The Birth of Horny Town U.S.A.

[EmeraldKitten]

Since I am the biggest nerd ever, and I happen to have some spare time this morning, lol, I have went through and copied and pasted posts about Kitty and anything relevant.
I am going to start writing, and as details get set in stone, add them all in.
I just can't wait one more minute.

Whoop whoop!

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Anything more active than an emergency landing strip or weather observation station would impact the population size.

During WWII there was a air base here. It was abandoned later, then re-activated during Vietnam for "training operations" and then officially mothballed. But, as was pointed out, there is a skeleton staff for those times when SOCOM shakes out the mothballs for a month or so and then fades away again. Total impact on the permanent population, no more than 100 including families.

 

[Weird Harold]

During WWII there was a air base here. It was abandoned later, then re-activated during Vietnam for "training operations" and then officially mothballed. But, as was pointed out, there is a skeleton staff for those times when SOCOM shakes out the mothballs for a month or so and then fades away again. Total impact on the permanent population, no more than 100 including families.

Perhaps an annual "Bare Base" deployment exercise -- practice deploying to a location with just a runway and very little else. A remote mothballed WWII era base would have a long enough runway and even if used as a municipal airport would be a good place.

PS: perhaps because of the surrounding mountains, the runway has never been much more than an emergency landing strip -- like the "airport" in my home town. It's strictly civil aviation and has not ATC or tower, but it has a nicely paved 5000+ foot runway with arresting cables courtesy of the Oregon Air National Guard who needed a flat spot for emergencies when they're doing low-level navigation training in the area.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Additionally, every so often all the fences around the military portion of the airfield are closed and armed sentries appear. No one sees or hears anything (SOCOM has had very quiet planes for decades, now. I think they are called OV-10's) because everything happens at night. Several days go by and the sentries disappear, the gates open and Captain Miller and SFC Lamar are right back at their favorite bar for a beer on the way home as if nothing has happened. And if you ask them, nothing has . . .

 

[litfan10]

Giving credit where credit is due.

So as we write our stories, I think it would be best that each writer posts his or her own stories dropping me a PM so I can add it to the directory of stories on a thread here in the AH.

To keep the shared world concept as a focus we title the stories as "Horner Springs:Story title" and have this brief sentence at the start of the story, "This story is set in Horner Springs, a town created and populated by a joint effort of numerous Literotica writers."

This keeps things nice and simple yet accurate.

What do the rest of you think?

 

[litfan10]

Okay, I compiled all the physical references of Horner Springs up to this post. We have at least fifteen writers who have contributed to this project to date making this very much a shared concept.
Now this compilation is huge but it captures everything to date:

here's my idea for the downtown (All two blocks of it) The first block has some historical warmth, with older brick buildings. The second block is grandiose, ten-story concrete buildings, with high glass fronts and underground parking. Are they full and busy? Or are they half empty, a relic of the civic council's 1980s ambitions? Either way, a lot of encounters can play out around there. Darren works as a security guard in one of those buildings, for instance. There are lawyers-- a few, at least-- a bank, a quickMart in the lobby. StellaOmega post 13

Main street is a state highway going through he town. There is one stop light.
At each end of town is a motel. One end of town has a big truck stop. Along Main street are places of business, such as an appliance store, drug store, two furniture stores, hardware store, women's clothing store, men's clothing store, two bars, two cafes, two churches, two banks, hunting and fishing supply store, a VFW post, a couple of law offices, town hall with courthouse and jail, a lumberyard, a nursery, a doctor's office, a library, a movie theater, a beauty parlor, and anything else you can think of. Squarejohn post 14

The town is very old and does not have the roads laid out on a grid, but laid out according to someone's field/s, the lay of the land, etc.. There's a main highway to wherever about 10 miles north.
There's a clay deposit (good for building bricks). Water comes from a huge under-ground deposit. HandleyPage post 30

As for Geographic verisimilitude, consider that "H?ville" could be the suburb of a more/less Prosperous town, "just across the River".
Isolated by Uptown/ 'cross river trash' stereotypes? This would allow more depth to the conflicts and resolutions. JackLuis post 40

