By JOHN KANELIS
A little more than a year ago, my wife and I made one of the key decisions of our married life when we found a house in Princeton, Texas and, with the help of our Realtor daughter-in-law, purchased it.
We knew going into this purchase that we were moving into a community on the move. It is a fast-growing city that over time will cease being an insignificant burg that straddles U.S. Highway 380 in Collin County.
A bit of news in the Princeton Herald, though, slapped right across my face. The story talks about the large number of building permits the city has issued since 2014. Then came this item from City Manager Derek Borg, who said the city's population has effectively tripled since the 2010 census.
The sign at the city limits says Princeton's population in 2010 stood at 6,807 residents. Borg told the Herald that he estimates the city population at this moment to be between 18,000 to 21,000 residents. What's more, Borg added "and growing."
I actually gasped a tad when I saw that figure.
My wife and I have long demonstrated an ability to walk into a restaurant just ahead of the rush. You know how it goes: You walk in, get your table right away, eat your meal and then walk out the door past the large crowd of customers waiting to hear the names called for the next available table.
We feel as if we've gotten in ahead of the crowd, with this difference: We aren't walking away and leaving others to take our place! Instead, we believe we have made a prudent investment in our future.
Princeton now is one of those cities that few folks know exists. We tell our friends we live in Princeton, Texas, and they invariably say, "Where's Princeton?" We have to tell 'em it's eight miles east of McKinney on Highway 380. We also tell those who are interested that our new home is just a 22-minute drive from our granddaughter, who resides in Allen. The way we see it, 22 minutes is far better for us than the seven hours it used to take to see her when we lived way up yonder in Amarillo.
I am getting the feeling, after reading the story in the Princeton Herald, that a lot of folks are going to know where Princeton, Texas, is in due course.
John Kanelis, former editorial page editor for the Amarillo Globe-News and the Beaumont Enterprise, is also a former blogger for Panhandle PBS in Amarillo. He is now retired, but still writing. Kanelis can be contacted via Twitter @jkanelis, on Facebook, or his blog, www.highplainsblogger.com.Kanelis' blog for KETR, "Piece of Mind," presents his views, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of KETR, its staff, or its members.
Kanelis lives in Princeton with his wife, Kathy.
