COLUMN: Answer easy to ‘Why here?’

By KASSI HENNING HARPENAU, Guest Columnist

When people ask me, “Why Perry County?” the answer is easy, because it’s my home!

I have lived in Perry County since I was 3 years old and I loved every minute of growing up here. I have fond memories of playing softball games, wading in Windy Creek, picnicking at the local parks, going for bike rides around town, swimming at JFK Pool, Girl Scout camp at Camp Koch, and many more!

I attended school at Tell City and graduated in 2004. My husband also graduated from Tell City in 2005. We both left town to pursue college degrees. After graduation, my husband and I started looking for jobs, and when we started talking about where we wanted to live, the answer was obvious. We wanted to move back to our home.

We came back to Tell City in 2009 and bought our first home in town, and I then began my job at Cannelton Elementary. My husband and I could not be happier about our decision. I love being back in town, seeing friendly faces while taking walks, running into friends while shopping and running errands, or being back down at the ball fields during the summer. We also enjoy being outdoors; whether we are landscaping our house, barbecuing, camping, boating on the Ohio River, or going fishing at Tipsaw. The beauty of Perry County and the resources it provides make it the only place we would want to do any of those things.

We are very pleased to be back in town, living close to our families, and feeling the safety and security of the communities that make up Perry County. Knowing that neighbors support neighbors and that if help is needed, it’s right next door.

Now that we are starting our own family, we are very excited for our children to be able to experience all of the wonderful opportunities that he and I had as children and teenagers. We are confident that Perry County will provide the same feelings of contentment that we encountered while growing up.

When we think of where we will be in the future, there is no doubt in our minds that we will be in Perry County. We love this area, not just because our family is close by, but because to us, this is home. This is where we grew up, fell in love, got married and are beginning our family.

To us, Perry County is the ideal place to live and we love to call it home.

Editor’s Note: This is one of an occasional series of guest columns by people who have chosen to move to Perry County or who have chosen to remain here. Columns are provided by the Perry County Quality of Life Committee, a subgroup of the Perry County Development Corp.