I’m not from around here. Neither am I from Australia (a popular first guess).
In fact, I was born and raised in England, just on the outskirts of London. I liked it well enough, but one day I packed some books and clothes into a suitcase and moved to the United States. I’d met a Mansfield girl who’d been working in London and I followed her back home.
It took us 15 years to get to Mansfield itself, though we spent most of that time not too far away in Columbus. We moved here last year at short notice due to a family emergency and I had no job or plan of any kind.
After two decades of desk-bound IT work, I took advantage of the clean break and started working at the library before anyone noticed what I’d done.
If you move to a new town and get a job that puts you in direct contact with the community, it’s a tremendous plus. I soon felt like a part of things and relished the opportunity to meet new people, both in and out of the workplace. It felt natural to get involved.
I registered with the Board of Elections as a poll worker. Ohio often feels like the eye of the political storm so it’s interesting to be on the front line on voting day – and it’s another way to get to see a cross-section of the community up close. A lot of people come through those doors during that thirteen-hour window.
You may be asking yourself – how does a Brit get to work a U.S. election?
Good question, although perhaps surprisingly it’s not one I ever get asked at the polls. When I worked a Columbus election a few years ago, I’d been chatting to an elderly co-worker for several hours before she asked gently: “I’m picking up a bit of an accent – are you from Boston?”
That’s OK, I’m legit – I proudly took U.S. citizenship in 2007. And if you’re curious, the song all us new Americans had to sing was not “The Star-Spangled Banner” or “God Bless America” or “America the Beautiful,” but the Lee Greenwood country tune “Proud to Be An American.”
It worked – we were! It’s fun to do that country voice. They played a video with a bouncing ball over the lyrics so we could sing along.
Over my first summer here in Richland County, I saw that the Mansfield Playhouse was holding open auditions for the first play of the season … which, it just so happened, was a British farce.
This seemed like a great opportunity for some fun, so before I could change my mind I went along and gave it a shot.
I got lucky, landed a part and had a whale of a time. Here was something I’d wanted to do for years, but it wasn’t until I’d moved to Mansfield that it all clicked into place. Not only did I get to work with a talented bunch of folks (and great local audiences), I also got to meet a whole new crowd of friends.
As I’ve discovered, there are no six degrees of separation in this town – more like one.
I feel like I’m only just getting started in Mansfield, and I’m looking forward to what comes next.
I sometimes hear locals complain that there’s nothing to do around here, but as an outsider, I just don’t see it. There’s plenty going on and my advice is to come on out and be a part of it.
Look for Steve Russell’s column on Sunday mornings at RichlandSource.com
