Creative Writing: Except Hound Street
“Oh… that’s interesting.”
This would usually be the response whenever I told people I was spending my summer working at our County Historical Society. And although I felt they may have been using the word “interesting” in the polite, Midwesterner-way that’s synonymous with “different,” to me, it really was interesting. Local history may fly under the radar for most people, however, it’s something I hold with great value.
When I was young, I would spend hours buried in children’s encyclopedias, reading about the great figures and events that shaped the grand course of history. As I became older, my love for learning about the world grew. If I wanted to learn about a nation’s struggle for independence, or the exploration of Antarctica, a search online or through a history book could answer my question. It seemed I could learn about anything in the world.
Except Hound Street.
Hound Street, formally known by its more drab name, 120th Street, is the gravel road that sits near my house. While it’s unknown to the majority of the 7.5 billion people living on Earth, it’s the road I use nearly everyday. On each end of the short stretch of road, a small white sign with the words “HOUND STREET” painted in bold black letters is nailed to a …show more content…
The farmers that lived along its old 1.5 mile length would go fox hunting together, and when doing so would bring along their hounds. Because of this, the street earned its nickname. By the 1890s, a few farmers had purchased greyhounds and began to race them along the street. In 1896, the “Hound Street Boys,” as they were known in the newspaper, along with several others formed the Southern Minnesota Coursing Club. Within months, large greyhound races were being held along the street with dogs coming from all over Iowa and Southern-Minnesota. I had never suspected the little gravel road I lived next to contain such a rich
This would usually be the response whenever I told people I was spending my summer working at our County Historical Society. And although I felt they may have been using the word “interesting” in the polite, Midwesterner-way that’s synonymous with “different,” to me, it really was interesting. Local history may fly under the radar for most people, however, it’s something I hold with great value.
When I was young, I would spend hours buried in children’s encyclopedias, reading about the great figures and events that shaped the grand course of history. As I became older, my love for learning about the world grew. If I wanted to learn about a nation’s struggle for independence, or the exploration of Antarctica, a search online or through a history book could answer my question. It seemed I could learn about anything in the world.
Except Hound Street.
Hound Street, formally known by its more drab name, 120th Street, is the gravel road that sits near my house. While it’s unknown to the majority of the 7.5 billion people living on Earth, it’s the road I use nearly everyday. On each end of the short stretch of road, a small white sign with the words “HOUND STREET” painted in bold black letters is nailed to a …show more content…
The farmers that lived along its old 1.5 mile length would go fox hunting together, and when doing so would bring along their hounds. Because of this, the street earned its nickname. By the 1890s, a few farmers had purchased greyhounds and began to race them along the street. In 1896, the “Hound Street Boys,” as they were known in the newspaper, along with several others formed the Southern Minnesota Coursing Club. Within months, large greyhound races were being held along the street with dogs coming from all over Iowa and Southern-Minnesota. I had never suspected the little gravel road I lived next to contain such a rich