Every imaginary town should have a college or university nearby.
Brilliant and dotty professors, nubile students of both sexes, an autocractic president, sycophantic staff, deranged groundkeepers, libidinous coaches of both sexes...the whole town turns out for football games in the fall...sororities and fraternities...town vs. gown conflicts...theres a heap of stories right there.
Some townsfolk have kids attending Applebower College of Arts and Sciences, others have kids that visit the dorms regularly.
I'd consider adding a nutty professor and his bizarre experiments with student volunteers to the mix for starters. TE999 post 48

throwing in a college, which I think is a good idea, I lean towards 20,000 - 25,000 as that makes for a good size community but it is not a metropolis by any means. Litfan10 post 50

I had the thought that it could be called Pallusberg, so named for the prominent geologic formation that looks like a granite cock that seems to extrude from the hill in the middle of the valley.
In fact that is the reason for the town's appearance in the maps, being 15 miles off the main road, the only reason people seek out the town is to see "The Pallus of Pallusberg." To get the right angle you have to pay Clem Hopkins to drive out on his farm to get the correct view angle. JackLuis post 52

So something along the lines of a "land-grant" college town, like Pullman, WA or Moscow, ID rather than more populaous college towns like South Bend Indiana, Manhattan Kansas, or Corvallis, Oregon?
Not that you'd want to set your shared universe's university in a copy of any of those Division one university towns, but the amenities, services, and layout of those towns would be what a small university town could be expected to have -- Basketball arena, football stadium, Athletics field(s) Baseball field/stadium, Olympic sized pool, performing arts theater/'opera house,' etc.
The nature of the university -- other than the obvious "party school" element will have an effect on the character of the town: A&M schools tend to attract more practical minded, down-to-earth "blue-collar" people. Liberal Arts colleges tend to attract less practical "ivory tower" types and a higher percentage of "intellectual snobs." Business colleges tend to attract "White Collar" types. Etc. WeirdHarold post 53

a Baptist, Catholic, or other religious college is a tempting target for slanderous scenarios of hipocritical party animals -- The Preacher's Daughter gone wild stereotype -- is probably going to make simple frat house hijinks like panty raids a bit of a stretch.
Perhaps a formerly gender segregated school (or two) forced to go co-ed -- think VMI forced to accept female cadets or Vassar and Harvard going coed in a virtual merger. (Vassar and Harvard are probably a bit bigger than Hornytown could support, but perhaps a small "teacher's college for young women" merging with a military school for "Remmittance Men?")
A military school for arrogant rich boys who have to be shuffled away from polite company, might also give credence to a wealthy lawyer and/or Indian Gold Merchant where they might not otherwise be found? WeirdHarold post 57

I like the Girls/Military School angle, if this place is in the stick's, so to speak, then it needs a Major industry, besides porn. Something like a Prison? or a NSA/CIA Signals Data Center and there are lots of secretes, not discussed in town.
How about an Ammunition Plant, that was doomed by base closure but reopened after the Wars started. Young farm girls go to the "City" to work in the Ammo Plant. Several lodge with Miss Minerva, who services her passing fancies on her late unlamented husbands, patents revenue, and the gifts from admirers. Jack Luis post 59

In my opinion, the town should remain smaller with surrounding cities being larger in population, containing like a mall, the college/university, etc. And of course, Joetta would be college educated, maybe an Associate's degree in business, but she prefers the small town life and running the diner. MichChick post 60

I'd suggest some variation of Hornerville or Hornerton; some town founded by a notable 19th (eta: rich) century letch named Horatio "Horny" Horner -- There's a statue of him in the park just down the street from Minerva's restaurant that is almost as scandalous as Minerva's restaurant sign. WeirdHarold post 69

Another good reason for centering the lil' burg around a small college. You are almost guaranteed to have some foreign born faculty (German biologists, South Asian IT, French art historians, etc.) and some students from other countries putting in their requisite American education before returning home to inherit the ancestral county. And four years at Futter College is a "real education"! VoluptuaryManque post 71

Fannie Futter's (Fine) Female Finishing School? Sort of the feminine equivalent of the Military school for "remittance men" I suggested earlier. (I haven't figured out what the Ameircanized version of a "remittance man" is, but it is someone guaranteed a "remittance," or income, as long as they don't come home.) WeirdHarold post 72

