Bee the Change

I've been gone from the world of blogging, but now that I'm just about done helping my old employer get his office closed up I'm hoping to have more time.  Not just for blogging, but for exploring those towns I pass through for work, too.  There has been a lot of change in my professional life, and while it's been a good thing I'm longing for those relaxed meanderings I'd gotten used to over the past few years.

I hadn't been to Kaukauna before and now I've been there twice but haven't had time for a proper look around either time.

Mellen State Bank 

Tuesday I'll be back in the far north for the day, just a ways down the road from tiny towns straight out of the past.  I've never seen an old bank as small as the one in Mellen (population 731) except in old Western movies.  Since the 1920's Mellen's population keeps shrinking and is now less than half of what it was a century ago. But murals have made their way to the tiny towns in the far north, like the one that wrapped around the automotive garage in Butternut.  Butternut's population was 375 at the last census, but they found a way to honor their history and I for one appreciated it.  Not much change in towns like these, and sometimes that's okay, right?

Butternut

Appleton, on the other hand, continues to grow, as does most of Central Wisconsin.  For a larger city it's crime statistics are pretty low, even by Wisconsin standards.  Perhaps they are adhering to the philosophy on the mural in downtown that urges passersby to "be the change".  I thought they should spell it "bee the change" considering a large bee hovers nearby, but what do I know?

Appleton

Posts for every day of the week this week, I'm hoping!  Linking up to Monday Mural.