Most of the trees have come down and a bulldozer is making the ground smooth. It’s part of the inevitable development at a major Newberg intersection. I remember what was here years ago and wonder if this is progress. This is the land where Gladys Auld pumped gas, operated a lunch counter, and where she lived. Gladys believed individual service was more important than assembly line speed as she poured coffee, cooked hamburgers, and served the fresh pie she had personally baked earlier. Customers knew this was not fast food and gladly sat at the lunch counter waiting their turn.

At the gas pump, regular customers knew what to do if Gladys wasn’t there. You pumped your own gas and you put your cash or check in the metal box in the desk drawer.

The trees that sheltered her home are gone and the gentle slope between Gladys’s business and her home is being leveled. This is change, but it’s not improvement.