Byron News: Building and tearing down in our community

Out and about town looking for inspiration to write about is similar at times to the book “Where’s Waldo?” There are always little spots of curious happenings to pique an interest.

A few days ago I happened upon a large stack of large trusses. Where there are trusses, a building is going up. There is a nice large garage appearing at Jerod and Christa Tippetts. The cement slab has been down for a while, and it appears that the walls are ready to be raised.

It will be a nice addition to their home. They have been working over the years to improve their corner. I remember when they moved their new home in and their mobile home out, and then it wasn’t long before they fenced in their large yard behind it. Now the fence is gone, and a new garage takes the space. What a nice improvement over the years this project has been. It will be exciting to see the finished project.

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A few years ago, the town was aware of a placemaking grant. The purpose of the proposed grant was to improve a small area of the community. The town owned a piece of property on the corner of Pryor and Riverview. It was formerly the spot where one of the original log homes in town sat. I was told that David and Charlotte Lindsey lived there in the early 1900s.

When I grew up it was occupied by Nell Cowgill, who taught piano to many of the Byron youth. I loved to watch her play ragtime. No music, just fingers flying and body swaying as she enjoyed music. She was very patient with me as I plunked out “Toy Soldiers on Parade” with a bit of improvement from week to week.

After Nell passed away, the cabin sat empty for many years. My mom, Dorothy (Cozzens) and some friends thought maybe it could be used as a museum for things that had been collected at Town Hall over many decades. Things were patched up at the cabin, and people brought items that had sat in their attic hiding their stories. I am not sure when Harriet and Dwayne Jackson and Denney and Linda NeVille began their efforts to categorize, organize, number and log each item with a history and owner attached, but it took amazing interest and skill. They worked together over months and then years.

Over that time the museum found a new home when the old lunchroom was remodeled. Town Hall and the museum now share the space. The museum is beautifully arranged and maintained and worthy of a visit to see and read about the history of our little town.

Again, the old cabin sat empty and deteriorating. Eventually it was dismantled and moved away to another state. I hope it is put back together and being used. It was a pretty cozy home when Nell lived there.

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Going back to that grant. Several communities throughout the state applied for it, but we were the recipients thanks to a lot of effort by our rec director at that time, Beckie Bates. She attended the necessary workshops and wrote the grant with the approval of the town council at the time. The beginning was finding the spot, and there was that now empty and unused corner. The seed of an idea of a small park on the south side of Main Street where the kids in the adjoining neighborhoods could have a place to play without crossing a major highway and families could gather for parties and celebrations began to germinate.

With generous donations from the Lions Club and others, it came together with a basketball court, grill, picnic tables and playground equipment including that wonderful old-fashioned merry-go-round designed by Ken Grant from an original from the early days. The park gets a lot of use. Just a few days ago, I saw a car pull up and a couple kids got out and made a mad dash for that merry-go-round. The park is fulfilling its purpose, and it is a good addition to our community.

Now, the unfortunate part of the story. Not long ago, some red paint found its way to the park, and a bit of defacing took place. With the help of our law enforcement the painters were found and restitution and cleanup took place. A few weeks ago, I saw a mangled mess of the picnic tables out for the garbage pick-up. Then recently it is apparent that someone had pulled a large portion of siding off of the little old storage building (a former small home) on the property.

It is sad when vandals destroy. I am hopeful the culprits will be found and made to clean up their mess. I hope a few parents in the area will be on alert and vigilant in stopping this needless destruction. That little park was designed for the use of the families in the neighborhood, and now it is up to them to help stop the damage There has also been damage at the Jones Park bathrooms. If you see something, say something.