Long ago I had wanted to write a story about a lady who owned a toy, flower and gift shop in Morrison, Illinois. I will write something about it here, but not for the reasons I had wanted to. Sadly, the shop has lost a lot of money due to the poor economy in the area. Many storefronts are empty, and many others had been bought by companies who are using the storefront spaces for advertising their businesses more than actually opening up actual businesses. This lady I had met some time ago has had her business open to the public for ten years. But now this will be coming to an end. She regrets the fact that she will no longer be able to run the store, but it is no longer possible to do so.

                                      Morrison, with a population of 4,307, is the county seat of Whiteside County and is located on the historic Lincoln Highway. Being part of the Lincoln Highway had made the town prosperous and well-known throughout Illinois as well. But the Great Recession and the flat economy has taken its toll. I found it ironic that U.S. President Barack Obama gave a lecture at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, about how he intends to try and improve the economy. Like Morrison, the economy in Galesburg is flat. In fact, much of economy is flat through most of small town Illinois. Many people I have met in Morrison just simply roll their eyes when asked about what Obama and the U.S. Congress will do to improve their situation.

  While Morrison did not have factories employing tens of thousands of workers as was the case of Galesburg, Morrison had a prosperous downtown area and far more mom and pop businesses than it does now. Like Galesburg, most people in Morrison are not interested in just words about what should be done. They want to see jobs created, businesses given the chance to start and grow rather than be crushed by taxes. But most of all, they want to be able to make money so that they can spend and put that money back into their community. As I passed by many fine, beautiful Victorian homes built in more prosperous times, I saw the tattered condition many were in now as so many people in Morrison are struggling to try and help save their town.