Letter to the editor: When I come back to Battle Ground, I am overwhelmed by good feelings 

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Battle Ground is a pretty great little town. 

They say you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. That is definitely true. 

I went to high school here and then moved around the country. I came back about 20 years ago with a husband and six children. We established roots in the community. We got to know people. We schooled, went to church, volunteered, shopped, played, laughed and cried with the people we came to know by name. We connected. 

Then, for the last six years, we’ve lived in Orchards. It’s just a hop, skip and a jump away, but my pattern of living changed. I did different things on a daily basis and went to different stores. It wasn’t the same. 

Every time I come back to Battle Ground to shop, I am overwhelmed by the good feelings it brings me. I always see people I know in the familiar stores. It’s fun to visit and catch up.

It’s a good feeling to walk into Dick’s Tire and have the owner call me by name. My father was also a customer there for years. I know I will be treated right. 

Brooke at Kidz Cloz asks about my life. We chat. The gal working in Pacifically You talks to me about weddings and kids and life. 

Down the street, I bought some small handmade paper books and sweet little elephant candles at Battle Ground Healing Arts. I’ve been a customer there for years. Dr. Jill Stanbury says, “See you later Vivian” as I leave. The woman working at Urban Basics shows me where the Velcro is. (My high school friend manages the store.) I also buy some tiny rubber elephants. My sisters and I have an elephant thing since two of them have lost sons in the last few years. Life can be so hard. 



Like the elephant mothers who lose their babies, we circle around and stay connected until they’re ready to move on. 

We live best in a herd, connecting, sharing, loving. Recently, one of my sisters and I had a delicious lunch at Barrel Mountain. We sat in the tall chairs and enjoyed the good ol’ rock music of yesteryears. We went around the corner to Posh and Tattered, where a friend was working. 

Shelly helped us pick out a few cool items. We told stories and laughed. 

These kinds of relationships don’t happen randomly. But they happen in small towns like Battle Ground where we feel safe to grow roots and share our lives. 

I don’t hang out in bars, but I remember watching a TV show called Cheers where the theme song includes a line “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.” It’s true. 

Our deepest needs as humans are to be known and loved. I think it’s pretty special that we can experience that level of connection in our small town as we bee-bop around,  wandering from shop to shop — knowing, sharing and loving.

Vivian Walikainen,

Vancouver