How To Find Anything In A Small Prairie Town

I recently attended a craft sale in rural Saskatchewan. I had never been to this town before, but I realized that I still knew exactly where to go.

This is because every rural Saskatchewan town is the same.

The road closest to the highway is always called "Railway Avenue" (or street, depending on the direction it goes).

On Railway Avenue you will find a railway (or remains of a railway that's been decommissioned), and a grain elevator (or theremains of a grain elevator that's been torn down).

As you drive along Railway Avenue, you will see a Hotel on the corner of a street. This is a code word for "Beer and Old Country Music".  The Hotel will never have anyone staying in it, but the bar has its regulars.

The Hotel is always on Main Street. If the town founders fancied the town to be upscale, this may be called Central Street.

On Main Street you will find a bank (always a Credit Union), the post office, the town hall, a small restaurant (probably an ancient Asian couple serving hamburgers and ginger beef, with buffets on Sunday), and possibly a grocery store. If you're lucky, this grocery store is still a mom'n'pop operation but unfortunately most of the towns have a Co-Op store now.

Now. If you need to find someone's *house* in a small town, and not just something on Main Street, that's easy too. There's fewer than 10 blocks in any direction so you can just drive around for 6 or 7 minutes till you find it.

Or you could stop to ask someone, "Could you tell me where to find Victoria Avenue? I'm looking for Millie Martens", but the answer you get may not be helpful. It will sound something like this. "Oooooh yes Millie! Dang it she makes a good Saskatoon berry pie. At the last fowl supper they had one in an auction...ahhem! ah yes. You want to find her place, eh? Well you gotta turn down there where the Elks hall usedta be before it burnt down in '75. Then you'll see that big ole house that Ole Man Hawkins usedta live in, and she's right across the street from there. Tell 'er I say hi!"

Good luck.

Disclaimer: If your small town has a gas station, hospital, or school...it is too big and will not follow this template.

You're welcome.