So. For my sociology class, I had to write a six page paper about my hometown, family and high school history experience, I wanted to share a bit here, not all of it, because the parts about my history teacher gets a bit boring, but the beginning is fun. Hope you like it! I know I enjoyed writing it!
The History of My Hometown.
Hello, my name is Hannah Muller. I am a white female, twenty years old, brown hair, brown eyes and I stand at a whopping 5’4. Listing off these characteristics I know full well that I blend right in to the rest of the students in your crowded lecture hall. That is, until I also tell you that I have three older siblings, eight cow, two hundred sheep, one thousand chickens and three hundred acres. Hello, my name is Hannah Muller and I come from a farming family. I say ‘farming family’ knowing that those words do not explain my social or economic status, but for me, it explains much more. Because, once you know more about my family’s history and the complicated demographics of my hometown, the person who I am becomes a lot clearer. Although, I would like to point out right off that bat that I pride myself on the fact that I am one of the only students from my graduating class that went to a four year University and probably the only true liberal in my hometown. But, there is also no denying it; the person I am today, directly correlates to the demographics, education and values of my hometown.
The first thing one sees when they drive into my high school town is a yellow triangular caution sign with a tractor on it. ‘Beware of slow moving farmers driving large machinery.’ Looking to the left and right there are fields of green and haystacks as far as the eye can see. In this town, cows are more commonly seen than people and wearing work boots to school is about the only fashion trend that has ever caught on. Welcome to Esparto, home of about 3,000 people with a few neighboring towns, each with populations ranging from about sixty, to one hundred people. Esparto is located in Northern California in between Clear Lake and Davis. Or, for those who are not at all familiar with California… I ‘kinda live near Sacramento.’
The highest source of revenue in between all of the towns in the area is the Casino, which employs most of the parents and students from my graduating class. The small winding roads that take drivers deep into the valley are always busy with foreign traffic on their way to one of the most successful casinos in Northern California. It is also what the valley, the Capay Valley, is known for. Although, our valley is also known for being one of the largest regions of family operated farms in all of California. Over ninety different families own the farms and ranches that greet tourists on their way to spend money at the ever-growing Casino. The manicured lawns of the golf courses stick out like a sore thumb juxtaposed against the wild grasses and pastures in our beautiful valley. That theme of ‘juxtaposition’ can be related to all parts of our community. Rich juxtaposed against poor, Liberal against Republican, College degree holder against high school dropout.
If I sound angry about the attention that the Casino brings to our small corner of the world it is because for the past nineteen years of my life, I have lived in one of those small neighboring towns, Guinda. Driving past the casino to my high school every day was the most dangerous activity I partook in throughout my high school career (Including Donkey Basketball). In my hometown, there is one post office and a Corner Store that sells everything from Budweiser to moldy bread. It is a twenty-five minute drive into Esparto and an hour drive to the nearest mall, movie theater or popular restaurant. My family has lived in this small town for almost thirty years, so for me, as much as I dreamed about living closer to a decent restaurant, the farming lifestyle is all that I know.
I am half Swiss and a quarter German. The rest of my heritage is a mix of Native American and European. Both of my parents have college degrees but do manual labor for the majority of their job each day, so, they are considered “working class” to the greater part of the United States. Yet, their income and social status is nowhere near working class, as our farm is one of the most successful in the area. My parents started our three hundred acre organic farm over twenty-eight years ago, raising vegetables and children along the way. Our farm now employs over seventy-five people in the summer, many of which are students or parents of individuals I went to high school with. The demographic of race and economic status of my family and the people in my hometown relates to the work that is most prevalent in our small valley. Farmers, ranchers and farm laborers make up the largest portion of individuals in the work force besides the individuals that are employed at the local casino.
And that's all I want to share right now, maybe I'll finish the upload sometime soon.
