Once again, Stroud put on another great 4th of July show for the community. Thank you to our local fireman for overseeing the shooting of the fireworks. Many people put their time into this production on what would normally be a day off work for them. As a community, we appreciate the time and effort that goes into the planning and carrying out of this holiday tradition, so we say thank you! You can tell I’m an old timer because I remember the days when our Brick and Rolling Pin contest took place along with the 4th of July. Those, too, were fun times in Stroud.
Town Talk continues to work on our mini-golf course. The fence will be finished this week and next week we should be able to start putting the golf holes into place. Our plans are to get it up and running so you have some time to enjoy it this summer.
Just to keep you updated, the firemen met Tuesday night and I visited with them about the downtown building lighting. I will report back in this column next week and let you know where we stand on getting our Main Street historic buildings lined in solar lights.
Many of our community kiddos spent this week at First Baptist Church Stroud attending Vacation Bible School. This year’s theme was “Dig In.”
I had the privilege of working in VBS this week. It was lots of fun seeing all the children learning and getting excited about Jesus. That’s just another example of volunteers giving of their time to help make Stroud a better and great place for our kids to grow up.
I hear Helen Arrington is back home at Prairie Point. I know she is still pretty sick but I’m thankful she got to come home. She’ll be in good hands with Lisa and all the staff at Prairie Point.
I hear OJ’s Plants and Petals has been sold. Don and Janice officially closed shop, as we have known it, on June 30th. We will miss them on Main Street but are so happy that they are going to enjoy retirement. Janice worked at OJ’s and then purchased it several years ago from Ollie Anderson.
I can’t even remember when Janice wasn’t at OJ’s. She has been a big help and support to me through all my downtown projects. If I needed scissors, a stapler or whatever it might be, she’d always come up with it for me. When I needed a tall man to hang a banner or tie a balloon, Don was always there to help.
When I would take Lincoln and August with me to the shop, she would give them a balloon or show tons of patience as they rearranged all her stuffed animals. Congratulations Don and Janice on your retirement and thank you for all the years you’ve served our community.
Can you believe there are no major holidays coming up in the near future? Sometimes its nice just to take a break from all the hustle-bustle holidays can bring. That doesn’t mean our merchants will be taking a break though. They are still open for business and waiting for you to stop in and see what all they have on their shelves waiting just for you. Have a great week and thank you for choosing to shop local……………………. first!