Pros and Cons of Mt. Washington by ella olds Being the runt means being the smallest of the litter. While Mount Washington is not the smallest city in Kentucky it is one of 782 cities in Kentucky, and one of a million in the world. Our small town could be seen as the runt but could also grow to be something wonderful. Living in a small town like ours holds a lot of good and poses some bad. Everybody in the community sees Mount Washington differently. Even with different views, we can seemingly agree that there are some ways we believe we can help fix some of the bad or try to solve some of the universal problems. Citizens of Mount Washington all hold different views of our small town, some believe it’s small and too crowded, others see it as the place to easily meet people and make lifelong friends. Freshman Brooke Payne believes that Mount Washington is pretty to the eye and easy to be where your friends are because of the size. “In my opinion it’s easier to get to know people and hang out with them, whether it be at their house or a place because nothing is really far from each other,” Payne said. Senior Abigail Scharfenberger agrees. “Mount Washington is a very small but strong community. The pros of living in a small town is that everything is close together so you don’t have to travel far,” Scharfenberger said. With no distance in between your friends and your family, many people see this as a pro and are happy to have the opportunity to see their loved ones with a very short drive.
‘Downtown’ Mount Washington is mostly made of big corporations and chain stores. Our main street used to be full of local businesses, but now most are out of business or so rundown they are past the point of fixing. “Mount Washington isn’t localized like it once was,” said Wright. Photo: Ella Olds
On the other hand, freshman Isaiah Wright, believes we have good bones but are slowly losing the small town feel. “Mount Washington is a nice, smaller growing community which is slowly losing its identity. A small town has a unique identity, which is a pro and most people know each other which can have benefits of their own.” Wright feels as if we aren’t the small town we used to be because of our ‘downtown’. “Our downtown as it is, is mostly all corporations. There are a few local businesses, but most can’t afford to be stable in Mount Washington today,” said Wright. Because of the rising popularity of our town and the new people moving in there isn’t any room for our local businesses. Payne also sees what Wright is suggesting and agrees in her own way. “For such a small town and such a beautiful place, I feel like a lot of the land is being taken everyday for new buildings and houses. It’s inevitable because we need places and homes for people, I just wish the land could stay more solid and beautiful like intended,” said Payne. A lot of new construction projects are planned for Mount Washington and could potentially ruin the beauty for future generations. With being a small community, comes the tight knit community, which could be seen as a bad thing. “Everyone knows the good and the bad that’s going on in the town,” Scharfenberger said. Another negative Scharfenberger has noticed is, “that everything is busy due to limited places and lots of people. I would like to see Mount Washington create more businesses and exciting places for the people in our community to go to.” Many people suggest popular restaurants to be added in Mount Washington, such as Chick-fil-a or Starbucks, and some just wish for more attractions. Without anything to do, Mount Washington could become a boring place, a con for most. Even with the bad, Mount Washington has its perks and will always hold the idea of a small farm town to its community members. The town currently has a population of 15,049 and is growing every day. Mount Washington feels like home for most, but not for everybody. 3
