Identity.

A bit perturbed with the eldest child on this snowy morn I decided to drive about a bit and see what I could see. Across the bridge and down by the river I got an excellent photo of the Milwaukee Station, snow on the roof, evergreens stark against the white lawn, etc. Then I turned across the river. Grain elevator, assorted industrial buildings, the Smelter. Two sides of the river, two sides of the coin, two parts of a whole. One side is rather ugly, but it is also very important. It is the history of this town just as much as the beautifully restored Station. It got me thinking how often decisions are made based on what will look nice.
You all know I have been rather, ahh… involved in the sign code. This is mainly because I feel that there are some major flaws concerning personal rights and equality. I am not going to go into that right now. But it bears on my morning musings because of some of the historic signs in our quaint little town. Fords Drive In. The lettering painted on the Milwaukee Depot. The sign on top of the Pin-N-Que. The Montana Bar. The 3-D. These signs are a part of the history of this town, and I think they need a little special consideration. And who has been to Lewistown and enjoyed all of the murals on virtually every wall in the business district? We have a mural on the old Army/Navy building-but it cannot be changed, and will soon become non-conforming and removed, I assume. I am curious what will become of the few old signs still existing on some of the downtown buildings. Like the Owl Cigar ad on the old Town Tavern building.
How many people watched the Smelter come down, and now regret the fall of the greatest landmark of our town, our history that is no more.
As we consider the Identity of our town, let us remember what started it, got it through the tough years, and persevered into the present. We may have been the ugly stepsister, but our grandfathers had jobs, our town grew and prospered to where it is today. . We didn't need millionaires building vacation homes to finance our growth, we don't have a college doubling our population every fall. We have the base, the health care industry, and a lot of hard working citizens dedicated to making this a great place to raise our children. So lets be happy with what we have, and make it better. How many more small, local businesses do we have to lose in the name of ecomomic progress?
What are we trying to become?