The Best Place On The Planet To Live
In 1985, her late husband bought the house Alania currently lives in. Five years later, he asked her to move in. She had one question for him, “what made you decide to buy this house?” His response was: the incredible view and the neighborhood; it certainly wasn’t for the closet space or the kitchen design. Five years later, he asked her to marry him.
There is another very unique aspect of their neighborhood…. family pets. Their homes and yards are a welcome place for their pets, not just their personal pets, but those of others. There are homes that don’t have pets of their own but have treats for 4-legged visitors. Alania has had house guests tell her this is a “dog haven”. They are happy to run, play, and visit to their hearts content.
Many of her neighbors have described Pegram, TN and their love of the “small town feel” and wanting their children to experience a sense of community. For Alania, it became much more than that. Two-and-a-half months after their wedding day, her late husband had a second major stroke that was only 3 months from his previous one. In the blink of an eye, their lives changed forever.
Alania worked in Corporate America and had to travel a significant amount of the time, which required her to leave him alone for days at a time. Because of this wonderful neighborhood she was able to travel for her job and know that he was going to be okay without bringing strangers into their home to care for him. She would inform their neighbors when she would be traveling and they would step in — visits, phone calls, meals, etc. If anyone would talk to him for more than a couple of minutes, he would always say “this is the best place on the planet to live.” This wasn’t just his home, it was his safe place.
His one request when he received his last health diagnosis was that he wanted to die in his home, in the neighborhood where he felt safe. Alania made sure that happened. She wants this for others in their community, a place where everyone feels safe, a sense of community, knowing they have neighbors they can reach out to when needed. For her personally, her life has changed in so many ways, but in some ways, it remains the same. This community is a major part of her support group, a place where she feels safe, neighbors whom she can pick up the phone and call or send a text 24/7 knowing she is not alone.
The Pretty Little Town Of Pegram partners with the Pegram Preservation Association to share the stories and experiences of our residence and to showcase everything we love and hope to preserve in this special town.
