By David Lindeman

Contributing columnist

It looks like downtown Troy is going to get another facelift. There are plans afoot to make a number of changes to the downtown area, including some long overdue utility upgrades.

As with most things like this, there are some people who seem to think Troy will go the way of ancient Troy if the improvements aren’t made. There are others who think the changes are a terrible idea and an insult to humanity. Then there are most people who really don’t care all that much and just hope they can figure out how to navigate the square.

I have to admit, I’m pretty ambivalent about it myself at the moment. I might wake up in the middle of the night sometime in the near future with grim forebodings, but I doubt it. Most of the ideas seem like they make sense.

What the proposed plans really made me think about was how downtown Troy really looks pretty good right now, at least compared to when I was growing up. A group of my friends (yes, I do have a few of them) were talking about this the other night.

I grew up in Troy in the ‘60s. I looked up the city’s current demographics, and 16.5% of Troy residents are older than 65, which means most people around here don’t even remember the ‘60s, not to mention what Troy looked like back then.

Well, let me tell you, there were some problems. The deal back then was to cover building fronts with metal siding that covered the windows and generally made buildings look like giant tin cans with grooves. The Uhlman’s building was the best example of this. Prouty Plaza is much more attractive today than it was when Uhlman’s was there. By the way, my wife was in Uhlman’s in the afternoon just before it closed the day it burned down. She stopped there after school and probably made one of the last purchases there before it went up like a giant tin can filled with old wood.

Then there were the little alleys off the square. There are four of them, and these days they usually are pretty clean. That was not always the case. In fact, they were a little creepy in the old days and featured some odors that were, shall we say, rather pungent.

There also were a number of pretty seedy bars in downtown Troy at that time. Now, almost all the bars are trendy places where everything costs a lot more, but they all look a lot better than the old joints.

Here’s another thing that might surprise you: often there was trash in the Miami River or washed up on its banks. I think it was during the ‘60s that this got cleaned up.

Then there was the Public Square itself. Back in the ‘60s, it had a really little fountain in the middle and while it always was well maintained, it was not nearly as impressive as it is today with the larger fountain and extensive flower planting.

Many of the buildings were in a sad state of disrepair in the 1960s. It wasn’t until later that Parker Behm and then other developers and civic groups went to work to save and repurpose many of the buildings. Most of them are looking much, much better today.

I know how it’s hard to see old buildings go, but you had to go into Edwards School back then to realize how scary it was. I have friends who went to school there and have fond memories, although even they will admit the school was in terrible shape by the time they tore it down. Not to mention (although I just did) the old county jail, which looked like something out of the Count of Monte Cristo.

Sure, there are things I miss from the “good old days.” There used to be two bakeries in downtown Troy – Kerg’s and the Pastry Kitchen. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a doughnut as good as the ones they made at Kerg’s, although I’m still searching for one.

Plus, Jay’s was Nirvana for kids back then. Penny candy and comic books! I guess Grandpa Joe’s is an upgrade, but it’s hard to replace the candy store of your youth.

I guess what I’m trying to say, is that times change and we’re pretty fortunate that the city has managed to make changes while retaining much of its historic atmosphere. I’ll be interested to see how the latest plans turn out. For now, I’m just happy I can drive down Main Street again.

David Lindeman is a Troy resident and former editor at the Troy Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected].