While some people may claim one city or town as the only place they’ve ever resided, others may have a long list. I am one of those fortunate, or unfortunate, people, depending on how you look at it.
While I was born in Wild Rose, my parents originally lived in Wautoma. During my toddler years, a job took them to Peshtigo and then Oconto.
The only thing I remember about Peshtigo was being in the car when my parents brought my younger sister, Kelly, home from the hospital. I have quite a few Oconto memories, with one of the earliest being a time when I sat on the side of the road throwing rocks at vehicles passing by, much to the dismay of a local police officer and then my parents.
In kindergarten, we moved back to Wautoma, where we stayed until I completed fifth grade, although we lived in four different rural locations during those years.
I spent my junior high years in Neshkoro, a town I had already been familiar with because my dad worked there and it was where I was enlisted in Boy Scouts. The school was so small that two grades shared a classroom and teacher.
At the end of eighth grade, we moved to Berlin, where I spent my high school years. While I liked Berlin, I never felt like I was part of the community or the school; probably because I didn’t share the experiences growing up there my classmates had.
So, I was happy to move to Ripon after high school to attend college, although I came back to Berlin often for a job and during the summers.
With no real job prospects after college graduation, I got an apartment in Oshkosh, mainly because I wanted to live in a bigger city than the ones I had lived in growing up. I lived in Oshkosh for only one summer, though, as a job as news editor of the Waushara Argus took me back to Wautoma that September.
I lived in Wautoma for five years until proposing to my future wife, Jenny. For some reason neither of us can really figure out, we decided to get an apartment together in Ripon, where we lived for one year. Hating the drive, we moved to Redgranite, home of the state rock (Funny story: A friend’s brother once asked, “What is the state rock?” upon entering the village and seeing a sign that said “Home of the State Rock.”).
We chose Redgranite because it was a point that cut down both of our commutes – Jenny to Oshkosh for school and me to Wautoma for work. It was a weak reason, though, because neither of us cared for the village.
Fortunately, one year later and shortly after getting married, we bought our first house, in Wautoma of course, in 2003. We loved the house and thought we’d live out our lives there.
But life is funny, as a golden job opportunity for Jenny at Marshfield Clinic was too good to pass up. So, we put our house up for sale. It took more than a year to sell, during which time I found a job at The Gazette and in which we commuted from Wautoma to Marshfield and Stevens Point, often together.
When we finally sold our house, we decided to get an apartment in Plover, temporarily for one year, as we looked in depth at permanent options.
That year extended to three years, but in two weeks our stint in Plover will end when we move to a new home on the north side of Stevens Point.
I’ve made a lot of friends and learned many things by living in so many places. I would love to definitely say the rest of my life will be spent in one location, learning about the benefits and negatives of stationary life, but I’ve learned enough from my nomadic lifestyle to know that may not be the case. You never know where life may take you.
In my case, probably back to Wautoma. It seems to draw me back enough.
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Orginally published in The Portage County Gazette on Friday, May 27, 2011.
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