Town Talk’s latest project, the Lincoln County Express train engine, arrived safe and sound to Service King for a new paint job, courtesy of Rob Gordon and his crew. I spoke with the supervisor of the paint department, Jason, and he told me when that engine arrived it turned a bunch of grown men into little boys again.
I think all boys have a fascination with trains and seemingly, big boys, too. Thank you to Bob Pearman and the City workers for delivering the train to Service King. A thank you, also, to Mark Poskey Auto & Repair for being willing to pick it up if the City wasn’t able to retrieve it. It does take us all working together to accomplish things and I am always appreciative of Stroud’s cooperative spirit.
Speaking of the train, Gary Babinec gave David Evans and me a tour of the upstairs of the True Value building. The Babinecs are renovating the space and it will be a nice apartment when it’s completed. The view of downtown is amazing. There is one area upstairs where lights hang down in a row from the ceiling which looks like beds might have been placed under each light. Gary said he was told the linemen from the train used to come there to sleep at night so it appears it might have been set up as a bunkhouse.
We are going to outline at least three blocks of downtown in solar lights to leave up year-round to show off our historic buildings and showcase our downtown cityscape. All merchants on the south side of Main between Hinson Insurance and the Mason’s building have purchased lights for us to get started on the project. We are still determining the best way to hang them, but you can look forward to this project taking shape soon. We are working hard to make Stroud an inviting place for residents as well as visitors driving through. Hopefully, they will stop to check us out and maybe even tell their friends about our little town.
I had a nice phone visit with Billi Kaye Smith Meacham, Miss Oklahoma 1962, on Sunday. It was fun to hear some of her stories about growing up in Stroud and reminiscing about places and people we both knew from days gone by; the Monday family, Bennie Fout, Mrs. Schamp, Foster’s Drug Store, Blue Gaither, Sadie Evans and so many more. Billi Kaye had some ideas about things to do for Stroud so we will stay in touch. When COVID settles down, we will explore some interesting ideas she has for our community.
Thank you to Brian Niccum for putting together Stroud’s first community tree lighting. What a great idea and I know he plans on making this an annual event. I saw Brian, his family and friends working on the decorations for several days; many hours went into making this happen. I know it will grow each year. It’s just another example of people who care about Stroud giving back to the community.
Stroud alum Carrie Hodgens True was in town for a few days helping Jim and Clara while they took a vacation; one I’m sure they both needed. Carrie was bragging on our grocery store, Williams Foods, to her mom. She thought the selection was good and the prices were great!
The fact that her groceries were carried to her car made quite an impression. She met Johnny in the meat department and thought he was knowledgeable and professional. Carrie shops in grocery stores in Oklahoma City but her hometown grocery store was a hit with her. Thanks to store manager, Brownie Stewart and owner Jeff Williams for all the improvements they continue to make to the Stroud store. There is also a new awning across all businesses at the Stroud Plaza. It looks very nice as well.
Vivian Henshaw and Julie Bivin recently completed preparing and painting five new metal chairs for Town Talk to display on Main Street. What started out as one chair for Heather Black at Welcome Home turned into 5 additional chairs and several weeks of hard work for these ladies. Kudos to these two for their labor of love. You will be able to see the chairs on display at the Route 66 Pavilion very soon.
We have had several cold days this past week but hopefully will have a few warmer days before the end of the year so we can finish up the Horn and Stinson buildings. Most of our buildings on Main are full and open for business. Let’s show our merchants some “local love” during this holiday season and try to keep many of our dollars right here in our own community. Have a great week and remember to shop and dine locally... first