Life in a small town. A Brief Synapsis of Irwin Pennsylvania.

The small town is one of Hollywood’s favorite phenomena to portray in their films. They are used in genres ranging from romantic comedy to horror in abundance. However, life in a small town is not as glamorous or interesting as it is portrayed in the films. In reality life in a small town is incredibly dull for the most part. Not to sound like a brat in their early twenties, but most of the time there is literally nothing to do in these places. I personally have experience living in two different towns of very similar size. The reality of the situation is that nothing happens in a small town, until it does!

The first experience that I had living in a small town was my hometown of Irwin Pennsylvania. Irwin is a town of approximately 3500 residents that lies in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in western Pennsylvania. The town is a stereotypical coal town that has struggled to keep afloat once the mines closed. The town consists of one main street that runs from U.S. Route 30 to the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Main Street Irwin Pennsylvania

 The main accomplishment of the town is actually that it was the first exit to be added to construction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the 1960’s. From the main street there are no more than 30 side streets that branch off from the main thoroughfare. The buildings on the main street of town are the stereotypical mom and pop stores ranging from an appliance store that has been there since the 1950’s to small craft and trinket stores. The town is also dotted with churches of every denomination, which makes traveling through town nearly impossible on Sunday mornings.

Aside from going to church (and the activities associated with church) there is very little to do in terms of entertainment in the town of Irwin. The town movie theater (the only one for about five miles) had been closed and dilapidated from 1992 until 2017. town for you. The restaurant scene in town is dominated by a long string of fast food and pizza parlors that lines the lanes of U.S. Route 30. The town also attempts to put on events such as street fairs and farmers markets in hopes of bringing the townspeople together, as well as pump some much needed money into the local economy. However, the events are often poorly planned and often do not draw the crowds that the town committees were hoping for (the farmers marker for example often consists of one booth that sells mostly tomatoes and store bought jam. The lack of entertainment in the town is most likely what attributes to the rampant drug problems that the town is plagued with.

The Lamp Theater before renovations

The local schools sports teams also do not offer much in terms of entertainment. The football team has never made it past the first round of the playoffs, the softball team record is rather abysmal but the school’s saving grace is the baseball team that has produced athletes that have actually gone forward to professional careers in college as well as in the majors. The food scene in Irwin is also not the greatest. If you are a fan of sit down restaurants or higher end food, then Irwin is not the town for you. The restaurant scene in town is dominated by a long string of fast food and pizza parlors that lines the lanes of U.S. Route 30.

Route 30 restaurant district.

The town also attempts to put on events such as street fairs and farmers markets in hopes of bringing the townspeople together, as well as pump some much needed money into the local economy. However, the events are often poorly planned and often do not draw the crowds that the town committees were hoping for (the farmers marker for example often consists of one booth that sells mostly tomatoes and store bought jam. The lack of entertainment in the town is most likely what attributes to the rampant drug problems that the town is plagued with.

The town of Irwin has seen a surge in heroin use and related crime in the last few years. As a matter of fact, the opening of the town Wal-Mart was plagued with several overdosed in the parking lot during the festivities that were going on. This along with the struggling economy has put the town in a bit of a slump. However, life in Irwin is not always as bad as it sounds. There are good people in the town who are doing the best that they can in order to bring the town back to the hay-day they look back on with such fondness. It will take time, but I honestly do hope that they are able to get my hometown back on its feet.