The building faced out over the town green with its bandstand where once upon a time politicians had stumped and fireworks had been set off on the summer holidays. The town had only one main street, called Main, which split to circle the green the locals called the Square. Few politicians stumped there now and the fireworks had been moved out to the County Fairgrounds where it was safer. Attempts had been made to bring bands back to the bandstand – really a large pavilion – but after a while those efforts had died out for lack of attendance. With the advent of the big box stores out by the interstate highway, the town was dying by slow degrees. If you looked hard you could see the name of the old department store that had once been the mainstay of the town in the darker patches on the wood of the old boarded-up storefront, but soon that would be gone as well. The town council had found just enough money in the budget to pay for the flowers that decorated the light posts around the Square in an attempt to attract businesses to the now-empty shops that lined it.
