I’ve never been to college, so maybe my complaint will seem invalid. But I’ve been to plenty of northern Wisconsin college towns, like Wausau, or even Rhinelander. These towns have a lot of colorful things that Antigo lacks, like restaurants, music, other types of entertainment, and most importantly, people. By “people” I mean people from other parts of the state, or even the country, other kinds of Americans.
Antigo doesn’t seem to realize there is life beyond the potato fields.
The people of Antigo seem to me to have either the mentality of a
potato farm worker, or an alcoholic ATV enthusiast. Other than that, the clientele of the Dixie Lunch and the Antigo Corner Cafe
fill in any gaps in Antigo’s cultural cross section. Not much going on there. Similar restaurants in towns with a college will have a
colorful selection of people, talking about numerous things besides
tractors and cow feed.
Furthermore, people from Antigo look like they are from Antigo. I’m
not sure what the cause of this is, other than the fact the same
families have been living there for the last hundred or so years. A
stranger in town is easy to spot, and is instantly seen as a
suspicious character, followed by all around ostracizing from the
general community. From Radio shack on the south side, to Farm
and Fleet on the north, everyone treats a stranger like they are
from outer space.
I’m glad I left Antigo.
.
Antigo had a college, once upon a time. Anyone here remember Antigo Normal?
There is, I have to agree, a kind of generic sense of low expectations in the Antigo community. I don’t know exactly why that should be, but I can’t pick up on any sense of community cohesiveness or civic pride. There are more than a few social organizations, special-interest clubs, and activities, but they all seem unconnected, independent, and somewhat isolated from the pulse of the community itself. This one happens, then that one happens, then the other takes place, but there’s no flow or continuity, no concerted membership outreach from any of them.
The railroad engine display, and the playground construction, and the bandstand, seem almost like whole-community things, but they really aren’t. They are there, they happened, and they’re done. There’s no sense of community ownership or civic pride.
And everywhere you look, you see empty buildings and storefronts and run-down houses. Antigo’s downtown even has vacant lots! And all that “exciting” construction on the north end of town seems to be cannibalizing the rest of Antigo drawing existing businesses to move, creating more empty buildings and vacant stores, some of them just a few blocks north of all the new construction.
This is not community organization and planning. What we’re seeing here is civic schizophrenia.
Oh well, at least we’ve got potato-grading, stock-car racing, and pig-wrestling, to keep our community pride going….
ANTIGO is glad YOU left Antigo! The more rude, ignorant people like you that leave Antigo make it that much better of a place to live. Explain to me how people from Rhinelander look? or Wausau?
Where did you move to? Are you happy now?, do you fit in?
Albus where are these “vacant lots downtown”?? the one across from Chase Bank??, which is owned by the city and designed as some greenspace & access to municipal parking?
Albus, by reading some of your other posts on other topics here, looks to me like you have it all figured out! I anxiously await your next post!
I think it’s totally narrow-minded to clump all the “people” of Antigo into one grotesque category. We aren’t all rednecks that only care about racing and the price of milk. Some of us care about the world, and talk about it.
Antigo isn’t the greatest community to live in, and certainly lacks entertainment and exciting nightlife, however, many of the people are good, friendly and decent.
You find losers all across the country and world, even in college towns.
Unfortunately we don’t have more of a melting pot in Antigo, but I don’t think it’s in the cards.
True colors says: “I think it’s totally narrow-minded to clump all the “people” of Antigo into one grotesque category.”
I agree. We should be more open-minded about this. It actually takes several grotesque categories to do the job.
True colors says: “Antigo isn’t the greatest community to live in, and certainly lacks entertainment and exciting nightlife, however, many of the people are good, friendly and decent.”
Again, I agree. I know some of those good, friendly, decent people. I only wish we could do more in this town to relieve their boredom and quiet desperation.
True colors says: “You find losers all across the country and world, even in college towns.”
Once again, I agree, especially if Antigo were a college town! Imagine the journalism students such a college would turn out, given the examples surrounding them as they matured.
True colors says: “Unfortunately we don’t have more of a melting pot in Antigo, but I don’t think it’s in the cards.”
Sure it is! You have to be more optimistic about the situation. To attract more diversity, all we have to do is find, or come up with, something more interesting than racing and the price of milk, like maybe snowmobiling and the price of potatoes….
Cute Albus.
No, I think snowmobiling and the price of potatoes are more of an attraction than even a cute Albus.
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