I grew up on a farm, on a dirt road, miles away from anyone else. My grandparents lived "in town," which was as Main Street USA as it gets. I would spend weekends with them, and would get "dropped off" in town with my bike, and we all just rode bikes wherever we wanted and ended up at one friend's house or the next. Wiffle ball, football, basketball... games were easy to come by. We roamed the woods freely, and parents looked out for each other's kids. It was VERY common to eat at someone's house, and the favor was simply returned later. I was invited almost every Sunday to my friend's grandmother's house for Sunday dinner, I was a part of their extended family, and vice versa.
The town square had a toy store, hardware store, pharmacy, grocery store, jewelry store, men's clothing store, women's clothing store, family clothing store, auto parts store, a full service gas station, a convenience gas station, and more I can't recall. They had festivals and parades, everybody knew everybody else. It was a great place to live. Stores were closed on Sundays.
Around 1992, it really started to fall apart. NAFTA and offshoring killed the industry in the town. I mean, overnight there were no factory jobs left. There was agriculture, which was rapidly modernizing to the point 1 person could do the job of 6, so jobs weren't plentiful. Families encouraged kids to move away to chase their dreams. The town is sad...sad...sad now. The same town square is now government agencies, pawn shops, thrift shops, or empty. All of the convenience stores are run down and gross. The only "restaurants" are run down and gross. Locally owned stores have been replaced by Dollar General and Family Dollar. The lone grocery store is not bad, but it isn't great. When I go home to visit, I do not feel a connection.