This is just a short note to remind us, the citizens of Winona and the surrounding area, of something that I am afraid most of us just take for granted.
Each year, about this time of year, our main street entering Winona, Summit Street, takes on a new appearance. It is at this time that Winona's crepe myrtle trees begin to flower out, and become beautiful. All the way from out around the cemetery, down to the old depot, the drive into Winona is about as pretty as it gets. The green trees, with the white flowering blooms, make for a very pleasant sight. Winona is one of only a few Mississippi towns that have anything this pretty to look at. I am afraid that we quite often just take this for granted, when we actually should be proud of it.
In addition to the beautiful crepe myrtles, we can always enjoy the pretty flowers at the entrance to the Presbyterian Church, and the new landscaping at the First Baptist Church.
Most of the concrete planters in front of the stores on Summit Street and Front Street, and in the center of the street on Front Street, are quite attractive, but some of them could look a little better.
The American flags at the courthouse, in front of City Hall and scattered around in other parts of town, including the giant American flag in front of the Vocational Complex at the intersection of Highways 51 and 82 add to the beauty and the quality of our town.
Many yards in Winona have beautiful flowers in them. For example, the homes along the street just South of the high school football field have as pretty an assortment of flowers in them as you can find anywhere. There are other yards throughout Winona with pretty flowers in them.
Just imagine how attractive, and how unique, Winona will become when we have our new clock tower added to downtown Winona. I believe this addition will really add to our town, and will attract people to Winona just to take a look at it. This addition might even cause some new businesses to open up in downtown Winona. I am quite anxious, and I know many of you are also, to see this project completed. I believe that the citizens of Winona will be very pleased with this addition to our town.
We already have our giant cross at the intersection of Highways 82 and 55, which attracts many people as they travel along the two highways. With the addition of the clock tower, it stands to reason, that Winona will become an attractive place for people to visit, and spend some time just looking aroun
Winona is a pretty town this time of the year, and we should be proud of it. Winona is a good place to live, and we should be proud of that. I love living in Winona. I am very thankful that my wife and I got to work in Winona for many years, and that we were able to raise our family in Winona. My wife and children loved living in Winona.
At this particular time, I am really worried about Winona. My main concern is that we have very little in Winona for our young people to come back to. We have almost no job opportunities, and very little that will attract high quality young married couples, of both races, to Winona. This is a very bad situation, and one that will prove fatal to Winona over a period of time. In my opinion, we must do something to change this situation, and do it now. We must get creative, and come up with something that will attract quality young married couples to Winona to live and work. If we do not do something about this immediately, I am afraid that within the next twenty years the only people who will be living in Winona are those who cannot afford to move. We must do something about this, and do it now. We simply cannot allow Winona to dry up and blow away.
Thank you for reading this. My hope, and my prayer, is that all of the citizens of Winona, along with our city and county officials, will work together, and I mean get serious about it, and exert a concentrated effort not just talk about it, to make Winona an attractive place to live. A
1 place that is good for the citizens who already live here, and a place that will attract quality young people to come to live and to work.
Winona is our town. All of us need to work to take care of it, and work to improve it. I feel that this is very important, and that it is urgent.
