Highway Ten used to go through Staples, but they've built a bypass. I don't like that. The charm of Ten consists of going right through the towns whenever possible. Otherwise, you miss signs like this:
Always gave Lefty's a nod and a wave when I passed through. If you take the route through town, you'll also see the old movie theater - the marquee isn't as impressive as some we'll see soon. Unlike many other small town theaters which have been showing a double bill of "Closed" and "Thanks for your Patronage" for the last few years, the Staples theater is still showing new movies.
Ancient downtown sign for a long-gone department store:
The store was mentioned in a plan to redevelop downtown; it's a great asset, and if I recall correctly also served as an opera house. An opera house! O, those uncultured hick pioneers, eh. Fun fact: for a while in its early history, Staples was known as Presto. The bypass has one virtue: it takes you right past the old train station.
There's something you don't see off the Interstate. (admission: old photo from a few years ago; it's been spiffed up since.) On to Verndale. It has one of the smaller, sadder downtowns I saw on the trip.
It was closed. So was the town's grocery store:
You hate to see that. Now everyone has to drive up the road for groceries, and the town's lost a place where people ran into other people, and passed the time. The bar's open:
Up the street there's a small park, with a WWI memorial:
