Commentary: The Wonders of the Afton Inn

Recently, I decided to take a walk down Main Street and enjoy the new businesses there. I was holding the best for last – the new, improved, anxiously awaited – THE AFTON. The big sign said it would be completed mid-summer 2023. Well, summer is almost over, and I should be able to walk in the front door and order a sandwich and a drink. But wait, how could this be, nothing has changed! I have been told that maybe they are working on the inside. If so, they are very small workers who are invisible. My hopes were raised when I saw a construction trailer, but sadly, no movement, no banging, no sawdust, no sweaty workers, nada, nicht, nothing.

So we have our favorite eye-sore awaiting another winter, the beautiful hanging baskets swaying gently in the breeze, the pride of Main Street. Sadly, tourists will see the jumbled mass of bricks and the faded flower paintings again.

Royal Examiner file photo of a ‘dressed up’ Afton shell and sign encouraging downtown shopping. Below artist’s rendering of the finished job – Someday over the Rainbow…

What happened? Rumors indicate that the investors may have pulled out. I jokingly said, “The Town Council members will step in and get this straightened out.” People standing within earshot all cracked up.

Many things change, but, as usual, many things stay the same.