And Across the Street...

JUST AS THE Methodist Church was coming down on the southwest corner of Main and Broadway, an official groundbreaking was happening on the northeast corner to mark the start of construction of the Kingfisher Visitors Center, the new home of the Chamber of Commerce. At top, participants in the event include, from left: Sandra Kloeppel and Mike Brown, chamber board members; Shauna Rupp, chamber director; John Gooden, Kingfisher Trails Inc. president and driving force behind the project; Jamae Frey and her mother Dorma Hobbs, whose major contribution provided the seed money for an endowed fund to finance the project; Judy Whipple, former chamber manager; Dennis Mueggenborg, downtown retailer and historical preservationist, and Bill Tucker, city commissioner. At bottom, Frey and Hobbs turn the first shovel of earth as Brown, Rupp and Gooden applaud. The prime location at the site of the former service station east of the Main and Broadway corner will allow the chamber to be an initial and obvious point of contact for tourists and visitors to the city as well as new businesses seeking to relocate. (Photos Provided]