So, a "downtown" area with shops and things. An industrial zone of some sort. A small university as well as a bible college. An apartment complex. At least one park. A couple of neighborhoods. A drive-in. A cemetery and a church/temple or two. A roadhouse outside of town. A trailer park. Glynndah post 73

Oh, then this is an old town. Fannie's Finishing School merged with Horner Military Institute to form Futter College around 1963. Student body no more than 3,000 and they don't offer much in the way of doctoral programs outside the liberal arts except for a national leader in Human Sexuality? And I really like the idea of putting it in a verdant little valley in the inter-mountain West. It's sort of an American Shangri-La where Erectile Disfunction and Female Libido Loss are unknown. Must be the water or something. VoluptuaryManque post 74

I think it is more like a small college instead of a bible college -- although there might be a seminary attached to the college if it was a small catholic/jesuit university. I think people are somehat inclined to the idea of formerly separate gender-segregated schools merging; which would mean a college with essentially two campuses.
There would be more than the minimal layout that has been specifically discussed -- you might spend some time with google maps exploring samll college towns like Pullman, Washington, or Moscow Idaho which are the right size to model Hornytown's availble commerce and entertainment from.
One thing that hasn't been specifically mentioned is a waterfront or riverwalk, which would be implied by JL's suggestion of a bigger town possibly being "across the river." WeirdHarold post 75

Why a Bible College ? I think that's a non-essential item.
If you really want to put temptation in the way of the Religious, how about a "Retreat" place, where those of a religious persuasion may have a peaceful and tranquil rest. It can be called the "College Retreat".
On the subject of size, I live in what's rapidly becoming a "dormitory" village of some 10,000 folks, with three schools, an Agricultural College, lots of pubs and a Main Street full of shops.
Add what you call a diner and you've got it all ! HandleyPage post 76

I agree, one college is enough. For those whose fetish is hypocritical Fundies, all you need is a hardshell Baptist church, probably on the outskirts, with a self-educated 'Reveran' Saunders' who spends at least one night a week 'ministering to the soiled doves' of the local cat house, assuming there is a market for such in this rather Free Love town.
And the Mormons can be counted on to open a Bible Institute across the street from Futter College the way they do for most colleges. No need for a Bible College. Oh definitely a river walk with shops, cafe's, art galleries, bait and tackle stores and a dock where you can rent a pontoon boat and sail off into warm summer evenings . . . VoluptuaryManque posts 79 and 80

In my home town, there used to be a "lodge" built around a hot spring a few miles uphill from town. Up to the 1940's it was a popular place for people to "take the cure" by bathing in the hotsprings (or the huge pool built to accommodate guests who wanted to bath in a less "rustic" setting than the rocky pool of a natural hotspring.)
Perhaps Horatio 'Horny' Horner discovered the hot springs and touted them as a cure for "family problems" and "female hysteria" -- That would make the town Horner Springs? The original "industry" would have been support for the hot springs resort and possibly a bottling plant for Horner's Mineral Spring Water?
It would also account for the establishment of Fannie's Finishing school and the Horner Military Academy as a way of broadening the economic base of the community.
Today, the hot springs are the foundation of Futter College's Geothermal Studies and Ecology programs? WeirdHarold post 81

Good thinking. The water is high in "beneficial minerals" and of spectacular purity (filtered through Limestone ?).
The water was sold all over the area (region - not state), until foreign imports, production costs and finally disinterest finally saw it off except as a local stuff. HandleyPage post 84

I like the idea of the merged Girl/Military schools even if they are just at opposite ends of town, meaning the G&B's have to meet at Minerva's to hook up. Or there is a bus that goes back and forth during the day and evenings? Girl get too drunk and falls asleep on the bus, and finds herself at the Boys end of the line when she wakes up. She makes the mistake of staying there, til morning, in one of the Boys Dorms?
Watch out for too big a river, it would have made Horny Springs too much of a metropolis. Perhaps the Mayor is promoting the "River Walk" as a way to develop the town center, Kind of like Savanna did with their cotton warehouses, or like Old Town Sacrameto? Then there can be "Hard Hats with Hard...eh, bodies"? Even female Hard bodies?
Western rivers tend to be shallow and seasonal, except for the Colorado and Sacramento, which have large dams to moderate the floods. JackLuis post 86

True to a point. This river is fed from the bountiful Horner's Springs with a gal./min. flow you wouldn't be believe. However, if we don't want the river too large then instead of a river one can cruise on in a pontoon boat, make it a fly-fishing mecca with a river walk of fly fishing shops, guide boats, wine bars, tweedy clothiers, etc. Fly fishing could augment the college and the bottling plant to support the local economy. Snooty dry fly purists could spend evenings pontificating on patterns, feather sources, the superiority of natural bamboo vs. graphite while their bored wives take solace with guides of both persuasions.
Plus, if we put it in the mountains the dude ranch industry presents wonderful possibilities with laconic, sparkle-eyed cowboys/girls taking city guests out for 'a ride'. VoluptuaryManque post 88

A small college is a great idea. Students work the menial jobs in town for pocket money, and are a source of young flesh for the members of the town's population.
But students need a place for recreation. A place by the lake offers all sorts of activities, such as boating, swimming, dancing, beer drinking, and sex in the bushes, parked cars, and the number of modest hot-sheet cabins available. There is also a parking area available for campers, since "The Lake Place" caters to the townsfolk and students alike, it is a good place for so inclined townsfolk to hook up with horny students. The lake place offers a large restaurant-bar, a widely varied menu, a live band and a large dance floor. Townsfolk invite students to their homes where they try seducing them. Since the Lake Place is outside the jurisdiction of the town's police force, off duty cops from town are hired to preserve order, breaking up fights, etc. SquareJohn post 92

I like it. The Springs flow into the lake and then down into the river. That way you get everything. Of course, given how cold spring fed lakes are, only the hardiest would swim. Others would find the grassy banks perfect for sunning, flirting, showing off their bodies, etc. Great! It's the inter-Mountain West. Internet connections are via modem or satellite 'cause cable hasn't gotten there, yet. Mobile phones work but are limited to the town itself. However the town does have WiFi so Skype will take you around the world. Modern, yes, but with limits. VoluptuaryMaque posts 95 and 96

Speaking of lodges, every town has a fraternal order of something or other lodge or hall...this burg would have The Fraternal Order of Beavers (FOB) and the Ladies auxiluary is the Beaverettes. Could make for some interesting lodge meetings...and initiation rites a la the Masons...only involving outrageous sex practices. TE999 post 99

One Doctor's surgery or two?.You'd need a total of about 15 MDs to handle 10-20K
The local Hospital is a FREE one (from a Fund set up by the original bottlers of the Water).There's convalescent home as well. HandleyPage post 100

No lake! Just a small unnamed river that feeds into the snake, virgin or columbia rivers. The river ranges from 20-30yards wide and 40+ feet deep to a hundred yards wide and only two or three feet deep. It runs deeper in springtime and shallower in the fall, but between the HOT springs the town is named for, cold springs higher in the mountains and the annual snowpack it never runs completely dry.
Small hidden valleys in the intermountain west generally don't have lakes unless the lake is artificial and even then it would be fairly small by artificial lake standards.
This is sort of the kind of river I had in mind -- stripped of the lush rainforest of the middle-fork of the Willamette where the hot springs that inspired me are located: "intermountain west" describes a huge swath of the north american continent, (about a quarter of the continent) so it isn't very precise. It does describe a few conditions that are relatively important to a shared universe -- climate and travel time to other commerce and entertainment. "The Alleghenies" implies a climate and ecology -- and to a certain extent a culture -- that differs from that implied by "intermountain west". The same can be said for most other named mountain ranges or regions. That does place some limitations on the authors sharing the universe, but it does prevent a day trip on a lobster boat in one story and a moose hunt in the back yard in the next. WeirdHarold posts 104 and 107


If the city is somewhat rural, somewhat isolated, weird things can happen without alerting the whole world (for our non-human writing brethren) Farms and Ranches nearby bring in income and itinerant workers. Also farmer's daughters Vast swathes of wilderness let us get the crazies, hunters, trekkers, eco-crazies, etc.
Small airport, not big enough for a jet, but can handle the larger dual props.
Tallest building in town is the college library bell-tower. Hard to support high-rises in a community this size. Downtown is maybe 1 main street, about 8-10 blocks long, with another grouping of building just off campus. With a population around 20K, including at the most 5K at the college (students, faculty, support), we can have one big high school, and one private high school. Bad guys: Biker gang nearby? Coordinated criminal activity? And gang action? Police: Probably 12-20? Anyone know? Small military post not too far away brings a constant business in-flow. Might be too much however. Maybe a closed base, with a small reserve unit. TxTallTales post 111

