Name Change

I grew up in Canton, OH and I spent so many fun times at Belden Village Mall. Whether it was hanging out with my friends, going birthday shopping with my grandparents, or having my 6th grade scavenger hunt birthday party there, the good times at Belden Village are unforgettable. I moved away to Michigan when I was entering the 7th grade, but our family would always go back to Canton for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and usually for another family event in the spring or summer. Every time we went back we would always make a trip to the Belden Village since our mall in Jackson, MI takes one minute to walk from one end to the other end.

But, we got a big surprise when we were visiting Canton during Christmas time my freshman year of high school. There had been abuzz over the years that Belden Village was losing money and may need to go under new owner ship. When we asked our cousins if they wanted to make a shopping trip with their new Christmas spending money, they asked where to? We said Belden Village of course, and they asked us if we meant Westfield Shopping Center. We looked at them with a look of confusion. They explained to us that that October Belden Village had been sold and a company that has malls around the country called Westfield Shopping Centers, bought Belden. We were worried that it wouldn’t be the same Belden Village we were used to, but went there anyways. When we arrived from the outside it looked like the same old place we always new, but we were in for a shock when we went in.

Banners and signs hung everywhere displaying the name “Westfield Shopping Center.” The Christmas decorations were more extravagant than ever and the food court was totally revamped. I began to feel out of my comfort zone and the place I once spent so much time was no longer feeling familiar. It was so weird to come back to a town that was ever changing around me since I had moved and just wanted some sense of familiarity in the mall, this did not happen.

I asked my cousins if they call it Westfield Shopping Center and they replied, “No, you know it will always be Belden Village.” That is how my family and almost the rest of the Canton Community felt. After talking to family and old family friends, my family found out that no one calls it Westfield; it is still Belden Village to many of Canton’s longtime citizens. That is what it will always be to me, no matter how much it changes, it will always be Belden Village.