Our Town Almanac highlights the good in our towns: local businesses, history, family events, faith, service and community. We choose what we promote.
We don't feature businesses or events that harm the community.
We're for fall festivals, harvest events, pumpkin patches, corn mazes and church trunk-or-treats, but we don't celebrate Halloween in any form. That includes haunted attractions, séances, witchcraft and anything that celebrates the occult, the demonic or evil.
Our directory doesn't list:
- non-medical (recreational) cannabis businesses, such as marijuana or THC dispensaries. Hemp and CBD businesses with a medical purpose are welcome; we just don't get into recreational drug use.
- abortion providers
- euthanasia or assisted-suicide services
- adult entertainment venues such as strip clubs
- vape shops, or shops that sell drug-culture goods like bongs, pipes made for drug use and other drug paraphernalia
Vape shops, smoke shops and liquor stores
Our rule is simple. If a product can be used in a way that isn't harmful, we won't ban it. If a product is only harmful, we won't support it.
Tobacco shops, cigar shops and stores that sell beer and liquor are welcome. Responsible adults can enjoy them, so we list these businesses unless something seedy is going on or a business really works against the community.
Vape shops aren't in our directory. There's nothing good about vaping. It's dangerous, and many people don't realize how dangerous it is.
We also don't list shops that sell drug-culture goods, like bongs, pipes made for drug use and other drug paraphernalia. Tobacco pipes at a tobacco or cigar shop are fine.
Photos of people
As a general rule, we don't post photos of children. If a child's face can't be avoided, we get written permission from a parent or guardian first, and if that isn't practical, we blur the face.
Adults may appear in photos taken at public events, and their faces may be recognizable.
If you'd like a photo of yourself or your child taken down, email hello@ourtownalmanac.com and we'll remove it.
History
We don't paper over history. Hard chapters stay in the record, told plainly and with sources, because there's something to learn from them. But reporting the past isn't celebrating it, and we won't make a spectacle of past suffering.
A listing isn't an endorsement. We leave out what we believe is clearly harmful or evil, and we choose carefully what we feature.
Questions or suggestions: hello@ourtownalmanac.com