FILL HER UP

Now that is one cool filling station. Now that is one cool Shell gas station. Which is it?

Somehow when I see something like this, I feel good inside. Like someone was creative. Like someone cares about products and appearance.

Not so in my old hometown. It turned into a haven for pole barn construction. The once very homey, very traditional downtown area built like so many downtowns of previous times lost its personal touch. What was once a beautiful south side of the town square allowed the hometown newspaper to take up an entire city block. Housed with pole barn construction. Then a brick facade covering three sides. It couldn't do a very good job of hiding the cheap construction.

All over the town, the metal trailer like quality buildings sprouted, took root, and ruined a once beautiful landscape. There's absolutely nothing beautiful aesthetically with a pole barn building.

And long time residents wonder why nearby Marion has grown while their city remains stagnant. Just maybe it's time for re-development beginning with a cool gas station on the square. One as in the picture. One that could replace the Register-News building for a start. Along not only with a moratorium on pole barns, but a good raising of existing structures.