Something special about Ruston is the unique icons and pieces of culture that make the town more than just an address, but a home. If someone asked you to think of Ruston, images of peaches and bulldogs, football stadium lights and the Dixie theater might cross your mind. You know just how to describe it, and it’s a place to be proud of.
Of the many towns I’ve lived in and worked in over the years, Ruston might be the one with the most sense of self. The railroad tracks, the food truck parks, and the historic downtown, are all landmarks that make it something to remember. You know your favorite coffee shop, and you probably know the barista there too. You probably go to the Peach Festival every year and the farmers’ market on most Saturdays.
It’s sort of iconic, the murals and the main street and everything else. It’s truly a sight to see the trolly picking up game day passengers dressed in sparkling blue and crimson red on Saturday nights every fall. When we walk downtown, we make time to stop and take pictures with the bulldogs that hide around town. They have a whole album on my camera roll.
I’ve made a routine for myself that surrounds my life in Ruston. Going to the library and walking along the Rock Island Greenway every week. I shop at the boutiques where I’ve made friends with the owners and try new cocktails at the same restaurants where I always have ladies’ night. This town has earned its own special place in my schedule and my life, like a friend that you get so used to you forget that they’re always there.
Even when I drive hours away, if I tell people I’m from Ruston they know what that means. Down in New Orleans I had a conversation with a former Rustonite I ran into, where we gushed about our favorite date night spots and the plays at the community theater. I know some people who moved away for some time, after graduating from Tech or Grambling and wanting a fresh start far from home. But Ruston has a way of drawing people back, they say, because so many come back to the place they call home.
I learn as I travel around the state that Louisiana is a beautiful and unique place with new adventures in every Parish and every village. But no matter what corner I uncover, I’ve yet to find any place that matches up to the way I feel about my very own hometown. It’s funny how many people I’ve met who say the very same thing. It’s easy to love and hard to leave, because you know you’ll never find a place just like it.
