Even when Mr. Mettey, 61, arrived 25 years ago, the township was still rural enough to lack some essential services. So he and his wife and other people volunteered to become emergency medical technicians to help start a life squad. Later, he said, residents took college-level paramedic courses to bring that service to Deerfield, too.

In the 1990s, Mr. Mettey became a two-term township trustee, which has given him some definite opinions on his community. He worries that Deerfield will be annexed from two sides, BY Loveland and Mason. And he wonders what will happen next.

One thing is certain: Life in Deerfield - and Warren County - is not the same. It is growing so fast that it has become a white-collar haven.

New people don't necessarily know the township's past. In fact, some of them don't even know they're in a township. Who can blame them? According to their ZIP codes, Deerfield residents live in Loveland, Mason, Maineville, Sharonville and Cincinnati.