So many years ago

So many years ago, I would drive by this old building every day. I would mosey my truck slowly down the alley way between the hardware store and and familiar old structure. Like a soft old quilt on an icy morning there it sat. I heard stories from the old folks about pulling wagons up to the back of the Farmers Exchange on Saturday morning looking forward to a day of shopping and socializing on Main Street. I’m from Illinois so that iconic sign hanging on the back of that old building announcing “Dekalb” was sight for my sore hometown eyes. I watched as the years rolled by and commerce stopped at the Wetumka Farmers Exchange. I thumped and bumped my truck over that ragged old alley year after year. I watched in sadness as that perky yellow “Dekalb” sign got worn and faded. One day as we were driving through i couldn’t resist any longer. “Jump out here and grab that sign off there will ya?” I said to Bubs. He gave me an exasperated look. “You want me to go...steal...that sign off the building?” He asked with shock in his voice. “Yes” I answered. The edges are warped and broken, and, in some places, you can barely read it, but there it hangs. Smack dab in my living room, hanging on my wall, proud and to me, perfect. “Dekalb” My little chunk of the Wetumka Farmers Exchange. Born, 1910....razed, 2021. Shared byJan Barry