During the season’s first, First Friday gathering, Mitchell Main Street and Beyond took time to celebrate and present its First Annual Hope Award to a longtime Main Street business owner and advocate for starting a revitalization effort 37 years ago.
Mitchell Main Street and Beyond executive director Liz Luczak introduced the Hope Award recipient. “What was once a stretch of empty buildings has transformed into a thriving, busy downtown,” Luczak told attendees. “Didn’t take overnight, it happened little by little and her dedication kept pushing for new sidewalks, new curbs, new trash cans, new benches”, she continued. “It took dedication of the heart.”
Brenda Oleson saw a need. “And so, as we walked up and down Main Street, there was things that needed to invite all of our tourists, I call them guests, down the street,” Oleson explained. “And so that was one of the main things, was to try to get those people to come down the street. So, baby steps after baby steps, 37 years later, you have, we have a beautiful Main Street. And when those people come to visit, they tell us that.”
She accepted the award alongside her husband Dan and her very proud granddaughter Miranda. “I just want to thank my grandma for helping out this main street and helping a lot,” Miranda beamed.
The Hope sculpture is located on the northeast corner of the intersection of North Main Street and East Fifth Avenue. It honors the heritage of Mitchell’s agriculture and past while striving for a better future.