They always get it wrong about rural life - From the Cluttered Desk with Keith Roulston
We sat down to watch a Netflix show the other night and I was quickly reminded of how incarnantly writers in Hollywood or New York write about small towns.
In the story, a top surgeon in New York loses his wife and, to make a new start, he decided to move his teenage son and young daughter to a small town his wife often talked about in Colorado. The town is home to 9,000 people, yet it has one doctor who, rather than being grateful to finally have someone to share the load, resents another doctor coming to town to “steal” his patients.
It may have seemed like a good storyline to the big-city writer of the script, but the plot is ludicrous. Imagine the town of Goderich (population 8,000) having only one doctor. I go to Goderich to a blood clinic, which is attached to a huge building that houses offices for many doctors. I also have appointments with a specialist who works out of an office in Goderich Alexandra Marine and General Hospital across the street.
This isn’t the only Hollywood movie that underestimates small towns. In another movie, a man provides a counselling service in a small town. He has two other counsellors in competition so it seems like a reasonably large town. There’s also a factory for an electronic inventor. But the counsellor goes for a hike on a nearby mountain and stops to look down on a town about the size of Auburn or Ethel.
It’s not just Americans who have these misconceptions. Currently, a babysitter in Strathroy is on trial in the death of a young child who was in her care, The Toronto Star included a headline about the trial of “a small-town, Ontario babysitter”. I looked up the population of Strathroy, which I used to be familiar with because I had an aunt and uncle who lived there. It’s part of the regional municipally of Strathroy-Caradoc now: population 28,459. Hardly a small town by my reckoning but I guess you think differently if you live in Toronto. I suspect even London is a “small town” despite a population of 630,000 in 2025.
To me, a small town is Wingham or Clinton or, at the largest, Goderich. Villages like Brussels and Blyth occupy the lower end.
Yet very little happens in the small towns on TV. I’ve been on a committee to write a history of the most recent 50 years of Blyth’s history. I’m constantly amazed that no matter how many stories we’ve written, we keep finding new groups, teams and businesses that we’ve forgotten to include.
Blyth is an unusual village. The Blyth Festival has been attracting large crowds for over 50 years. Blyth Memorial Hall, home of the Festival, is a unique building. The village also has The Old Mill at the south edge of Blyth. Cowbell Brewery also brings thousands to Blyth every year.
But what makes small towns remarkable is the input of the people. I was fascinated by Scott Stephenson’s story in last week’s Citizen about Herman Mooy. He first arrived in Blyth 14 years ago, determined to contribute to his new community. Soon he was volunteering to make the Huron Pioneer Thresher Reunion successful and organizing the campground.
More than that, he helped Lissa Kolkman establish The Friends of the Village of Blyth to beautify the village. He helped when the International Plowing Match was held in Walton in 2017.
Across the county he has, for years, helped at Van Egmond House. Mooy is just one of the people volunteering in Blyth. There are dozens more. There are close to three dozen volunteers contributing to Blyth’s history book alone.
And that’s just Blyth. Each of our communities has dozens of people making interesting things happens, like spring and fall fairs. The Lions, Kinsmen, Royal Canadian Legion and Legion Auxillary all contribute immensely.
Those are things that get missed when city-dwellers look at rural communities. Yes, there are some people who volunteer in the cities, but thousands prefer to sit back and have others do the work.
People who live in rural communities must realize that if we want to have things like the Thresher Reunion, we have to step forward and work to make them happen. Generation after generation for 65 years has lent a helping hand to make this event grow and prosper.
I’m sure these authors who write about small towns are not even aware of all the incredible work done behind the scenes in the small towns they portray. Still, as inaccurate as their portrayal may be, at least, thankfully, there are some shows that show the slower pace of life in rural communities.
It’s good to see a side of life that’s closer to the life we live than any of the shows shot in Los Angeles or New York.