Penry’s Corner

I remember Penry’s Corner

down the hill from school.

We’d play the nickel pinball,

generally act the fool.

Slim would bring the burgers,

Dale fixed the drinks.

Ma served the french fries

and washed things in the sink.

Buck had the local garage,

he’d fix your care and more.

Buckshot worked for his dad,

his dad ran a store.

There was a Chitwood’s hardware,

a church just down the street.

Train tracks ran behind the store;

that was pretty neat.

Paul sold gas and groceries,

sandwiches and snacks.

The Richards had a sawmill

on the hill out back.

The post office was across the road,

farms were all around.

Helmsburg was a pretty nice place,

a typical Hoosier town.

Now the broom factory sells antiques,

things that are old and odd.

The Church is still in business,

bringing people to God.

Chitwood’s is a storage barn,

where you hide things you don’t need.

No longer selling saddles,

dryers and chickenfeed.

The Masonic Lodge is a coffee shop,

with decaf, dark and light.

And there are still some farms around,

somehow that seems right.

A new sawmill fills Paul’s place,

the old one grows in weeds.

The Post Office deals in Lotteries

and snacks to fill your needs.

Buck’s garage is leaning,

it won’t last too long.

There’s nothing going on now,

somehow that seems wrong.

Long’s grocery has fallen down,

just a pile of wood,

and there’s a house on the corner

where Penry’s Diner stood.

— Jim Campbell, Brown County