To the editor:

“Go see the world and then when you are ready ... come back home. It will always be here.”

That is what my dad said to me after I graduated high school. I grew up in the country outside of Dubois. My parents still live in my quaint childhood home. It’s their own slice of heaven, even though I didn’t always see it that way.

After high school, I remember thinking I’m gone and I’m not coming back. I wanted the big city and all the things that came with it. So, I took my dad’s advice and decided to do just that. I’ve lived in four different states spanning East to West. I loved each area for different reasons, but never did I feel “at home” like I thought I might.

I remember when the city life didn’t have that same appeal anymore and thinking it’s time. I’m ready to go home. I convinced my husband that Dubois County was the place we needed to live. It was interesting to me that all my talking points included the things that used to drive me bananas as a teenager. It’s calm, quiet, it’s an hour to the nearest mall, cornfields for miles, everyone will be in your business, and the only traffic jams we will face are tractor related.

That’s what brought us back here.

One can argue that we aren’t the majority, but I’m not so sure. Many of my former students and friends have similar stories. They left and they returned. If you ask them why — it’s family, it’s safety, it’s calm, it’s home.

Our home and many others will potentially be taken due to the Mid-States Corridor. Why? Growth? Trucking? Politics? Big business?

If this is what Dubois County is all about — I made the wrong choice in moving my family here. The people of Dubois County will lose more than they gain — integrity being at the top of the list. What saddens me the most is that I can’t tell my kids what my dad told me — their home won’t always be here.

—Atalie Schroering
Jasper