Volume 3, No. 11                            November 15, 2002                                        Page 1

The
Megaphone

Elwood, Indiana                                                                   Elwood High School(s)

Your Old Home Town

Elwood's new city building - south side of the 1500 block of So. B Street
 
Today I am preparing to leave for a visit in Texas with my daughter and her family. I was thinking about the contrast in the area where she lives, Dallas/Ft. Worth, with this small town of Elwood.

Here, no matter where you are going, you drive through the center of town. It is unlikely you can do this without seeing someone you know either coming out of one of the businesses or driving through also. This promotes a connection beyond your own neighborhood, church or the school your child or grandchild attends.

Here it is practically impossible to go to the pharmacy or the grocery store or even the gas station without seeing someone you know and usually taking time to have a quick dialogue with them. In fact, when you go out to eat here in town it is the same.

In the large metroplexes, you may go months or years without seeing the heart of the city. There are so many groceries, pharmacies, restaurants and gas stations that you rarely run into someone you know. If you go to one of the malls, the only way you see someone to visit with is if you go together.

Is is any wonder that growing up in this small town, where our families knew each other for years and we all attended one high school, whether at the same time or not, we have a bond that is unexplainable and which those from other areas envy?

To be able to live here and see the revitalization that is going on and to be able to work with some of the groups that are helping this happen is quite exciting.


Elwood's new fire station on So. B Street - looking south from 16th Street
 
When the work on South Anderson Street was going on and I described it to you, it was still a shock when you were able to visit here and see it for yourself. Most of you said, I didn't realize it would look so good. Now as the new construction is winding down, or up...pun intended...it is only something that you will need to see to know how very nice it is going to be. The fountain, on South B and Anderson Streets where the old gas station used to be, looks great with the backdrop of the new building behind it. As you look down South 16th Street, you see the 3 large bays for the new fire station. The tower for the new building is almost finished and I think they may have saved the best for last in this particular construction.

The fountain . . . looking east from So. Anderson Street
 
It is difficult for me to realize the differences that have occurred here in the last 4 years while seeing them every day. I know it it hard for those of you who have not been here for a long time to envision these changes. But trust me, it is happening and in a startling way. This must be how the early citizens felt when the city of Elwood started expanding all those years ago.

Reporting from Your Old Home Town
Sharon Benedict Hurst "53"
Elwood IN, Out on Fairground Road

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