--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was a small town by a small river and…" description: "\"“It was a small town by a small river and a small lake in a small northern part of a Midwest state. There wasn't so much wilderness around you couldn't..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/ray-bradbury-75_autumn_it-was-a-small-town-by-a-small-river-and_40692.jpg" --- # It was a small town by a small river and a small lake in a… ![“It was a small town by a small river and a small lake in a small northern part of a Midwest state. There wasn't so much wilderness around you couldn't see the town. But on the other hand there wasn't so much town you couldn't see and feel and touch and smell the wilderness. The town was full of…” quote by Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/ray-bradbury-75_autumn_it-was-a-small-town-by-a-small-river-and_40692.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/ray-bradbury-75_autumn_it-was-a-small-town-by-a-small-river-and_40692.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/ray-bradbury-75_autumn_it-was-a-small-town-by-a-small-river-and_40692.jpg) > ““It was a small town by a small river and a small lake in a small northern part of a Midwest state. There wasn't so much wilderness around you couldn't see the town. But on the other hand there wasn't so much town you couldn't see and feel and touch and smell the wilderness. The town was full of trees. And dry grass and dead flowers now that autumn was here. And full of fences to walk on and sidewalks to skate on and a large ravine to tumble in and yell across. And the town was full of... Boys. And it was the afternoon of Halloween. And all the houses shut against a cool wind. And the town was full of cold sunlight. But suddenly, the day was gone. Night came out from under each tree and spread.”” [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid portrait of a modest Midwestern town where the boundary between civilization and wilderness blurs, evoking a nostalgic, almost magical atmosphere as day turns to night on Halloween. **In simple terms:** Small town, wilderness, twilight, Halloween, nature, youth Key Takeaway Even the smallest places hold rich, layered experiences. Themes nostalgia place seasonal transition youth nature urban‑rural boundary Mood reflective melancholic wonder Type narrative descriptive atmospheric When to use this quote - describing a hometown in a novel - setting a scene for a short story - illustrating the contrast between urban and natural spaces - evoking mood in a travel essay - teaching descriptive writing Key Concepts setting sensory detail time shift community Practical Applications - creative writing workshops - environmental education materials Questions to Reflect On - How does the interplay of town and wilderness shape identity? - What emotions does the transition from day to night evoke? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) [Dead flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-flowers/) [Halloween](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/halloween/) [Small town](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-town/) ## Related quotes > [“Maybe Macon Ravenwood wasn’t the only town shut-in. I didn’t think our town was big enough for two Boo Radleys. But”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/maybe-macon-ravenwood-wasn-t-the-only-town-shut-in-i-didn-t-think-our/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [I would be nothing if it wasn't for the town where I grew up and the people who gave me my inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-o-dowd/i-would-be-nothing-if-it-wasn-t-for-the-town-where-i-grew-up-and-the/) [Chris O'Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-o-dowd/) > [I was raised in a small town. It was so small that our school taught driver's education and sex education in the same car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-sue-terry/i-was-raised-in-a-small-town-it-was-so-small-that-our-school-taught/) Mary Sue Terry > [A country house is not the same as a house in a country and a hotel in the country is not the same as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/a-country-house-is-not-the-same-as-a-house-in-a-country-and-a-hotel/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“I want to be the mayor of a small town. A small town I populated entirely with my seed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-want-to-be-the-mayor-of-a-small-town-a-small-town-i-populated/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [My home town is very small and very remote and we don't have a movie house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lee-jones/my-home-town-is-very-small-and-very-remote-and-we-don-t-have-a-movie/) [Tommy Lee Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lee-jones/) > [I grew up in a small town, in a small community, and I would not have had access to great plays when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-letts/i-grew-up-in-a-small-town-in-a-small-community-and-i-would-not-have/) [Tracy Letts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-letts/) > [I don't know if I have a legacy, but I will say that I'm proud of the fact that I'm from a small town…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinker-hatfield/i-don-t-know-if-i-have-a-legacy-but-i-will-say-that-i-m-proud-of-the/) [Tinker Hatfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinker-hatfield/) > [I grew up in a town - it was so small that I was like, 'There's absolutely no way that I'm going to stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerli/i-grew-up-in-a-town-it-was-so-small-that-i-was-like-there-s/) [Kerli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerli/) > [I started my career in a town so small the local clinic was called Fred's Hospital and Grill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-started-my-career-in-a-town-so-small-the-local-clinic-was-called/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [“Our town was small enough that I never developed a healthy fear of strangers. To me, they were exciting things, gift-wrapped and full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-genevieve-tucholke/our-town-was-small-enough-that-i-never-developed-a-healthy-fear-of/) [April Genevieve Tucholke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-genevieve-tucholke/) > [“A town so small, you tripped over people you hated every day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/a-town-so-small-you-tripped-over-people-you-hated-every-day/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“Big-shot town, small-shot town, jet-propelled old-fashioned town, by old-world hands with new-world tools built into a place whose heartbeat carries farther than its shout,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/big-shot-town-small-shot-town-jet-propelled-old-fashioned-town-by-old/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [There's no job too big to benefit from a small town person's perspective, I discovered, just as there's no town too small for thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unita-blackwell/there-s-no-job-too-big-to-benefit-from-a-small-town-person-s/) [Unita Blackwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unita-blackwell/) > [All these older kids here, and I'm the only one from a town that's so small, if everyone breathed at the same