Population is no more than 20-25,000 permanent residents, perhaps 2000 - 3000 students and faculty combined at the two campuses of Futter U. Tourism (campgrounds, fishing, hunting,)some residual "healing mineral baths" business and a small following for the bottled mineral water keeping the bottling plant in operation, but "The Springs" is mostly an eclusive resort/outdoors lodge now. Power is hydro-electric from a high mountain dam on a larger river nearby and a few experimental geothermal installations operated by the college. Aside from the specific businesses and characters mentioned, all the businesses and amenities that any town could be expected to have including all of the major chain store and fast-food franchises. In addition, the college would be expected to have the arenas, gymnasiums, sports fields/stadiums, theater/opera house, etc any liberal arts college with a sports team could be expected to have. With the college, there is probably no need for a county fairground. I think I added a park where Horatio's scandalous statue can be found -- that would obviously be 'Founder's Park.' Not so much dude ranches in the immediate area, but possibly one or two nearby in adjacent (drier) valleys. WeirdHarold post 112

I was thinking along similar lines. How about a small military training area with a skeleton staff that is occasionally "closed to unauthorized personnel" for training exercises of an unspecified nature? The sergeants who run the place and the captain who commands it are considered run-of-the-mill folks except for their amazing ability to talk for hours about the base without saying a word about what goes on there? VoluptuaryManque post 114

An active military base would swell the population beyond 20-25K. A mothballed base with a small reserve detachment would suit -- possibly a base that doubles as the regional airport? That would mean a runway large enough for business jets and small commercial jets (737 size) but not enough business for more than weekly commercial service -- mostly twin engine turboprop commuter plane service to and from SLC? (Salt Lake City is centrally located for almost all of the intermountain west and has more connecting flights than any other reasonable choice except Denver which isn't really in the region since it is on the other side of the Rockies. There aren't a lot of other big airports to base commercial service out of. ) The hosptial probably has an old vietnam era UH1 "Huey" for medevac of serious trauma cases and the BLM, USDA Forest Service, and County Sheriff's office share another, more modern, helicopter for search and rescue and firefighting that can bbe used for medevac as well. Don't see any problem with geology. There are more than a few glacial eratics and mesaa around the intermountain west. The geology is a mix of "very ancient" and "merely old" formations so a huge rock ridge in the middle of town, (possibly surrounded by founder's park?) wouldn't be much of a stretch. Lay out the location and dimensions for Glyndahh to add to the map. Remote mountain valleys with a river running through them often have a split-level topography with a "bench" 75-100 feet higher than the riverside floodplain. Sometimes there will be three levels of flatland with two benches above the floodplain, almost a natural terracing effect. Such a geographic feature would also satisfy your need for an overlook. 800 yards from town center is more problematic because that means it has to be in the middle of town -- that's only half a mile or so and a town of 20K population is going to need at least a two or three mile radius. Just because people tend to think of small towns as two-dimensional, doesn't mean that small twons are necessarily flat -- almost every small town has a "lookout point" somewhere in the vicinity and some equivalent of "(s)Nob Hill" where the 'rich' folks live. WeirdHarold post 115 and 119

During WWII there was a air base here. It was abandoned later, then re-activated during Vietnam for "training operations" and then officially mothballed. But, as was pointed out, there is a skeleton staff for those times when SOCOM shakes out the mothballs for a month or so and then fades away again. Total impact on the permanent population, no more than 100 including families. VoluptuaryManque post 127

Perhaps an annual "Bare Base" deployment exercise -- practice deploying to a location with just a runway and very little else. A remote mothballed WWII era base would have a long enough runway and even if used as a municipal airport would be a good place. PS: perhaps because of the surrounding mountains, the runway has never been much more than an emergency landing strip -- like the "airport" in my home town. It's strictly civil aviation and has not ATC or tower, but it has a nicely paved 5000+ foot runway with arresting cables courtesy of the Oregon Air National Guard who needed a flat spot for emergencies when they're doing low-level navigation training in the area. WeirdHarold post 128

