The Pink Bathtub

traffic through the heart of the community became eerily quiet. Windows on Main Street started emptying. For a while, things looked bleak.

But something changed recently.

Main Street is beginning to thrive again. New businesses are starting to crop up here and there. Established businesses are growing. Restaurants are opening and staying busy. Traffic through town is picking up.

There is a renewed sense of optimism. A community is starting to come back together and back to life. Just like the early days of Anderson, people — hardworking people — are making the difference. They are taking risks, and making investments in the community.

People are opening businesses like donut shops, flea markets, and restaurants. They are investing in places like convenience stores, the locally owned grocery store, the flower shop, and the historic downtown movie theater.

Then there are the people who have banded together and are working to make Anderson a better place to live, work and play by launching programs and activities that not only give locals something to do but also bring opportunities for the future.

This group has created new festivals that bring visitors into town. Each May, Anderson relives its strawberry heydays with a Berries, Bluegrass & BBQ festival.

During the summer months, you can catch a free movie outside at the local park which sits on the banks of Indian Creek.

Very soon, kids will be playing on new playground equipment thanks to a communitywide fundraising drive.

They have spearheaded an effort with city leaders to partner with an architectural school to develop a 20-year plan for Anderson’s future. People now have a vision of what their community could be. They’ve even brought leaders from several state agencies to give ideas to help the community reach its goals.

The locals are starting to take notice. Even outsiders see the change.

Recently, after the newly built local Walmart Neighborhood Market closed in the swath of “shift of corporate philosophy,” the Springfield News-Leader sent a reporter out to cover the effects of the closings on small, southwest Missouri towns.

In what was a “doom and gloom” piece for many communities, the reporter wrote “…Anderson still has an active downtown, in addition to other businesses along Highway 71. The one