Take a ride down any tree-lined street in Ironton and you’ll see people waving from their porches and saying, “Good morning.”

Wow, what a peaceful atmosphere. Sitting outside on the porch seems to be another way to celebrate life. The past is alive, the present is awesome and the future is, well let’s just say people are proud of their quaint, laid back and serene way of life.

Born in Ironton in 1950, C&O took my mother and me to Maryland in 1967, home of the Ravens. But my heart belongs to the Reds and the Bengals, of course.

Dad calls me home once again where country music and swimming at Lake Vesuvius bring back memories of many happy times where camping there in the early 1950s was a bit primitive but accommodating.

Yes, the hospital where I was born is long gone and homes are built there now, but time stands still and folks wave as I pass by on my bike. A friendly town where mom and dad met during band near the bleachers in 1943.

My kind of town, my hometown, Ironton, Ohio.

 

Deb Downey-Miller

Maryland