Additionally, every so often all the fences around the military portion of the airfield are closed and armed sentries appear. No one sees or hears anything (SOCOM has had very quiet planes for decades, now. I think they are called OV-10's) because everything happens at night. Several days go by and the sentries disappear, the gates open and Captain Miller and SFC Lamar are right back at their favorite bar for a beer on the way home as if nothing has happened. And if you ask them, nothing has . .VoluptuaryManque post 129

Once the map is out I will do a new listing of this information with the official items grouped by physical feature.

 

[Weird Harold]

(SOCOM has had very quiet planes for decades, now. I think they are called OV-10's)

Definitely not OV-10s. The last US military OV-10 was retired in 1992 or thereabouts and only CalFire flies any inside the US as of Wikipedia's most recent update.

The OV-10 was a essentially a Forward Air Control Aircraft (FAC) and UAVs and ground based recn units with laser designators have taken over that particular job. The Predators, Global Hawks, and other UAVs have taken over the recon and observation duties.

The only quiet aircraft the US owns that needs to, (or usually does,) operate at night, in secret, is the F-117 and they aren't well suited to working out of a "Bare Base." They are actually much quieter in most circumstances than the OV-10 or even the militarized equivalent of a Piper Cub, the O-1 Bird-dog.

Actually, about a quarter of the intermountain west is military reservations where they don't need to bring in any additional security to operate secretly in the dark -- Between the Airforce and Navy about half of Central Nevada is a series of overlapping bombing ranges and restricted airspace.

I doubt even Homeland Security, DEA or ICE would have any reason to operate out of a remote bare-base with the kind of secrecy and security you propose. If nothing else, it would be horrendously expensive as compared to buying supplies locally.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Definitely not OV-10s. The last US military OV-10 was retired in 1992 or thereabouts and only CalFire flies any inside the US as of Wikipedia's most recent update.

The OV-10 was a essentially a Forward Air Control Aircraft (FAC) and UAVs and ground based recn units with laser designators have taken over that particular job. The Predators, Global Hawks, and other UAVs have taken over the recon and observation duties.

The only quiet aircraft the US owns that needs to, (or usually does,) operate at night, in secret, is the F-117 and they aren't well suited to working out of a "Bare Base." They are actually much quieter in most circumstances than the OV-10 or even the militarized equivalent of a Piper Cub, the O-1 Bird-dog.

Actually, about a quarter of the intermountain west is military reservations where they don't need to bring in any additional security to operate secretly in the dark -- Between the Airforce and Navy about half of Central Nevada is a series of overlapping bombing ranges and restricted airspace.

I doubt even Homeland Security, DEA or ICE would have any reason to operate out of a remote bare-base with the kind of secrecy and security you propose. If nothing else, it would be horrendously expensive as compared to buying supplies locally.

The DOD is considering a very quiet transport but it would probably only be used outside CONUS so I think you're right. There is no point in making the other side of the airport anything more than a ANG emergency landing site. That means the staff there is basically either 'turkey farmed' or working there because echelons above reality won't bother them. I just had these dreams . . . and memories . . .

 

[Weird Harold]

Okay, I compiled all the physical references of Horner Springs up to this post.

I think you've included a lot of superceded suggestions and contradictions.

I think the university has settled into Futter University, a merger of Fannie Futters Female Finishing School and Horner Military Academy for Remittance Men; A leader in human sexuality studies and Ecological Studies.

The Water Supply has pretty much gone past the underground aquifer to the presence of a small but reliable river and the Hot Springs that gave the twon it's name.

The Airport/airbase is a basically unimproved emergency landing strip left over from WWII; it's paved and long enough for small jets and it is manned by a small Guard or Reserve (security and maintenance) detachment of five to ten people.

VM and I are still wrangling over the plausibility of any great, mysterious, night operations on any sort of basis, let alone a regular basis.

Squarejohn's modest one-stoplight-town description in post 14 has been vastly overcome by the decision of a population level of 20-25K.

 

[JackLuis]

Too keep every thing flexible, how about not describing anything too precisely?

