SOMETHING TO DREAM ABOUT

     Here are more snippets of the speech, BOONE-My Kind of Town, that I gave recently at the Boone County Historical Society.

     It seems that, through the years, Boone has become more and more a tourist attraction and I think that is something to expand on.

     There are many prominent attractions we have here but I can think of three more that could/should be added but have not been exploited. All three are number one's and no other community in Iowa can claim any of them as natives.

     The Fareway grocery chain began here in 1938 and the very first Casey's convenience store began here in 1968. Fareway now has 131 stores in eight midwest states, while Casey's have 2,500 stores in 16 states and boast the third largest convenience store chain in the United States.

     I can picture in my mind, right here in Boone, a replica of that original Fareway store.....logo, structure, design etc. AND a similar replica of that original Casey's store.....the two, perhaps, side-by-side, and becoming part of our increased attention to tourist traffic.

     Yes, I'm old and probably a bit naive BUT I am still aware enough that I understand this would be a huge project to undertake......and would require much assistance from Fareway and Casey's.

     But, my question is, "isn't this worth at least some discussion.......how these wonderful Iowa assets, which began right here in our midst, could be added, in some significant way, to our already "tourist community?"

     "Crazy, can't happen....won't work"..........yes, I know. Reminds me of a few years back when those same type of comments were leveled about.......let's see.....what was that? Oh yes, the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad.

     I mentioned three possibilities. The third would be the Iowa High School Athletic Association. Again, a well known state asset.....and there's only one of them......and its located right here in Boone, Iowa.

     Yes, this is different than those other two. However, in Boone since the early 1940's, in its 80 years here, just think of all the moms and dads in the state who, in that time, have become aware of that familiar IHSAA logo via all the Iowa high school boy's athletic programs.

     I, oftentimes, wonder if, at the least, we shouldn't in our promotional material, list Boone as the home of the IHSAA, right along with Mamie's birthplace, the Boone and Scenic Valley, and, perhaps some day, also, the original home of the Fareway and Casey's stores.