Fulton County Ohio Media

Earlier this year, the Shortland family of four from the United Kingdom (UK), England to be specific, travelled to America to experience the United States in a very up close and personal way.  Recently, they, husband Tom, wife Ros and boys, Lawrie, who is 10, and Wilfy, who is 4, stopped in the very welcoming community of Fayette in Fulton County Ohio.  They are an obviously adventurous family as Tom explains in his own words below:

We are from the south west of the UK in Devon but migrated to Portugal for a better quality of life for our oldest son in 2019.  Since we moved to Portugal, we have had another son and connected with so many people, travelled all the way up to Norway again, spent last winter in Sri Lanka then came up with the crazy idea of buying an RV in the USA and hitting the road with no real plan.  So far everything is working out great and we have fallen in love with the USA. We hope one day to be able to legally move here.  Specifically, to northern Idaho.  We absolutely love it up there!

So far on this trip we have travelled more than 8,000 miles through 18 states, visiting cities, small towns and communities across the country. We have met some wonderful people along the way, but after spending a few days in Fayette we felt we had to tell someone locally just how much this little village has stood out.

We originally came to Fayette because Mayor Dave Borer had added an overnight RV stop in the village through Harvest Hosts.  Fayette was somewhere we might otherwise have simply driven past, but we enjoyed it so much that we decided to stay another night.  The following day we met Dave and his wife Mary, who immediately made us feel welcome and gave us lots of suggestions for places to visit locally.

That evening, severe weather moved into the area and tornado warnings started appearing on our phones. Coming from the UK, tornadoes are not something we have much experience with, particularly while living in an RV.  We texted Dave to ask what we should do.  He came straight over.

Dave drove ahead of our RV and personally showed us the way to a local church, where we sheltered safely in the basement with around a dozen members of the community.  A lady at the church, whose name, unfortunately, we didn’t get, immediately made sure everyone was comfortable. She found pencils and pens for the boys to draw with and did a wonderful job of keeping everyone calm and in good spirits.

Dave was outside with the Fire Chief during the storm and, once the all-clear had been given, came back to the church to check that everybody was okay.  We already thought that was an extraordinary way to treat a visiting family, but the kindness continued the next day.

Mary had recommended a nearby thrift store where our four-year-old Wilfy found a child’s fire chief costume. Naturally, he wore it for the rest of the day.  Later we visited Normal Memorial Library. The staff were incredibly welcoming, the head librarian gave the boys dinosaur activity packs, and they spent a brilliant time playing with LEGO, looking through Minecraft books and reading in the children’s library.

Mary happened to come into the library and saw Wilfy dressed as a fire chief. She said she would try to find him a fireman’s hat. We told her not to go to any trouble.  About thirty minutes later she came back with fire-themed gifts and fire helmets for both boys.

Mary also suggested that we visit the Fayette Fire Department.  After lunch we went down and were given a fantastic tour. The firefighters showed the boys around, explained how everything worked and let them sit inside the fire engines.

The Police Chief then came down and let Lawrie hold a riot shield, sit inside his police pickup and turn on the sirens.  The Fire Chief also came to meet us and was wonderful with Wilfy, who was still proudly dressed in his little fire chief outfit. Before we left, he even gave the boys a fire-themed water pistol.

After travelling more than 8,000 miles around America, what struck us about Fayette was that it wasn’t simply one or two people being friendly. It seemed to be everybody.  People wave as you pass. The park and splash pad are lovely. The library is fantastic. We enjoyed the local pizza. The police and fire departments were incredibly welcoming and proud to show the boys what they do.

Dave’s decision to put Fayette on Harvest Hosts also seems like a brilliant example of how a small community can encourage travellers to stop rather than simply drive through.  It certainly worked with us.  We arrived looking for somewhere to spend the night. We stayed longer, used local businesses, explored the village, met the people who live there and are leaving with a genuine affection for Fayette.  After 18 states, it takes something pretty special for a small village to stand out this much.

Photo: The Shortland Family – Tom, Larrie, Wilfy and Ros