Fer instance, who cares how far it is from FutterU to City Hall, or the length Johnny's Johnson? Unless Johnny is a recurring character whose Principle Characteristic is a 13 inch dong.

"The Lake" not Lake Mociwizw, Downtown not 1734 Ninety-Second Street.

Stories that need to, like the Mayor's tales could be specific about details that fit her "World" but need not restrain a tale about the Feed store Clerk who does the Bosses Daughter on bags of rabbit chow when the boss takes lunch at the Diner.

We don't need a volcano two blocks off the river walk showing up.

Who's going to start this off? The lead story should set the scene and the rest follow the lead. With 15 contributors it may be a little crazy until we get the hang of the place.

 

[Weird Harold]

Too keep every thing flexible, how about not describing anything too precisely?

Fer instance, who cares how far it is from FutterU to City Hall, ...

Anyone who wants to locate a business between FutterU and City Hall needs to know how many locations there are between FutterU and City Hall and how many have been previously claimed by other authors.

It isn't necessary to detail at the beginning exactly which business is in which storefront along mainstreet, but it is somewhat necessary to pre-define how many storefronts can eventually be claimed and populated. It may or may not become a problem down the line a ways, if left vague, but it definitely will NOT become a problem if everyone knows from the beginning that there are only X number of commercial buildings along the main drag.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Might downtown Horner Springs resemble Cedar City, UT? It's really a very attractive town that has maintained its downtown very well.

 

[michchick98]

Might downtown Horner Springs resemble Cedar City, UT? It's really a very attractive town that has maintained its downtown very well.

Wow, that's how I'd picture it if I were reading the story.

 

[Weird Harold]

Might downtown Horner Springs resemble Cedar City, UT? It's really a very attractive town that has maintained its downtown very well.

Works for me -- I'd hesitate to get quite that specific, but Cedar City probably has a lot in common with Horner Springs as far as commerce and entertainment. I suppose that means Horner Springs has an annual Shakspearean Festival. (probably not, but the College (or highschool) probably has a Drama Club or school of performing arts, and a theater, that can do Shakespeare if required.)

One point, Cedar Springs is in flatlands, topographically it probably doesn't fit all that well; maybe photoshop a hillside in behind the stores?

 

[Weird Harold]

Works for me -- I'd hesitate to get quite that specific, but Cedar City probably has a lot in common with Horner Springs as far as commerce and entertainment. I suppose that means Horner Springs has an annual Shakspearean Festival. (probably not, but the College (or highschool) probably has a Drama Club or school of performing arts, and a theater, that can do Shakespeare if required.)

One point, Cedar Springs is in flatlands, topographically it probably doesn't fit all that well; maybe photoshop a hillside in behind the stores?

Leadville, CO is about 1/10 the population of Horner Springs, but this is more the setting I pictured for a town in a hidden valley:

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/1f/98/4e/downtown-leadville-in.jpg

 

[EmeraldKitten]

Good morning, Horner Springs contributers.

I started writing yesterday because, as I said, I'm a nerd.
Just so ya know, Carter Hathway, one of the lawyers in town is interested in Amy.
I don't know how much of him I will write; he might just be a guy passing through my story, but so everyone knows, he has two kids, 18 and 19, and a crazy ass ex-wife.

Just wanted to introduce him.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Leadville, CO is about 1/10 the population of Horner Springs, but this is more the setting I pictured for a town in a hidden valley:

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/1f/98/4e/downtown-leadville-in.jpg

Oh, perfect! That background with Cedar City's main street and you've got it. Just turn the lake into a river and Horner Springs is born.

 

[Handley_Page]

Small airport, not big enough for a jet, but can handle the larger dual props.

I was thinking along similar lines. How about a small military training area with a skeleton staff that is occasionally "closed to unauthorized personnel" for training exercises of an unspecified nature? The sergeants who run the place and the captain who commands it are considered run-of-the-mill folks except for their amazing ability to talk for hours about the base without saying a word about what goes on there? VoluptuaryManque post 114

An active military base would swell the population beyond 20-25K. A mothballed base with a small reserve detachment would suit -- possibly a base that doubles as the regional airport? That would mean a runway large enough for business jets and small commercial jets (737 size) but not enough business for more than weekly commercial service -- mostly twin engine turboprop commuter plane service to and from SLC?
Once the map is out I will do a new listing of this information with the official items grouped by physical feature.

