A Growing City

    When Abraham Lincoln prepared to leave his hometown for Washington D.C, he made a farewell speech that echoes my feelings about leaving my own hometown of Glendale, Arizona to embark on the many adventures that await me at college. Although my hometown is not as small as President Lincoln’s, with its small town charm and close-nit communities, it has left its mark on me like no other place on the face of the earth ever will. It is here in Glendale, Arizona that I grew up. As a toddler, I played in its parks, as a youngster I went to school and made friends, and as a teenager, I learned the difference one can make in my life and the community. Glendale to me is my home. I can’t really imagine what it will be like to live somewhere else during college, but I do know it is something I must do. During the duration of that time, I shall miss the history, the tradition, and the people of Glendale, one of the best towns in Arizona.

 

     Glendale, founded in 1892 as a temperance colony, is a city rich in its history. It still preserves its historic district, Catlin Courts, in the heart of the city, where there is everything from old saloon buildings and houses from the late 1800s including a mansion and a castle-looking sugar beet factory that captivates visitor’s eyes as they visit our city. It has passed the test of time and is currently experimenting new growth and prosperity. It holds the best high school in the state, my high school, Glendale High, also the oldest high school in the state. The number of historical sites in Glendale is incredible and they are here to explore and learn its rich culture. By the 1930’s it became a hub for agribusiness with the sugar factory and produce, becoming one of the nation’s top produce shippers. It was a temperance town before the national temperance movement. It has buildings and sidewalks built by the WPA during the great depression. It was subject to the Japanese internment laws. Glendale is a city that has been around for some of the greatest and worst moments in our history. Now I know that this history stuff may not seem as exciting as other things about Glendale, but when you grow up in a city like Glendale with so many historical sites, it is interesting to learn about the things you grew up around. It is something you have to experience for yourself because you can clearly see the marks left on Glendale with each era of American History.

 

    Glendale’s traditions are many. I love them so much that I will not travel on those dates because I do not want to miss them. There is the Annual Fire Parade: an enormous parade with fire trucks; banners; confetti, all the essentials. There is also the hot air balloon festival in January, a night where the entire historical district is literally sprinkled with hot air balloons, vendors, performers, you name it. There is the Chocolate Affair; a day in which the whole city pigs out on chocolate; Glendale Glitters, when the heart of the city is decorated with colorful lights for the entire winter, and many others. There are many other countless traditions in Glendale, Arizona that I can’t possibly mention them, but they are all worth mentioning and place this city deep in my heart.

 

    Glendale is a wonderful place to live in and it is a place booming in prosperity. Recently we became home of the Arizona Cardinals, which is great because we are also home of the Glendale Cardinals (Glendale High School), as well as the home of the Coyotes. There are big plans for Glendale’s future; businesses, hotels, tourist attractions, residential construction just to name a few. It has many college campuses such as Midwestern, ASU West, and Glendale Community College. It is a prominent city with a great outlook to the future.

 

    No matter where life takes me, I will always look to Glendale, Arizona as my hometown. A place of adventure, history, and honor, I will never forget it. I have become so attached to it that I believe that I will move back here every summer break of college and that I will return after college to live in Glendale. Here my children will also live and experience Glendale someday, graduate from my high school, go on to college and return because Glendale has a spell on me, and I refuse to abandon its welcoming streets, people, and traditions