I am always proud to say I am from Lindale. And I was even prouder when my little town got a feature on the website onlyinyourstate.com. Here's some insight they couldn't give, though.

There are a million ways I could write this. I lived my first 22 years of life in Lindale, so there's a lot to tell. I could go back to my time as a kid at Velma Penny Intermediate, which is now the elementary school. Or that the Junior High and High School were on the same lot. Those two buildings are now the intermediate school. And the Junior High is a new building in what was nothing but a pasture. The High School still stands on Highway 16 which my class moved into the 2nd semester of my junior year in 1995.

Just that aspect of Lindale is huge growth.

Where Walmart, Lowes, Trinity Mother Francis Clinic and Posado's stand was just empty field.

The new Cannery area was just run down buildings or empty lots.

The football stadium, while good when I was in High School, has gone through some huge improvements.

As you can tell. Lindale is my small town that is growing up. There wasn't 2,500 people in the town in the 90's and it's now over 5,000.

I say all this because even though I live in Tyler now, I am proud of my hometown of Lindale. While most of it is still the same, it's great to see all the new stuff.

Even where I grew up, and my parents still live, on Legion Hills Road is still the same rough, blacktop road that is barely big enough to fit two cars. But the open pastures that surround the house is now full of homes.

Thanks to a power line system that was put in place in the late 90's, my creek area where I spent many a summer day sending my GI Joe's and Transformers on water missions is gone.

Damascus Baptist Church, the church I grew up in, still stands. The other churches in town are still around with a couple of new ones.

I'm a few years older than Miranda Lambert so I never knew her in my younger years. I think it was 2002 when I first met her.

Needless to say, I am proud of my hometown. I am glad that onlyinyourstate.com gave the town a feature. In your summer travels, if you've only passed it on I-20, make a stop and check Lindale out. It's still small enough, it'll take about 15 minutes out of your time.

 

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