Downtown Hico Oprahouse Turned Store My husband loves road trips. And by loves, I mean he’d rather just get there than enjoy the journey. But recently he indulged me on one of our trips through the Texas Hill Country. I wanted to prove a point. See, a few months ago, I was reading some of the posts on a couple of Facebook pages for my hometown. It seemed to be a trend that most of the posts were complaints. Around that same time, I had also been reading a lot about how the en

Crumbling brick does not appear overnight. Sidewalks do not crack in a week. Buildings do not crumble without warning. Storefront standards do not become inconsistent by surprise. Neglect is rarely sudden. It is tolerated.

“We need more competition." We only have one grocery store.”“Why can’t we get a Walmart?” “Our hardware stores don’t carry enough; we need a Lowe’s.” These statements seem reasonable. At first glance, they suggest progress, more choices, convenience, and growth. But many small towns may not realize that not all development helps the local economy.   In many cases, it quietly takes money away. What people call “economic growth” often turns into a long-term trade-off, where loc