During the summer, I spend my time at Camp Twin Creeks in the Pocahontas County of Marlinton, West Virginia. I got to know this small town very well this past summer as a counselor, experiencing the ambience on days off from camp.
Whenever I am in town, I always look around and think about how different the culture is from Montgomery County. There are only 9,000 people living in Pocahontas County. Central Marlinton has two stoplights and short side roads that connect to the main street. The town has stores and businesses such as an insurance company, a coffee shop, a laundry-mat offering video rental services, a Rite Aid, a Dollar General, The Pocahontas Times , and of course, a Dairy Queen. Besides Dairy Queen, Marlinton and Bethesda share Subway for nourishment. No Chipotle burrito bowls are to be found in Marlinton.
The laundry-video rental store is famously known as the place to buy “Greetings from Marlinton” t-shirts. Having this shirt is a rite of passage; a visit to Marlinton requires its purchase. Yes, I do own a shirt and am proud of it. Just for future references, the laundry mat/ video rental store does not take credit cards; cash only, folks.
There is only one high school in Pocahontas County. Yes, ONE high school. Previously there was Green Bank, Hillsboro, and Marlinton High School but in May of 1968, the three schools morphed together to form Pocahontas County High Schools. Think of it: if there were to be a “Montgomery County High School,” it would be the size of Tysons Corner.
The environment of Marlinton is completely different than Bethesda. Overall, it is a slow, paced town. There is no such thing as traffic; however, a tractor driving on the side of the road might cause rubbernecking. In the grocery store, express lanes don’t exist. You will not find a shopping mall with Forever 21 or Abercrombie. At gas stations, there are no digital screens on the pumps.
Although Marlinton and Bethesda are completely opposite cities, both are very passionate about its high school football teams. In almost every store window, there is a “Go Warriors” sign on the window. There is a gas station that has free copies of Warriors football game schedules, and a store whose front window is all decked out in Warriors colors and pictures. I always see at least five people dawning West Virginia University Mountaineers gear the same way people here wear Terps paraphernalia.
My favorite part about Marlinton is the people- they are the sweetest I have ever met. When checking out at the grocery store or Dollar General, I have had many a casual conversation with a cashier; which is not guaranteed at our neighborhood Giant, where cashiers are primarily concerned with getting as many people through the register as possible.
Being in Marlinton always brings me down to earth. It makes me appreciate the little things in life. Whenever I feel like there is nothing to do on the weekends, I always think about the people of Marlinton and how they do not have nearly as many attractions as we do here, but they still manage to live interesting, pleasant lives.
However, do not have pity on Marlintonians, they love their town the way we do. They could not be more proud to say that they are from Marlinton; they love their lifestyle and would not change it for anything. It just goes to show that you do not need the Washington monument to be happy.