time, you'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herschel-walker/all-these-older-kids-here-and-i-m-the-only-one-from-a-town-that-s-so/) [Herschel Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herschel-walker/) ## More by Ray Bradbury > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Do you ever read any of the books you burn?" He laughed. "That's against the law!" "Oh. Of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/do-you-ever-read-any-of-the-books-you-burn-he-laughed-that-s-against/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [There's no reason to burn books if you don't read them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/there-s-no-reason-to-burn-books-if-you-don-t-read-them/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [We were put here as witnesses to the miracle of life. We see the stars, and we want them. We are beholden to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-were-put-here-as-witnesses-to-the-miracle-of-life-we-see-the-stars/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Remember, with writing, what you’re looking for is just one person to come up and tell you, 'I love you for what you do.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/remember-with-writing-what-you-re-looking-for-is-just-one-person-to/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [As a result of reading science fiction when I was eight, I grew up with an interest in music, architecture, city planning, transportation, politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/as-a-result-of-reading-science-fiction-when-i-was-eight-i-grew-up/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“You can’t learn to write in college. It’s a very bad place for writers because the teachers always think they know more than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-can-t-learn-to-write-in-college-it-s-a-very-bad-place-for-writers/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [We're going to become the martians when we land there. When we explore and build communities, we become the martians. That's a wonderful destiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-re-going-to-become-the-martians-when-we-land-there-when-we-explore/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. ... I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-wish-you-a-wrestling-match-with-your-creative-muse-that-will-last-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The library is the biggest cracker box factory in the world. The more you eat, the more you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/the-library-is-the-biggest-cracker-box-factory-in-the-world-the-more/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [We travel for romance, we travel for architecture, and we travel to be lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-travel-for-romance-we-travel-for-architecture-and-we-travel-to-be/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I spent three days a week for 10 years educating myself in the public library, and it's better than college. People should educate themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-spent-three-days-a-week-for-10-years-educating-myself-in-the-public/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [If we try to deny the darkness in our souls then we'll become completely dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/if-we-try-to-deny-the-darkness-in-our-souls-then-we-ll-become/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [But remember that the Captain belongs to the most dangerous enemy to truth and freedom, the solid unmoving cattle of the majority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/but-remember-that-the-captain-belongs-to-the-most-dangerous-enemy-to/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) [Explore all 1,520 Ray Bradbury quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) ## More Autumn quotes > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [The American spring is by no means so agreeable as the American autumn; both move with faltering step, and slow; but this lingering pace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-trollope/the-american-spring-is-by-no-means-so-agreeable-as-the-american/) [Frances Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-trollope/) > [“Flowers that had bloomed brilliant from spring through autumn blackened under the killing frost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/flowers-that-had-bloomed-brilliant-from-spring-through-autumn/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“FALL I've never liked orange not even a hint of yellow though that doesn't mean I'm derange, you know. but it's still a riddle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kynna-claire/fall-i-ve-never-liked-orange-not-even-a-hint-of-yellow-though-that/) Kynna Claire > [The trees change their voices in autumn as well as their shapes. No longer do they whisper to one another in muffled tones as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-strong/the-trees-change-their-voices-in-autumn-as-well-as-their-shapes-no/) [Patience Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-strong/) > [The measured blood beats out the year's delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/the-measured-blood-beats-out-the-year-s-delay/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-crickets-felt-it-was-their-duty-to-warn-everybody-that-summertime/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-found-himself-wondering-at-times-especially-in-the-autumn-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Easter blessings All life’s sacrifices like autumn leaves awaken our senses and power to love and be whole Our Mother Earth, Our Father Sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/easter-blessings-all-life-s-sacrifices-like-autumn-leaves-awaken-our/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [The lush green of the fields became a rich gold that swayed sturdily under the wind and fell at last before the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/the-lush-green-of-the-fields-became-a-rich-gold-that-swayed-sturdily/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [“Autumn eats its leaf out of my hand: we are friends. From the nuts we shell time and we teach it to walk: then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/autumn-eats-its-leaf-out-of-my-hand-we-are-friends-from-the-nuts-we/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [We must learn to do economic work from all who know how, no matter who they are. We must esteem them as teachers, learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/we-must-learn-to-do-economic-work-from-all-who-know-how-no-matter-who/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) [Browse all 1,210 Autumn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was a small town by a small river and a small lake in a small northern part of a Midwest state. There wasn't so much wilderness around you couldn't see the town. But on the other hand there wasn't so much town you couldn't see and feel and touch and smell the wilderness. The town was full of trees. And dry grass and dead flowers now that autumn was here. And full of fences to walk on and sidewalks to skate on and a large ravine to tumble in and yell across. And the town was full of... Boys. And it was the afternoon of Halloween. And all the houses shut against a cool wind. 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