Personally, I reckon that the Airfield is part of an old Training Base cluster (I used to work at one). Nothing larger than a Learjet or Baron 58. Yes, there IS a sort-of Air Traffic, an additional floor to a three-story office block on the edge of the Field. The runway is barely more than "Adequate" as a surface. There's a huge radio mast in the corner of the site (for reasons unknown, but probably military.) Naturally, there's an active Flying Club.

The 'staff' come an unspecified distance to open the military place up (separate fencing), even if they do live in the 'burgh.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Personally, I reckon that the Airfield is part of an old Training Base cluster (I used to work at one). Nothing larger than a Learjet or Baron 58. Yes, there IS a sort-of Air Traffic, an additional floor to a three-story office block on the edge of the Field. The runway is barely more than "Adequate" as a surface. There's a huge radio mast in the corner of the site (for reasons unknown, but probably military.) Naturally, there's an active Flying Club.

The 'staff' come an unspecified distance to open the military place up (separate fencing), even if they do live in the 'burgh.

My thoughts exactly. The radio mast is new and there are dish antennae on the roof of Air Traffic. Captain Miller has a Boston twang and SFC Lamar drawls about bein' homesick for a decent gumbo.

 

[EmeraldKitten]

Is it weird I have 5 pages written? lol.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Is it weird I have 5 pages written? lol.

Well, good for you! I still haven't completed my second Summer Lovin' entry and the contest has begun!

 

[Weird Harold]

Personally, I reckon that the Airfield is part of an old Training Base cluster (I used to work at one). Nothing larger than a Learjet or Baron 58. Yes, there IS a sort-of Air Traffic, an additional floor to a three-story office block on the edge of the Field. The runway is barely more than "Adequate" as a surface. There's a huge radio mast in the corner of the site (for reasons unknown, but probably military.) Naturally, there's an active Flying Club.

The 'staff' come an unspecified distance to open the military place up (separate fencing), even if they do live in the 'burgh.

If it is an old cluster of runways, then at least one runway has been converted to -- or is at least used for -- a drag strip on the weekends.

As mentioned earlier, most of the WWII era emergency landing runways dotted around the Western US are about 5,000-6,000 foot long or so but aren't strong enough for anything heavier than a 737. The surface is well maintained and without potholes.

The Military staff is a "maintenance and security" detachment that keeps the runway and a few buildings operational for National Guard weekend drills and as a pickup point for deployments.

As noted above, there is probably a weekly or bi-weekly commercial flight by a local airline out of SLC, so there is a part-time ticket agent and ground crew around for those flights; probably a twin turbo-prop like a DH Otter.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

If it is an old cluster of runways, then at least one runway has been converted to -- or is at least used for -- a drag strip on the weekends.

As mentioned earlier, most of the WWII era emergency landing runways dotted around the Western US are about 5,000-6,000 foot long or so but aren't strong enough for anything heavier than a 737. The surface is well maintained and without potholes.

The Military staff is a "maintenance and security" detachment that keeps the runway and a few buildings operational for National Guard weekend drills and as a pickup point for deployments.

As noted above, there is probably a weekly or bi-weekly commercial flight by a local airline out of SLC, so there is a part-time ticket agent and ground crew around for those flights; probably a twin turbo-prop like a DH Otter.

Gosh. Do kids still drag race? If that's the case, then there must be a couple of 'rice rocket' dealers in town and a speed shop to cater to them.

And naturally a Harley outlet . . .

 

[EmeraldKitten]

Well, good for you! I still haven't completed my second Summer Lovin' entry and the contest has begun!

Thank you! (All this means is that I have ignored my fiance` to the point he fell asleep on the bed waiting for me, , and that my dogs forgot what I looked like. LOL. Oops. )

Yikes! Ya better get crackin'!

 

[Weird Harold]

Gosh. Do kids still drag race?

Sadly, yes. Unfortunately they don't wait for the weekends and they don't go to a dragstrip.

As for Horner Springs, the local law cracks down hard on street racers -- a guaranteed week in jail waiting for a trial -- but donates an officer or two's time and a pair of speed guns on weekends at the airfield.