The observer described Lancaster, Ohio as similar to the fictional town Mayberry. He described it as a safe and homelike place with kids playing outside freely. Houses in the area were of average size and everyone in the town knew each other. There were local restaurants. Downtown was independently owned by different stores.
The place has changed from the more sleepy, carefree town to a more commercialized area. The restaurants have changed. A mall was added, and many of the farms closed down. Much of the land was developed. The friendly and neighborly atmosphere of the area slowly disappeared. Crime increased in the area, as well.
The observer played in the yard and played outside with neighbors. He rode his bike and went to church. He also visited his grandparents’ farm.
The observer described that children no longer play outside as much. They don't walk to the store or ride their bikes alone anymore. People also don't work on the farms as much because many have been closed down.
The observer has since grown up, but he still lives in Lancaster. He commutes to his job at the hospital.
Interviewer: Thank you for letting me ask you a few questions about yourself. Can you tell me where you grew up?
Interviewee: Lancaster, Ohio.
Interviewer: And can you tell me a little bit about Lancaster, Ohio?
Interviewee: Lancaster, Ohio, when I was a child, was a very safe and home-like place to be. Your kids could be outside playing and you didn’t have to worry about them. And everybody’s house was the average mean of income and it was kind like a Mayberry-type of town. Everybody knew everybody and you went to the local restaurants to eat. And downtown was very independently owned by different small stores and restaurants, and was the main income for the city itself.
Interviewer: And when you were growing up, what were some of your favorite activities to do?
Interviewee: Well, I grew up in the country, so we would play with the neighbor kids and stay out till dark or until our mother would yell for us to come home. And we had horses and other animals. Also went to church. We rode our bikes, played with one another. Well, that was about it. Visit our grandparents on a weekly basis.
Interviewer: And your grandparents also lived in Lancaster?
Interviewee: Yes. They lived outside of Lancaster on a small farm. My grandfather was a dairy farmer. My grandmother was a housewife.
Interviewer: Thank you. And do you still live in Lancaster now?
Interviewee: Yes, I do.
Interviewer: And so, how have you seen Lancaster change since when you were a child?
Interviewee: A lot of commercial, large, big box stores have come in. There’s been a lot of changes. The outlying area, like the mall, came and all of that. There’s a lot of the stores that were there in the downtown area no longer are in business. And a lot of the restaurants have changed, but it’s not so much a state Mayberry-type of neighborhood. It is more caution. You got to make sure your houses and your vehicles are locked. Crime has gone up greatly over the last few years and, you really don’t know your neighbors as well as you used to. And sad to say children can’t just go out and play and go biking in the neighborhood as we did because it is not safe from predators, and pedophiles, the drug activities, and stuff has changed the whole atmosphere of the neighborhoods.
Interviewer: Wow. It seems like there are a lot of changes, definitely that have gone on in Lancaster. How have the activities that you do in Lancaster changed?
Interviewee: The activity?
Interviewer: Mm-hmm. And obviously, you’ve grown up so you’re not doing the same things that you used to as a child, but does it seem like there are differences.
Interviewee: Right. I’m not riding my bike with my neighborhood friends. However, you know, the kids don’t go out and play. They don’t work in the yard and on the farms. A lot of the farms have since closed, you know, due to economic issues. And I think that kids nowadays…it’s unsafe for them to go, you know, alone to the store as we used to be able to walk to the store and our parents didn’t have to worry or we could ride our bikes. Nowadays, that doesn’t happen.
Interviewer: Well, it definitely seems like there are a ton of changes that have happened in Lancaster. Thank you so much for sharing.
Interviewee: You’re welcome.