Facebook group helps connect people with Mitchell roots

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• You know you grew up in Mitchell if ...

A Facebook group is making it easier to recall memories of growing up in Mitchell.

The group is called “You know you grew up in Mitchell if …” and has 1,348 members.

“It’s fun to go back and realize that we’re a lot more alike than we first thought. You grow up and realize that you’re more in common than you thought at that age,” said Vicki Phillips, an active contributor to the page.

Most of the conversation is created by the members of the group posting photos or links to Web stories that might remind others of an instance from their childhood.

Instead of a place for photos about close friends and family, the page is a home for old memories of Milt’s Radiator Service, the Lawler Café or the old A&W Restaurant in Mitchell, to name a few.

An old picture of the dam at Lake Mitchell provokes conversation about using plastic air mattresses to float out to an island and catch crappies. Someone else posts a photo of a hanger from Only Way Dry Cleaners and asks where the business was located. A few comments later, a user says it was on South Main Street.

Once all rooted in Mitchell, the members of the group have moved all over the country. Phillips said Facebook allows her to connect with people she would never be able to otherwise. Another user compared it to an “all-school reunion.”

The platform provides the opportunity to talk about old times and see if anyone else remembers anyone jumping off the old railroad bridge or using the nickel machine at the old Scoreboard restaurant.

One post referenced old grocery stores in Mitchell. That sparked a conversation starting with the Piggly Wiggly and ending 64 comments later, with all sorts of conversation and memories spliced in.

“Everybody has different memories, and it’s fun to see them all come together in one place,” said Mary Ackman, who admitted she wasn’t crazy about Facebook until a friend urged her to join.

Phillips said the Internet connection carries over to other venues like eBay, where items with Mitchell-area ties might be found.

“I find things about Mitchell or the Corn Palace, and there’s a little bit of history all over,” Phillips said.

Ackman credits Phillips for keeping other people informed of what is happening in Mitchell, good news or bad.

“A lot of us might not find out, and it’s just a good way to pass along our prayers or condolences,” Ackman said.

Phillips said now is a good time for her to reminisce, online or otherwise.

“I’m just about 60. It’s time to go back to my childhood,” she said.

Tags: news, updates, facebook, local, mitchell