I am thinking of changing the name of my column to “Meanderings Of An Old Woman.” I don’t mind being called old.  Some days I feel my age and much of what I write about has to do with the wisdom, forgetfulness and time in life when we realize we have to live authentically.

The trigger for my thought processes today is mourning, but not for the friends and family who have left this earth, although I do mourn for them. Today I mourn for a way of life and businesses and buildings that no longer are here or those that are changing and will change the face of our communities.

I have mentioned years ago in my column I miss the restaurant called the Canton Cafe in Albert Lea which used to sit on the block now occupied by Wells Fargo. I miss their pork tenderloin and oxtail soup, and the gravy was the best ever.

I mourned when progress took over the Lakeside Cafe recently — another one of my favorite places to spend time because of the view of the lake along with good food. It, too, had history in the city of Albert Lea.

I live in a community that once had five grocery stores. Now we have one. I live in a community where we had a choice for gas, and now we have one self-serve unmanned station and another gas station owned by a big franchise. The days of locally owned gas stations have gone away with progress.

Malls have overshadowed main streets and it is hard for businesses that are locally owned to stay in business because they can’t compete with the prices of big box stores. We as consumers can’t always afford to pay the higher price, so it is a lose-lose situation for small towns.

You might wonder why I am mourning businesses today. One of our long-established banks announced it was being sold to one of the other banks in our community. Since it will still be a local bank, you might wonder why I am mourning.

Growing up as a child in this community it was an experience visiting the banks with my parents. We had Wells Federal Savings, Security State Bank and People’s State Bank. The architecture of Security State Bank and People’s State Bank was beautiful inside and out. With its majestic beauty inside it felt to me as a child as if I were entering an upscale world. I guess it was — it was a bank.

Over the years the architecture changed. People’s Bank redid the outside of the building to something more modern and concrete. It was more majestic than the old front but it lost the flavor of it’s structure. They eventually moved and built a new bank.

Security State Bank built a new bank on another corner, tearing down old buildings to make room for the new. Although the architecture is beautiful it can’t compare to their old home. Their former home was bought by a drugstore next door, and the inside was built up and merged into the drug store. The marble, the ambiance was lost to progress. The outside has not been maintained well and sits as a reminder of the glory days of the bank. Security Bank also took on a new name. In my mind it was always still Security Bank.

With each change I mourned the loss of the beauty of the old buildings.

I also mourn the loss of the employees. The employees of hometown businesses make using the business a personal experience. Small towns are already short on jobs, and job loss is never easy because jobs are few and far in between. But for me these businesses have always been here as a part of our community and now one will be missing.

I always look at the architecture of old buildings and marvel at the detail and the creativity in those old buildings and wonder how such detail was accomplished without all the modern technology we have now. Many of these buildings are crumbling because they were not valued and maintained. Others are torn down to make room for new.

The mystery writer in me wonders what is covered up. A few years ago in my community some metal awnings were taken down on what was once the old dime store. Two beautiful half-circle windows were revealed. It made the building. People were excited it was possibly going to be restored, but it was again covered up by another wood overhang and awning.

If you get a chance, walk or drive the alleys in back of the main streets. If buildings have been remodeled in front, chances are the back was ignored and you can get a little flavor of what was.

I visit Albert Lea and love sitting at the Interchange and looking at the architecture across the street. I imagine what it would be like to sit on the small balcony of the building across the street. It excites me to see what they are doing with the bank building nextdoor to the Interchange. I also have memories of visiting the building and what it looked like in the past. Albert Lea is doing an outstanding job of preserving its history.

It takes dedication to honor history and my hometown also has done that with the preservation of the Wells Depot Museum. That, too, holds nostalgia for me because I lived on the wrong side of the tracks and I could see the Depot from my house.

As I said I need to name my column, “The Meanderings Of An Old Woman” because memories drive my thoughts today.  I don’t think I am alone in that in my old age. It’s important to accept progress and merging old with new. Preserving history shows our younger generation where we have been, what it cost to get there and what we valued.

 

Wells resident Julie Seedorf’s column appears every Monday. Send email to her at hermionyvidaliabooks@gmail.com. Her Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/julie.