m lookin’ at you, Susan Case).

I began to learn much more about everyday happenings — social and political — in Clinton County than in Warren County. We made trips during off-hours to concerts and Dancing with the Stars at the Murphy Theatre and to downtown, and to the Mediterranean and to Rod’s, and to Cowan Lake, to simply cruising the hills and dales and soybeans of the county.

Then finally the time came when Krista and I decided it should become official (especially with comparable homes so overpriced in Warren County) — we’d look for a house in Clinton County.

It didn’t take long to find out our ideal little house hit the market (Thanks Marsha!) and we snatched it up immediately, and the mortgage process (Thanks Rodney!) was also a smooth one.

Now a couple weeks in we love our new home with the deer and the birds and even the skunks in the back yard. With pups Petey and Piper in the fenced-in part of the yard, a safe distance (so far) from the skunks.

Our first official weekend as Clinton Countians we encountered welcoming people all around, from the folks at Kroger to cashier Barbara at Walmart to server Natalie at Frisch’s to Marty at Beaugard’s.

And we made the ultimate statement that we’re Clinton Countians — we have a car with the familiar “Showen Motors” sticker on the back.

Our home away from home has now become … simply home.

Every town has its ups and downs. Occasionally someone will express to me that they don’t like that there are crime/courts stories on the front page — that such negative publicity will detract new residents from moving here.

We’re living proof that it doesn’t.

Now if I can just remember to point our garbage can in the right direction and two feet from the curb …

Editor Tom Barr is a resident of Wilmington, by golly.

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Tom Barr

WNJ Editor

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