LIKELY, Calif. — Sometimes, it can be tough to define what “small town America” looks like, because so many small towns have been gobbled up by big cities. If you drive up Highway 395 into Modoc County; however, there’s a little community holding on to their idea of a small town for dear life.
“Ha! Our town motto is ‘where the hell is Likely?'” said Jennifer Flournoy.
Flournoy is the owner of the Likely General Store and if you’ve never heard of Likely, you are not alone. She has to explain it all the time.
“We’re in the northeastern corner of California about 40 miles from Oregon and 40 miles from Nevada,” Flournoy said.
The Likely General Store is at the center of town and it's a one-stop shop. You’ll find the usual, like canned food and cold drinks, but they also sell fencing supplies, auto parts and have a library of books. In the back, there’s a free carousel ride for the kids. Downstairs you’ll find a thrift shop of quilts, crochet and even a wedding dress for sale.
“This is the Likely General Store. If we don’t have it, you don’t need it,” said Flournoy.
Likely doesn’t have a public swimming pool, but they do have several cattle watering troughs and it’s not uncommon to have a group of country kids cooling off and sharing the shallow water with the cows.
“I think cows think it’s disturbing, but we like it,” said Tommy Ratliff, a local farm boy.
TAKE A TRIP ON BARTELL'S BACKROADS:
► See an interactive map of everywhere John has visited on the backroads
► Watch all of the Backroads videos
► Follow John on Facebook
Cows are a common sight in Likely, and so are horses.
“We’re a cattle ranching community, the cows outnumber the people by a lot,” said Kelly McGarva, a Bay Area transplant who married a fifth generation rancher in Likely.
She says the town has always been small, but it’s gotten smaller ever since they closed down the school.
“It was a historic school. My husband’s great-grandfather went there. My husband went there too,” said McGarva.
Likely's elementary school closed in 2012 when enrollment dipped below about a dozen students. It was heartbreaking for Jimmy Richardson, who attended the school in 1947.
“It was a definite loss. Everybody still talks about the loss of the school,” said Richardson, who’s seen the population of Likely drop from several hundred to about 99 people.
Along with the town’s residents, businesses including the Likely Café, the saloon and a number of blue collar jobs also disappeared.
One building the town didn’t want to see close was the Likely Church. The old wooden structure wasn’t in an ideal location so the community put on a trailer and moved it down the street.
Richardson says the town was founded by hard working community-oriented people; folks who make decisions together as they did when there was a dispute on what to name the town.
“They took a vote and said, 'It's likely going to be a town so let’s just call it Likely,'” said Richardson.
The town of Likely is not ready to roll over and die just yet. In fact, the Likely Place Golf and RV Resort opened up a few years back. It not only attracts golfers but foodies looking to taste the grill’s famous smash burger.
Small-town America may be changing, but if you were to describe what it looks like you’d likely describe the town of Likely.
“We are a friendly town if you are friendly, but get out of town if you’re bringing in problems from the city,” said Richardson.
ANOTHER SMALL TOWN ON CALIFORNIA'S BACKROADS: The coastal town with a happy name and a dark past, Harmony makes for a quick pit stop on your next Central Coast road trip.
