I was driving down the freeway one day when a thought came to mind. What would have become of Geneva if the freeway had not been developed, or if all of the traffic that currently goes down the freeway hadn’t continued to drive down "old 65" which goes through the heart of town? Hard to say.

Would this tiny town have become widespread and famously busy with businesses and people who kept things going? We will never know. It didn't happen. Most people going north and south through our little corner of the state now travel the freeway instead.

Before the freeway was developed, there were times it was hard to cross the street. The town had a reputation of being a good place to stop and eat as it had a restaurant that was open all night. Truckers liked it. The storekeepers had remarkable things to display and sell and everyone seemed proud to call it "our home town."

One thing is evident. It is still "our home town." When you look around you see homes, a park, a playground, a swimming pool, an appliance store, a meat market, a lumberyard, a bank, a gas station and loyal merchants selling necessities. You see a "coffee house" in the small grocery store, an apartment building, good places to eat, a bar and grill, and friends who gather to talk on the street.

Does it matter or make a difference? Of course it does — like a "Y" in the road of life. It is a case of choices and you have no idea which will take you where. 

Here your choice is made for you, except you can stop in this little corner of the world or travel the more traveled road — and you'll never know which way would have taken you where.

I love it here. This town, the oldest operating town in Freeborn County I do believe, is still going and growing.

It has gone from a "stage coach stop" to mostly a residential village where most of the people of employment age head out of town on the freeway to employment in the larger towns in our area.  They still come back home to this quiet, peaceful little town at the end of the day. Albert Lea and Owatonna are about the same distance away, about a half hour; and Rochester and Mankato are also about the same distance away too, about an hour.

Geneva needs more economy and people to shop locally, but sadly so many things are readily available at bigger outlets.

In "our town," you find the volunteers who do so many things to warm the city. It has a reputation of caring. Our hometown is set in the heartland of America. It is a town with a heart.

Do you ever have a song that seems to be in your head for no reason? It seems to stay there for a while, making you think. Lately I've been stuck on one. "The old home town isn't the same and there is no train (there never was a train) because time has changed things considerably — but one thing remains - it is still my old home town."

Changes over the years haven't changed my feeling for this place where I was raised and still live. Many times I relive those yesteryears in my mind. 

  There is the schoolhouse right beside me; only it isn't a schoolhouse any more. It is the Geneva Community Center. But the camera in my head still shows me in my little blue dress the first day I started school, pony tail neatly pulled back and pencil and paper in hand.

It brings back thoughts of "The Road Not Taken," by Robert Frost. If I hadn't settled here, where would I be? How would my life be different?

It is sad to say we aren't as proficient in knowing our neighbors as we once were. People tend to find this peaceful little village home that probably wasn't a part of their heritage, but they have now become a part. No matter where we roam, where we live and were brought up , it is home.

Would I have wished the addition of the freeway had caused our town to drastically grow and prosper? The correct answer should be yes for all the advantages it would have given, prosperity and recognition to so many things. But, for some reason in my mind, I am glad it didn't. This will always be a place of peace and tranquility where the buildings and smoking industry doesn't cloud the view and one can look into the skies and feel that God is really there watching over his sheep in this quiet pasture.

Besides being known as the center of generosity and people looking after each other, it is strange to say Geneva is home to many who are laid to rest in the cemetery here. A strange thing to talk about, but this reverent spot in Northern Geneva is a peaceful place of rest to people for many religions, neighbors all. 

It’s not so strange that many choose to return to this beautiful spot. Maybe it is the history of the school children who came, decorated and were a part of memorial services every Memorial Day many, many years ago, at a time when many cemeteries were neglected.

For me no other place would be the same as “my home town.” My heritage is here.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” (From the Road Not Taken by Robert Frost).

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Birthdays and anniversaries:

• Thursday, February 23rd: Sharon Gasner Ramaker, Bernie Warnke, Josh Krueger, Markus Allen Misgen, Daniel Suelter, Dale Waltz, Tiffany Mischke, Daniel Walterman, Laura & Jamie Baudoin.

• Friday, February 24th: Jerry Hemingway, Rick Draper, Nathan Wayne, Roxy Menefee Ray, Sarah Zamora, Nancy Larson, Kathy & Daryl Reed.

• Saturday, February 25th: Berniece Farr Mattson, Colton Hagen, Brad Hagen, LuAnn Miller, Sherri Larson Fritz, Steve & Vicky Dobberstein.

• Sunday, February 26th: Sharon Menefee, Shawn Jensen, Becky Lassahn, Ray Coxworth, Ginger Cornelius, Mary Lou Spurr, Chris Sauke, Mike Glynn, Jeff & Robin Christensen, Joel & Peg Radjenovich.

• Monday, February 27th: Steve Pence, Jean Anderson, Garry Nordhorn, Doris Rasmussen, Journey Churchill-Malcolm, Erik Cooper, John Olson, Jayden Dakota Tonkins, Nancy Ingvaldson, Daryl Van Ravenhorst.

• Tuesday, February 28th: Troy Utpadel, Neil Pence, Jackie Miller, Steve Engel, Dan Nesdahl, Bennett Dobberstein, Atom Oquist, Sharese Lehmberg, John Marlin, Gerry Flim, Michelle Nelson, Michael Nelson, Tyler Titus, Tiffany Mischke, Michael Coy, Jim & Diane Butler.