Fundraising is continuing for new public restrooms at the pavilion. We received our latest donation from Stroud Class of 1976 alum, Brad Witty. Brad is a loyal supporter of Stroud, even though he hasn’t lived here since graduating from high school.
He’s helped with the spring animals that Town Talk purchased for Foster Park and purchased one of the basketball goals for the Stroud swimming pool, just to name a couple of his donations. Brad and his wife, Jean Anne, live in Cypress, Texas and Brad is the son of Sylvia Witty and the late Coach Charles Witty.
Brad continues the Witty legacy of giving back to his hometown.
The class of 1976 continues to support their community even though most do not reside here. City Manager Bob Pearman is also a 1976 graduate and always reminds me they are “the greatest class.” I must admit they are pretty special.
The Treasure Box opened this past week and Michelle Whitson, owner, told me her first two days in business were a huge success. Thank you to everyone who supported Michelle in this new endeavor and “shopped local.”
For those of you receiving your paper on Wednesday, tonight is Town Talk’s second working block party. Come join us on Main Street for a night of community fellowship and Main Street beautification.
We will start at 7 p.m. One of our projects this week will be cleaning up the courtyard on the north side of Main between 4th and 5th Avenue. Town Talk is also helping Marshall and Sherry Horn and Willa Dean Stinson give their properties a facelift so be sure and watch for these changes.
A big thank you to Julie Bivin, Linda Waller, Debbie Garrett, Vicki Keim, Aleta Smalley, Vicki Morris and Marsha Morgan for helping pick up flags at the cemetery. Many others offered to help and that, too, was appreciated.
I just didn’t have time to contact everyone because we did it on the spur of the moment when we had no rain. Thanks, also, to Julie Bivin and Steve Bivin, Vivian Henshaw, Aleta Smalley, Jo Braden, Delores Hamlin, and Elaine Buerger for cleaning up the flags and bundling them, so we are ready for next year. My mom told me Steve Bivin wins the “rubber banding a group of flags” award. She said she hated to admit it, but he worked circles around the women. Another thank you goes out to Julie Bivin, Mandy Clark, Linda Waller, Aleta Smalley, Juanita Evans and Mary Hendrickson for watering the Main Street flowerpots while I was out of town. Cathy Terry of Unique OK and I try to keep them watered but in my absence these ladies stepped up to help. Town Talk can’t thank you enough. To the merchants who help us by watering the pots outside their businesses, we thank you. Volunteers are unsung heroes and they are appreciated.
Town Talk’s next Farmers’ Market will be held at the Main Street Pavilion on Saturday, June 20th. This market will have a Father’s Day theme with a car show for all the dads to enjoy. Thank you to Tommy Smith and Central Oklahoma Federal Credit Union for their donation to the car show. Mandy Clark, Town Talk volunteer, organizes the “markets” and I think the right person is in charge. She does an outstanding job. Mandy is growing a pretty and thriving garden at her home and she’s even growing watermelons right in her front yard. She said her daughters were eating watermelon and some of the seeds dropped to the ground. Next thing Mandy knew she had a watermelon patch in her front yard. She is digging them up and replanting them. That’s what I call a city farmer.
Mandy told me the Ranch House Restaurant is open once again and that Sunday they had their buffet open for diners. Thank you to David and Ronda Humphries for providing a place for weary travelers and locals alike to dine and sleep. The Cattle Country Lodge/Ranch House Restaurant is a long-time Stroud business. Let’s support them as they work to recover from the recent pandemic shutdown.
Exciting things are happening in Stroud. Main Street business owners along with City officials and Town Talk volunteers are working on a “Spruce Up, Clean Up” initiative and new businesses are springing up around town. The Fidelity building on the corner of 4th Avenue and 4th Street has sold and I hear we can look forward to a new business in that location before long. Hop on board the volunteer train and let’s work together to make Stroud the best community it can be. One way to do this is to support our local businesses, eateries and services. As always, remember to shop and dine local…………….first.