When I was a child, Neodesha was the big city.
My family and I lived in nearby, even smaller Altoona. The city of Neodesha — population 2,275 — boasted a grocery store, library and a red caboose behind that library. This month, I drove back to Neodesha with my 11-year-old, on a mission to look both backward and forward.
The looking backward was obvious. My family had moved away from the area when I was 7 years old, and I hadn’t visited Neodesha since. What had changed and what had stayed the same? I looked forward to sharing my history with my son, although his eye-rolling as we arrived in town suggested he didn’t share that excitement.
